The Washington Capitals overhauled their defence, by paying huge money to a pair of former Pittsburgh Penguins. Numbers Game breaks down the signings of Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. The Capitals Get: D Matt Niskanen and D Brooks Orpik. Niskanen, 27, picked a terrific time to have the best year of his career, scoring a career-best 10 goals and 46 points while playing a career-high 21:18 per game. He was also a career-best plus-33, which is all well and good, but he was one of six regular defencemen (minimum 62 games played) to have a combined on-ice save percentage and on-ice shooting percentage (PDO) at 5-on-5 of 103.0 or better. An on-ice shooting percentage over 10.0% is difficult for any defenceman to sustain, but Niskanens 10.32% was the third-best of his career; basically, its the kind of good fortune that shouldnt be expected, but its not out of the realm of possibility from season to season for Niskanen. Where the puck luck really stuck with Niskanen last year, was that he also had a .928 on-ice save percentage during 5-on-5 play, so getting favourable percentages at both ends of the ice during the same year contributed to that strong plus-minus. That shouldnt diminish the evaluation of Niskanen entirely, though, because he has consistently been on the right side of the puck possession ledger, and that makes him an asset to any team that acquires him. While Niskanen hasnt typically played hard minutes, and in some years has been excessively sheltered, hes likely to face more difficult matchups now that hes the highest-priced defenceman on the Capitals roster. Signed for seven years and $40.25-million, Niskanen landed the biggest free agent contract of the year. There was probably an element of paying for the good fortune that Niskanen experienced last year, and it is a gamble that Niskanen is going to be able to live up to the money involved in that contract, but if a team is going to swing for the fences on a free agent defenceman, doing so on a guy with consistently strong possession numbers is at least a reasonable foundation on which to make that investment. Which brings us to Brooks Orpik, a 33-year-old who has made his bones as a physical, hard-hitting defenceman, registering more than 200 hits in five of the past seven seasons. The unfortunate part, however, is that Orpik in position to hit so much -- particularly in recent years -- because his team doesnt have the puck as often when hes on the ice and the problem with a defensive defenceman who is already on the wrong end of the possession game is that hes certainly not likely to get better as he gets older. For example, in the 2013-2014 season, there were seven defencemen that were over 35 and scored fewer than 20 points (as Orpik has in every season of his career, except one). Its an okay list, some useful players, but six of the seven were 35 or 36. Orpik is signed through his age 38 season and the only -- the only -- NHL defenceman that played more than 60 games without scoring more than 20 points last season was Tampa Bays Sami Salo, who has never played the kind of physical, banging style that characterizes Orpiks game, in part because Salo was always hurt anyway. This doesnt offer much encouragement that the Capitals wont have massive regrets about the Orpik signing; the only question is how soon will those regrets occur? Can he give the Capitals a couple of solid years, maybe facing lower-calibre of competition than he did in Pittsburgh? Thats probably the best hope, but its a longshot that the last two, maybe even three years, wont have the Capitals paying big money for a spare part on their blueline. Orpik is signed for five years, at a cap hit of $5.5-million per season. Big money, long term. Pittsburgh anticipated that they would lose both Niskanen and Orpik and, in addition to having an opening or two for some prospects, they also signed Christian Ehrhoff to add stability to their defence. Its entirely understandable for the Capitals to make a move to upgrade their defence. They allowed 33.5 shots per game, ranking 27th in the league, last season, so the defence needed to get better. Ultimately, the Capitals are better today after adding Niskanen and Orpik, but that should never be up for debate when committing close to $11-million annually to two players. What has to matter is how much better they are, whether the money spent is worth it and what the fall-out will be. The Capitals dont have to make any moves --- they are under the $69-million salary cap -- but they have $28,762,500 committed to their defence, according to Cap Geek. The only teams spending in that neighbourhood for their defence are Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, who have Chris Pronger and Mattias Ohlund, respectively, on long-term injured reserve. St. Louis and Chicago are spending in the $24-million-to-$25-million on their respective bluelines right now, so its hard to imagine that the Capitals maintain the status quo, leaving a hole at second line centre while sticking with the most expensive defence corps in the league. We will see what other moves the Capitals have in mind this summer but, right now, it appears that they spent a lot of money to get better in the short-term; signing deals that appear to have more downside risk because of the long terms involved. Scott Cullen can be reached at
Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.
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E.J. Gaines Jersey . NORRIS COLE (Heat): Its funny, you watch a guy play and now really produce and it just jumps off the page at you - why? You put a young player with potential in a winning environment where there is veteran leadership, outstanding coaching and management and a way that things are done and its a wonderful environment for growth, improvement in a climate of constant accountability and expectation of achievement/production.It creeps into everyones conversation and thoughts as the NFL season winds down. Its a word most coaches and players try to avoid uttering, yet always are aware of.Clinch.The Patriots, Broncos and Colts are on the verge of clinching their divisions, while the Packers and Cardinals can reach out and grab playoff berths this week.Coach (Bill Belichick) hasnt mentioned that today. Normally he has, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said during the week. Youre playing for a division championship, so its a very important game. Weve worked really hard to get to this point.It is not lost on anyone that the three AFC clubs with a chance to earn division crowns also have premier quarterbacks: Brady, Denvers Peyton Manning and Indianapolis Andrew Luck.So, of course, does Green Bay, which with a win and a combination of losses elsewhere will secure a post-season spot. Aaron Rodgers has been impeccable at home, and not too shoddy on the road, either: Rodgers leads the league in passing by a wide margin as the Packers head to Buffalo.Oh man, its crazy, Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus said of the way Rodgers creates big plays out of nothing. ... Him throwing across his body 40 yards and just flipping the ball, that makes the game so much more hard. So were just going to have to try our best to contain and get after him the best way we can.The weekend began Thursday night with Arizona remaining the NFCs top seed in a field goal battle, defeating the Rams 12-6. The injury-ravaged Cardinals (11-3), leaders of the West, got four field goals from rookie Chandler Catanzaro, but also lost quarterback Drew Stanton to a new injury at St. Louis (6-8).Arizona will clinch a playoff spot if Sundays Dallas-Philadelphia game doesnt end in a tie, or with a Detroit loss combined with a Green Bay victory.Miami (7-6) at New England (10-3)The Dolphins rallied in the heat to beat the Patriots in the season opener. It wont be hot in Foxborough, and New England will be a hefty favourite to grab its 12th division crown in 14 years.By winning out, the Patriots also will have home-field advantage for the conference playoffs.Miami has little wiggle room in its quest for a playoff spot, but has won two straight against New England.It just shows that we can compete with the team, cornerback Brent Grimes said. We can give any team a hard time, just pressuring the quarterback and things like that, covering guys. We just have to carry it out for four quarters and it shows that we can do that.Denver (10-3) at San Diego (8-5)Denver has won the past three in the series and seven of eight overall. Continuing that trend would give the Broncos their fourth straight division crown.Manning didnt throw for a TD last week against Buffalo, ending a 51-game string. Hes not necessarily concerned about starting a new streak as long as the wins keep coming.Ive always said that every game takes on different identities and sometimes you have a couple of games in a row or two or three games in a row, he said.With regular punter Mike Scifres out, the Chargers signed 35-year-old Australian-born Mat McBriar so Nick Novak doesnt have to place-kick and punt again.Houston (7-6) at Indianapolis (9-4)The Texans never have won at Indy in 12 trips and are 4-21 overall against the Colts. Indeed, Houstons only defeat in the AFC South this year is to the Colts.Perhaps their best chance to win is to force some turnovers, something Luck and Indianapolis have struggled with recently. The Texans lead the NFL with 29 takeaways.Indy has won 11 in a row within the division and could celebrate receiver Reggie Wayne becoming its franchise record holder for games played and wins, breaking ties with Manning (208 games, 141 wins).Green Bay (10-3) at Buffalo (7-6)A Green Bay victory coupled with a loss by Dallas, and if the Packers clinch a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Cowboys, would Rodgers and Co. a playoff spot. But Green Bay is 0-5 at Orchard Park.On the other hand, the Packers are 3-0 against the AFC East this season and have won five straight and nine of 10 overall against everyone.The Bills almost certainly must win out for any chance at avoiding extending the NFLs longest current playoff drought to 15 seasons. They do lead the NFL with 48 sacks and are 3-0 against the NFC North.Dallas (9-4) at Philadelphia (9-4)This was a mismatch in Phillys favour on Thanksgiving night, and a repeat will just about clinch (that word again) the NFC East for the Eagles.But Dallas, which has been off since a Thursday night win at Chicago, might have learned something from how Seattle throttled Phillys fast-paced offence last week. Annd the Cowboys are 6-0 on the road; theyve never finished 8-0 away from home.ddddddddddddMark Sanchez had his first rough outing as the Eagles quarterback in place of the injured Nick Foles. But hes 2-0 vs. Dallas.San Francisco (7-6) at Seattle (9-4)The Seahawks have that look. You know, the fierce no-one-can-handle-us look that they wore on their way to the 2013 title.Ever since linebacker Bobby Wagner got healthy, the defence has been the toughest in the NFL. With Russell Wilson at his creative best, the offence has become dynamic enough.As for the 49ers, well, need anything more be said than they lost to their Bay Area rivals last week in a crucial game? It was just the second victory for Oakland.Cincinnati (8-4-1) at Cleveland (7-6)Johnny Clipboard is now back to being Johnny Football. Or at least Johnny Manziel is a starting NFL quarterback.The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and a first-round draft pick last spring, Manziel gets the job in Game 14 after Brian Hoyers slump hit critical mass. One of Hoyers more solid performances this season came in a 24-3 win at Cincinnati.The AFC North-leading Bengals have won their past three road games, and QB Andy Dalton, who had a 128.8 rating last week, will look to replicate that, not his career-low 2.0 passer rating in the previous meeting with the Browns.Pittsburgh (8-5) at Atlanta (5-8)No, the Steelers are not on top of their division despite their record, even as the Falcons are leading the NFC South with their ugly mark. The Steelers are as schizophrenic as any team in the league and come off a huge fourth quarter in which they outscored the Bengals 25-0 to win.But they also have fallen to the Buccaneers and Saints, so why not to the Falcons, who actually have played better the past six weeks despite splitting those games?Jacksonville (2-11) at Baltimore (8-5)After coming on strong last week to beat Miami, the Ravens find themselves in prime position in the AFC North. Their remaining opponents are the lowly Jaguars, Houston and Cleveland. A sweep probably gets them the division crown.Ravens RB Justin Forsett, in the midst of a breakout season, spent 2013 with the Jaguars, rushing six times for 31 yards. Hes got 192 carries for 1,080 yards this year.New Orleans (5-8) at Chicago (5-8), Monday nightHardly what the NFL and ESPN hoped for in a mid-December prime-time affair. Perhaps this could be billed as a matchup of the leagues most disappointing teams, although the 49ers also could stake a claim.Yet New Orleans is tied for first place in the abysmal NFC South. So while the Windy City is whipped by angst over the Bears, the Big Easy remains hopeful that Drew Brees will get the Saints going in the right direction.Minnesota (6-7) at Detroit (9-4)The previous time they met, the Lions had eight sacks, but the Vikings have played much better in the succeeding two months. Under head coach Mike Zimmer, a defensive mastermind, theyve allowed a league-low 131 points in the past eight games.Detroit is in excellent shape for at least an NFC wild card, and might even own one before it finishes the season at Green Bay; next weeks opponent is struggling Chicago.Oakland (2-11) at Kansas City (7-6)The Raiders sent the Chiefs stretch run in the wrong direction by beating Kansas City on Nov. 20, Oaklands first win in 17 games. KC has lost three in a row, while Oakland comes off its second victory, a shocker over San Francisco that could wind up costing the Raiders the No. 1 spot in the draft.Oakland has lost nine straight road games and will need to slow down Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston, who is tied for the league lead with 16 sacks.Tampa Bay (2-11) at Carolina (4-8-1)Derek Anderson gets the start at quarterback after Cam Newton suffered two broken bones in his back in an auto crash. Despite no shot at a winning record this season, the Panthers can still take the NFC South. But even in such a weak sector, winning out is a must.Washington (3-10) at New York Giants (4-9)Not much to recommend here. Perhaps watching whether rookie Odell Beckham Jr. can make more spectacular catches and add to his record string of 90-plus yards receiving in six games. Or if Redskins running back Alfred Morris can rebound from his worst game of 6 yards on eight carries in last weeks shutout loss to St. Louis.New York Jets (2-11) at Tennessee (2-11)Not much to recommend here, either; these are difficult days for NFL fans in the Big Apple.Maybe the race for the top overall draft pick takes precedence, with the loser of this one in solid shape for that, uh, honour.___AP NFL website:
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