My first thought on the official announcement of the long-known rumor that the 2010 Winter Classic will be at Fenway between the Bruins and Flyers was the same as many others, namely, what a huge mistake NBC made in picking the Flyers over the Capitals.

My second thought was, awesome, that gives me another year to save up so I can actually make my way to wherever it is the Caps play in the Winter Classic (presumably the next 2-3 years).

My third thought was, who the hell will they play when they get it? Boston and Philadelphia will be out, as will the previous teams to play in the Winter Classic- Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. NBC will likely lobby hard for a Capitals-Penguins matchup, but the league would be wise to turn that down. The Pens were in the 2008 game and have been in the past two Stanley Cup finals, they've had more than their fair share of tv time and, more importantly, the other NHL constituent clubs would revolt.

So far the matchups have alternated between Eastern and Western Conference teams, and it wouldn't be surprising for that to continue. Nor would it be surprising to see either a) a pair of Canadian teams, or b) an American and Canadian team meeting on Canadian ice. Expect Montreal and/or Toronto to be involved in that.

Capitals versus Canadiens would be interesting, and could actually happen this season (albeit in November and indoors).

So, who in the Eastern Conference would the Caps play? Canadiens and Maple Leafs, maybe, but it'd be more likely to see them play another American team. Although Puck Daddy would love to see them play on the Reflecting Pool on the Mall (and it's certainly big enough), there's no way the Capitals host an outdoors game. The weather is way too unpredictable. The historic average high on January 1st in Washington, D.C. (20001 zip code) is 43 degrees, and the record high was 69 degrees only four years ago. That would be disastrous.

If a home game is out, so is a game against a Southeast Division opponent. The Rangers, Islanders and Devils would make the most sense geographically. Right now a Capitals-Islanders matchup sounds ridiculous, but if we're looking two or four years in the future then the Next Big Thing could transform into the Real Deal, and maybe even galvanize a New York audience (which is NBC's real interest).

As a dark horse, I'd say Capitals-Senators would be a great thematic match, pitting the two national capitals against each other in competition for the Capital Cup.*

*As an aside, does anyone else remember the Caps and Sens playing for that in the preseason? I totally remember being there one year where the Caps won and hoisted a Capitals-themed trash can as the 'trophy,' but I feel like that could easily be a complete figment of my imagination.

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.