
Count the Washington Capitals among a swath of teams in the middle ground between buying and selling, as they went into Monday night just one point out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but also found themselves in 11th place.

Before Mike Ribeiro played a single game for the Capitals, he knew he wanted to stay in Washington for the long term. He moved to the area with his wife and three children after getting traded here from the Dallas Stars last summer, spending the balance of the NHL lockout putting down roots.
While the two biggest stars on the NHL free-agent market were still pondering their futures, a future Hall of Famer found a new home in Texas.
While the two biggest stars on the NHL free-agent market were still pondering their futures, a future Hall of Famer found a new home in Texas.
Ryan Suter and Zach Parise chose to take some time to sort through offers from a slew of suitors on the first day of NHL free agency.

On the day an arbiter awarded Norris Trophy finalist Shea Weber $7.5 million, some brief discussion around Washington centered around a defenseman who was making $4.5 million and was not re-signed.

If Scott Hannan is going to be back with the Capitals next season, they won't make a move to re-sign him until after unrestricted free agency opens at noon Friday.