Everything Eric Fehr knew in the NHL came from his time with the Washington Capitals. That is, until they traded him and his $2.2 million cap hit over the summer to the Winnipeg Jets.
Still hampered by his surgically repaired right shoulder, Fehr didn’t get into a game with Winnipeg until Saturday afternoon.
“It was really exciting for me to get my first game out of the way,” he said. “Playing at home, it was a pretty special game.”
Tuesday night, he was in the lineup against the Caps for the first time – his first visit back to Verizon Center since the trade. He played 9:22 and registered a minus-1 rating.
Arriving for the morning skate earlier in the day provided an interesting ordeal.
“I didn’t even know where the visitors’ room was over here, so the guys showed me,” Fehr said with a smile. “They were nice enough to show me where it was.”
Fehr is from near Winnipeg – Winkler, Manitoba, to be specific. If he was going to be traded anywhere, he was happy it was to be part of history with the return of his hometown Jets.
“It’s been great. The city is loving the team right now,” Fehr said. “They really wanted hockey back, and you can tell. They’re pretty electric fans. It’s been great playing in front of them and being there so far.”
Fehr has just one game and 7:06 of ice time so far this season, but after missing the Caps’ visit to MTS Centre last week, he was beaming to be able to play this time.
“It means a lot. It was a long road back from the surgery,” he admitted. “It look a little bit longer than I wanted, but I’m feeling good right now and just happy to be part of the team right now.”
Fehr’s time in Washington was plagued by shoulder injuries. But he did score twice in the Caps’ Winter Classic victory over the Penguins, a special night for the 26-year-old.
