Caps Beef Up! Part 2!

The Hershey Bears announced today that they have come to terms with three players: Ashton Rome, Joel Rechlicz, and Todd Ford. All three are signed to AHL contracts.

Rechlicz, also known as Recker, is not a true heavyweight, but can step in if needed to match up with the top guys. He is, however, an energy guy who is great on the forecheck, and is not a defensive liability. Playing for a very bad New York Islanders team for a total of 23 games between 08-09 and 09-10, Recker only registered a -3. That translates to a -11 over a full season, which is not good by any means, but for a guy who does not get shifts with goal scorers, it could be a hell of a lot worse.

Overall, a good depth signing. I doubt he will dress for the Caps at any point, but he will at least make Hershey a bit more exciting. Losing Sugar was a bad move, but at least they replaced him with someone they plan on playing more.

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In other news, GMGM made public comments regarding the King trade.

McPhee mentioned King in the same breath as Kocur, which is one of the highest honors a fighter can get. King, in McPhee's eyes, is a player who, "brings grit but looks like he could be a reliable player." McPhee went on to say describe the three categories of fighters as, "The second group are fighters who can play a little bit. The third and most desirable are players who can fight a little bit if they have to." King falls between two and three, in his eyes.

McPhee also said that King will be on the Capitals roster, competing for fourth line minutes. He apparently plans on dressing 13 forwards, or more likely 7 defensemen, and rotating King in the lineup against the tougher teams. Thankfully, almost everyone in the East has a heavy, so King should get a lot of games.

As I said earlier, SDR was not ready to play for the Capitals this year, so the Caps got rid of him. The point of drafting prospects is to have flexibility in the roster. If the team is comfortable with the lineup at present, they can trade prospects to plug any gaps. SDR might become an impact player in the future, and he might not, but King is an impact player now. We lost a seventh round draftee to fill our biggest hole. Fair trade.

Read the whole article here. Great read from one of my favorite hockey writers.