Sutherby, Cali style

Forgot to throw this up here with all the holiday festivities. Looks like Brian Sutherby is doing well in CA and is happy to be there. Since he wasnt getting any playing time here, we hope he gets the chance he wants to prove that he was well drafted in the first round. We wish him luck with the Ducks.

"It's obviously nice any time you're wanted," Sutherby said. "When I was kind of in and out of the lineup there, I never really asked the question, 'What's going on?' It was more, 'OK, let's move on.'

"It was time for a change. I never really dug into it with the coaching staff or the general manager about why I wasn't in the lineup."

Brian Sutherby trade

Tarik has the full word on it, but Brian Sutherby has been packed off to Anaheim. The Caps get an 09 draft pick for him, and Sutherby gets a second chance.

I caught Sutherby on his cell phone a little while ago. He's at the airport waiting for a flight to Anaheim, where he'll practice with the Ducks in the morning and then travel with the team to Dallas for their game Wednesday night.

Here's what he had to say:

"I've been expecting something to happen for a while now. Every day I came to the rink not knowing if something was going to happen. So I guess it was just a matter of time."

"There's a lot of emotions. Right off the hop, you're excited about getting an opportunity to go play, and for a very good team. Then you sit back and think about all the good times you had here, all the guys and good teammates I've played with."

"It's obviously exciting in that aspect, but it's tough to leave the guys."

Sutherby didn't have any unkind words for anyone here. He just sounded happy to be getting a chance somewhere. He also said Anaheim is one of the few teams in the league where he doesn't know anyone, though he skated with Chris Pronger a few summer summers ago

Caps re-sign Eminger and Sutherby

From the Caps:

The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Steve Eminger and center Brian Sutherby, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Brooks Laich and Milan Jurcina both have arbitration hearings at the end of this month. I bet we will hear about a multi-year deal for Jurcina before then.

The Caps have also signed G prospect Simeon Varlamov to a three year entry level contract, but from what Tarik writes, Varlamov will probably be spending at least another year playing in Russia.

During a brief interview with goaltender Simeon Varlamov last night, I asked him why he wanted a clause in his contract that allows him to return to Russia next season. Here's what he said:

"Because there is such a provision in my contract, that means I want to play next year at home in Russia. I want to become tougher mentally and physically, and I can do that by playing another year at the highest level back home."