On the day of the Washington Capitals’ first playoff game in five years, franchise owner Ted Leonsis said the team would not have experienced its recent success if it had not first endured a period at the bottom of the NHL standings.
In a chat with fans on washingtontimes.com, Leonsis said trading away high-priced players like Jaromir Jagr in 2004 made the team worse, but added that it indirectly helped lay the groundwork for this season’s playoff berth.
TED TALKS: Read the transcript
“Without the trades, we don’t get really bad,” Leonsis said in response to a fan who asked about the team’s reversal of fortunes. “We end up 20th in the NHL. We don’t draft [Alex] Ovechkin [in 2004]. That was the turning point for the franchise. A young superstar to build the team around. Keep Jagr — no Ovechkin. Simple.”
Following the lockout that canceled the 2004-2005 NHL season, Leonsis has trumpeted a strategy of rebuilding the franchise using draft picks and the minor league system. For the first two years, he faced heavy criticism as the team failed to win and fan interest was low. This season, Ovechkin is considered the favorite to win league MVP and the Capitals earned their first postseason berth since 2003.
One fan yesterday asked whether Leonsis ever felt the urge to say “I told you so!” to those who questioned his rebuilding strategy.
“If and when we win a Stanley Cup, I may allow myself a few moments of private gloating,” Leonsis said. “But I believe we are all in this together.”
Many fans yesterday inquired about the future of several Capitals who will become free agents after this season, but Leonsis responded that team general manager George McPhee would evaluate every player after the season.
“Why focus on the offseason when we have a playoff game in a couple of hours?” he asked a fan who had inquired whether the team would re-sign left wing Matt Cooke, goalie Cristobal Huet and center Sergei Fedorov. “I like [them] too, but there is their desire as free agents, our budget, the cap and where do players play when our injured players return. George will take that all in the mix and I’m sure we will do the right things the right way.”
Leonsis said the team likely will continue with the approach of using homegrown talent and the occasional trade rather than spending money to sign outside players.
“I am not that interested in free agents,” he said. “We have seen how the draft has helped us, and trades. We won’t have room under the cap to bring in free agents in [the offseason]. We have to build as we have from within, let the young kids play. The young players are our best players, and they have enormous upside. They are better players than any free agents we could bring in, thus, we will re-sign them and keep the team together, growing up together.”
Asked about reports that he is expected to lose more than $10 million this season, Leonsis said the team’s finances didn’t concern him.
“I am not worried about our income statement — only about our fans’ happiness and the team’s performance in [the] playoffs.”
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