Photos by Jess Rapfogel
The Washington Capitals organization once again welcomed journalists on Tuesday to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into their craft. Newspaper writers, radio DJs, TV personalities, bloggers and photographers sat in on several discussions about things like salary cap management and video revue, before lacing up skates and taking to the ice.
“This is your day to be a Cap!” Caps head coach Spencer Carbery told the media, which included folks like J.P. Flaim and John Auville of the Sports Junkies radio program, Alexa Landestoy from the Caps pregame and postgame shows, the Athletic’s Tarik el-Bashir, and the NHL’s William Douglas. Caps color commentator Craig Laughlin and radio color color commentator Ken Sabourin severed as coaches for the two teams, while Caps players Alex Alexeyev, Joe Snively and Alex Limoges served as drill runners.
Assistant GM Don Fishman spoke at length about the complexities of the salary cap and contract negotiations, noting that he’s more of a lawyer than a hockey person, though he grew up in the area as a fan.
“You guys usually get it mostly right,” he said when asked if the media reports salary cap issues properly.
Fishman also told some stories about contract negotiations with Alex Ovechkin, noting that Ovi’s mother was a tough negotiator the first time around, and Ovi had to settle her down.
Fishman also noted that he appreciated agents because it makes his job easier to go over fine details of contracts, things that might be lost on the players.
“How many games are the Commanders going to win?” el-Bashir asked for some reason, to which Fishman replied “My head says 7-10, me heart says 10-7.”
Next up, longtime Caps video coach Brett Leonhardt reminded the media about everything that goes into preparation for a single game. Leading up to any opponent, he and Emily Engel-Natzke watch multiple games of that opponent to size them up. During a game, they’ll watch both team’s broadcasts, plus a hawk-eye view, and check to see if a play is offsides even if a goal isn’t scored.
Leonhardt mentioned Artificial Intelligence, a hot topic these noting that it’s mainly used right now for load management for players.
After the lectures, the media members took to the ice, running puck-handling drills, skating drills, and mini-scrimmages. The fun ended with a media game, where a few beer league ringers, yours truly included, felt like we were good because we were skating circles around folks who barely know how to skate. Hats off to Bears reporter Allie Berube, who ‘accidentally’ hip-checked me and sent me flying.
This is the second time in four years that the Caps held this event.
