One small addition = One big improvement?

Last week, for an opening post, I drafted up a nice piece about how the Knuble acquisition was very good for the Capitals but the continuing lack of a real second-line center was still extremely problematic. Whoops.

Now, my original post was predicated on the argument that Brooks Laich, while in general a serviceable second-line center- he wins faceoffs, is very responsible defensively, can score (two straight 20-goal seasons) and set up teammates (30 assists last season)- he is not the type of pivot that excels with a winger like Alexander Semin. In some instances Semin, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom play together, but usually the two Alexes are separated.

Without getting too reductive in terms of each player's skill set, Ovechkin is the type of winger who creates his own scoring chances while Semin (who is certainly capable of the same) excels more as a finisher, i.e. working in tandem with a set-up man. Laich may have had 30 assists last year, but when your signature move is almost losing the puck on a breakaway, you're more suited to crashing the net than dishing to Semin. Brendan Morrison, on the other hand, is a playmaker. He has seven 30+ assist seasons, and while Japer's Rink is pretty excited about his goal-scoring potential, the Caps don't need another 20-goal scorer, they need a quality set-up man who can also skate up and down the ice in Bruce Boudreau's up-tempo system (as an aside, I'm very disappointed there aren't any videos on Youtube showing Michael Nylander aimlessly skating in circles in the offensive zone).

It remains to be seen if Morrison fulfills his destiny as a #2 pivot, obviously, but this was a shrewd move by GM George McPhee, who likely targeted a couple free agent centers and then waited past the first week of free agency for prices to drop before snagging a bargain (I might be giving McPhee too much credit here, but probably not). Backstrom is definitely the Caps #1 center, Dave Steckel and Boyd Gordon are very good as 3rd and 4th line centers, but Fedorov's departure left the second slot wide open. Nylander is out of the picture because of his style and lack of productivity, and while Keith Aucoin will be good competition for Morrison, expect the newly-acquired former Hobey Baker winner to win out. While Fedorov's leadership is irreplaceable, Morrison (or even Aucoin for that matter) will even be an improvement in terms of on-ice performance.