DC Hockey Spot's Take:
Solid move for both teams. For years the knock on the Capitals has been a lack of a shut down stay at home defenseman. Hannan is all that and adds much needed veteran leadership on a very young back line. The Caps now have a very nice mix of experience on the backline. They have their young stars in Carlson and Alzner, their "coming into their primes" in Green and Schultz, and now veteran leadership in Poti and Hannan. 9And Erskine has been great in my opinion this year and provides a lot of depth in the case of injury of stagnant play.) Hannan blocks shots, plays tough in front of the net, and is responsible in his own zone. I assume he and Poti will now become the shutdown pair to allow the other pairings to play more to their strengths. I really think this makes the Capitals d-corp a well rounded unit and addressed their biggest need- shutdown defense.
And what about Fleischmann. As GMGM said today, Flash has been great for the Capitals and was a big part of their turnaround. But the bottom line is that he had become more of a luxury than a necessity. The Capitals have plenty of offense firepower and could afford to make changes up front. Flash did not work out as a center as well as Boudreau would have liked and the wings in DC are pretty solid. Flash has a ton of talent and should be a 25-30 goal scorer, but in a year when it is truly Cup or bust, this was the right move.
So what does this mean for the Caps and their lineup. First and foremost, the team must love Marcus Johansson. Saddling him with 2nd line center duties is a big task for a freshman, but they must like what they have seen. This also means Fehr and Knuble need to start producing. Also lost in the shuffle is the fact that Gordon and Hendricks should be in the lineup almost every night, which has meant success more often than not this year.
Agree with me? Think I am crazy? Let me know!
