The NHL Lockout is over, and in the days leading up to a much-anticipated training camp, we will be profiling the newest members of the Washington Capitals organization. Today, Joey Crabb.

Date of Birth: April 3, 1983

Place of Birth: Anchorage, Alaska

Age: 29

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 190 Pounds

Position: RW

Pro career:

The only newcomer to be signed by the Washington Capitals on the opening day of free agency, Joey Crabb is expected to inject some much-needed speed and offensive potential to the Caps bottom-six.

The forward arrives on a one-year, $950,000 deal, the first one-way contract of his life, after posting a career year with the Toronto Maple Leafs in his first full NHL season. He is a prototypical third-liner, who is not afraid to throw his weight around, goes in hard on the forecheck, and can put up a decent number of points and be a force on the penalty kill.

Crabb, perhaps a late-bloomer who is still finding his feet in the NHL at the tender age of 29, will be expected to compete with the likes of Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich, and Joel Ward for spots on the Caps third-line. If not, he should make an effective fourth-line winger.

And Crabb will undoubtedly come into training camp fitter than most of his teammates, having already played in 35 games this season with his hometown ECHL Alaska Aces.

Look for Joey Crabb to impress in his first training camp with the Washington Capitals.

Washington Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III will undergo surgery this week to repair a torn LCL.  According to sources, doctors will determine what if any damage was done to the ACL while repairing the LCL.  

According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, Dr. James Andrew will perform the surgery.  Additionally, it was determined that the damage tot he LCL occurred on the play before the bad snap. 

According to doctors, RG3 is expected to be back and be the same next year. 

Criticism has engulfed Redskins HC Mike Shanahan on his allowing Griffin to continue playing last week, despite signs of obvious pain.  Todays news will do little to change that criticism. 

DISCUSS IT HERE IN OUR THREAD

With the re-signing of Adam LaRoche to a two year deal and the earlier acquisition of CF Denard Span, suddenly the Washington Nationals find themselves with a heavy bat, without a permanent spot.  Mike Morse, who played outfield last season and was expected to take over at first base if the Nationals could not sign LaRoche is suddenly expendable.  However, that does not necessarily mean Morse will be dealt, according to Nats GM Mike Rizzo.   

"Nobody said that we have to trade Mike Morse.  There is no financial ramifications that forces us to trade Mike Morse.  We'd move him in the right deal.  We are certainly not going to give him away."

The marathon contract stalemate between Adam LaRoche and Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo is finally over!  LaRoche setting for the two-year offer that has been on the table for months after failing to land the three year deal he had sought. New free agency rules requiring high draft pick compensation created a tough market for LaRoche. Boston and Baltimore were two teams that were very interested in LaRoche, but did not want to give up a first round draft choice as compensation.

The 33 year old LaRoche is coming off a career year, capturing the Gold Glove AND Silver Slugger awards. LaRoche hit 33 home runs and drove in 100 RBI with a .271 average in '12. Nats Manager Davey Johnson had made it very clear that he needed and wanted LaRoche back in a Nats uniform. LaRoche's left handed power bat was a key component of a balanced and dangerous Washington lineup.

With the off-season acquisition of center fielder Denard Span and now LaRoche returning, Mike Morse is the odd man out. The Nationals will be looking to trade Morse for a left handed short reliever and a prospect. Atlanta could be a potential partner with left handed Jonny Venters the prize. The Braves are also loaded with elite starting pitching prospects that Rizzo is seeking.

The Washington Redskins signed five players to futures contracts, essentially retaining the rights of these practice squad players. 

The players receiving new contracts are: 

1. Chigbo Anunoby, a 24-year-old nose tackle;

2. Dominique Hamilton, a 23-year-old defensive lineman;

3. Eric Kettani, a 25-year-old fullback from Navy;

4. Deangelo Peterson, a 24-year-old tight end;

5. Korey Lindsey, a 23-year-old defensive back.

That's all for now.

One week remains (Jan 15) until the deadline for underclassman to enter the 2013 NFL Draft. Seven more players have given up their college eligibility, including four tight end's.

Gavin Escobar TE San Diego State- Escobar has the size (6'6" 250) and the athleticism that fits the new breed of tight end that is changing the game. Projected to go in the second round, Escobar fits the "joker" descrption becoming popluar across the league. With Fred Davis' return an uncertainty, Escobar could be a good fit in Ashburn.

Zach Ertz TE Stanford- Can we call Stanford Tight End U? Ertz was the leading receiver for the Cardinal in 2012 with 69 catches, more than twice as many receptions as anyone on the team. Ertz is 6'6" 250 and many are expecting he and Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert to be the first at the position off the board.

Levine Toilolo TE Stanford- Yes, two tight ends from Stanford are departing early for the pro game. Toilolo finished second on the team in touchdown catches and third in yards receiving. Levine has great size (6'7" 265), but scouts feel he needs to work on his blocking. Colts tight end Coby Fleener, Toilolo and Ertz were often utilitzed together in a three tight end set during Andrew Luck's final season with the Cardinal.

Tyler Eifert TE Notre Dame- I would love to see Eifert in a Redskins uniform next season, but I'm not sure the team can allocate the high pick needed to land the 65" 250 pound All-American. Eifert is an adequate blocker, but his pass catching skills are what has scouts drooling. The 'Skins would be well served taking Eifert with their top pick (2nd round), but they will likely be using that selection on a RT or DB.

Tyler Bray QB Tennessee- Bray is a true gunslinger, but his slight frame (6'5" 210) worries me a bit. Bray has trememdous raw skills, but some have questioned his work ethic. Bray would be best served if given time to develop and getting solid coaching from an established quarterback coach. Bray is a surefire pick in either the first or second round come April.

Michael Ford RB LSU- LSU much be approaching double digits in number of players leaving Baton Route early. Ford is the second running back to depart, joining Spencer Ware. Ford was an elie recruit for Les Miles, but has yet to develop to reach full potential. Ford has the size (5'10" 220) and the durability scouts are looking for. Ford is projected to be selected mid-draft.

Jelani Jenkins LB Florida- Jenkins is a local kid, starring at Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland. A two-way star and Parade All-American in high school, Jenkins was one of the most hotly recruited players in the nation as a senior. Jenkins began his career as the Gators middle linebacker, but has moved outside and is one of the best "cover" linebackers in the draft. Injuries plagued him this season, which may drop him down into the third or fourth round.

The Washington Capitals players are starting to trickle into Washington DC for the start of the abbreviated 2013 NHL season.   That includes Alexander Ovechkin , who arrived in DC yesterday. 

Caps are not wasting time.  Several players, including Jason Chimera, John Carlson, Jay Beagle, Mike Ribeiro and Mike Green, were all on ice yesterday practicing.  New Caps bench boss, Adam Oates, is awaiting all players to arrive so they can begin to assess who is in game shape and who is not.  Not like they have much time to get in shape.  There is a tremendous difference in working out and being in game shape.  They have to get to game shape fairly quickly. 

District Sports Page provides a Southeast Division preview.  As a reminder note, the new CBA did not do anything with realignment, so the Winnipeg Jets remain in Washington's division.  Peerless simulates 40 games and finds the Caps to be slightly better than last season.  There you go.   

Part of the CBA deal was the amnesty clause.  You likely may be familiar with it because of its implementation in the NBA.  The amnesty clause allows teams to delete, get rid of, terminate, end, or however you want to say it, two bad contracts, one in 2013 and one in 2013-14 season.  Chris Lund goes over team by team which contracts could be potential amnesty targets.  For the Caps, he identifies Mike Green and Joel Ward. 

ESPN and Yahoo Puck Daddy report on forgiveness of fans and potential fall out for a second lockout in eight years.  

What sets hockey apart from other sports, in my mind anyway, is its athletes. Hockey players are good guys, simply put. They play the game because they’ve dreamed all of their lives of a Stanley Cup. That’s the No. 1 reason they play. And that’s the most attractive asset the game has.  Yet another lockout makes people forget that after watching players and owners wage an ugly war over money.

Puck Daddy adds ...

During that 113-day ordeal, you were repeatedly condescended to, taken advantage of, and lied to, by both sides of the argument. But never forget that the contents of your wallet, like one of the podded-up humans in The Matrix, are nothing but fuel for a machine that cruelly exploits you.

As of this writing, I know of just a handful of NHL teams that actually took the time to come out and apologize to its hundreds of thousands of fans for the nearly four months of torture through which it just put them.

We shall soon see, once the season starts, how much backlash there will be.  Not only will it be interesting to track attendance rates, but also merchandise sales.  Let's face it, your die hard fans, they will be there.  However, the NHL was well on its way to recovering from the lockout 8 years ago, gaining new fans thanks to some excellent superstars, the development of Winter Classic, and more.  The big question is, are those 'new' fans still going to be there?

The Redskins were crippled by a surprising cap penalty in 2012, but this off-season they can plan for it. But what exactly is the team planning? Coach Mike Shanahan is hinting that owner Dan Snyder hasn't given up the fight.

“Well, I can’t answer that at this time so that means we’re still involved in it. Yes, we’re still involved in it. When I can speak about it, I will speak. But at this time, I can’t. I think that answers your question.”

The Redskins may be challenging what remains from the $36 million dollar sanctions imposed on the team for contractual actions taken during the uncapped year of 2000.

The 2013 salary cap won't be going up much over $120.6 million dollars per team. The team took half the hit last year (%15) and if nothing changes, face an off-season once again short %15.

Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen need to address their own free agents like tight end's Logan Paulsen and Fred Davis, linebacker Rob Jackson, guard Kory Lichtensteiger and fullback Darrel Young, just to name a few. What the team does from there largely depends on how much money is left.

Between the draft and free agency, the team figures to address right tackle, cornerback, safety and possibly even another quarterback.We'll dive into all this in detail in coming weeks, but here are a few prime time names on the "wish list".

For a list of potential free agents the team may consider..... CONTINUE READING

The NFL Mock Draft Database has grown to a whopping 190 mock drafts for the 2013 NFL Draft.  

It is only January! 

Since we put the first mock draft database up on the web some 14 years ago, the growth of mock draft opinions has been staggering.  What is even more incredible is how early websites, blogs, and media outlets begin contemplating the NFL Draft.   It used to be just your aspiring bloggers that would seek web hits by posting 'way too early' mock drafts in August or September would post mocks that early.  Not anymore.  That has expanded way beyond your aspiring bloggers and has grasped the very annals of major sports media.

Hey, who can you blame?  The NFL Draft is one of the highest trafficked (if that is a proper word) topics out there.  People have caught on.    Just makes our job that much more difficult in trying to track all these mocks and then keeping them updated.   Bad enough trying to find new mocks out there.  We used to be inspired to dig, dig, and dig deep in he confines of the Web to find every mock draft possible.  Now we realize, that is nothing more than torture for us, because once we list them, then we have to see if they are updated.  You try checking 450 mock drafts to see if they are updated.  We don't catch them all, but damn it, we try to!  What used to be hard core, heavy duty work in March and April has taken hold in December and January. 

Usually our first munch of the Database does not until early March.  But, like our friends,the mock draft authors, we evolve.  So here we are in January, the beginning of January, with our very first mock draft munch to give you indication of what mock draft writers are projecting for the Top Six picks.  (Let me digress a moment.  Many out there say these mock drafts and writers mean nothing.  True.  However, they have been pretty darn accurate the last few years.  Much like, you know, presidential polls, outside Fox News of course)  So onward we go.

The first mock draft database munch includes all Mock Drafts updated between January 4 though January 7, a total of 42 mock drafts.  We munch them all together and come up with the leader at each of the slots in the Top 6.  (Yes, we will be expanding the database to the top 8 or 9 soon).   Here you go.  Your top 6 leaders according to the mock draft world.

1st Pick (Kansas City):  QB Geno Smith - 20 of the 42 mocks project Smith to KC.  That is 69% believe him to be the top pick overall.  This number was likely higher at one point in December.   

2nd Pick (Jacksonville):  LB Jarvis Jones.  - The sack machine out of Georgia garners 16 projections or 38%.  Not nearly as high as the #1 pick.  This was more solid at one point, but DE Demontre Moore and DE Bjorn Werner are growing in popularity at #2. 

3rd Pick (Oakland) DT Star Lotulelei - The mocks are projecting the Raiders to do something smart here instead of down right weird that we have become accustomed to at draft time with Oakland.  18 mock drafts or 43% project the big defensive tackle to the West Coast.

4th Pick (Philadelphia) OT Luke Joeckel - Joeckel gaines the highest percentage of the projections with 33 mocks or 79% projecting Philly to take the top offensive tackle in the draft. 

5th Pick (Detroit) DE Demontre Moore - As expected, as you get deeper in the pick, the projection become less certain.  Moore leads here with just 11 projections or 26%.

6th Pick (Cleveland) DE Demontre Moore - Read the above statement.  It applies here as well.

There you go.  We will munch the NFL Mock Draft Database from time to time before becoming much more frequent by March.  In the mean time, FOLLOW THE DATABASE ON TWITTER and LIKE OUR DATABASE ON FACEBOOK.     

The Washington Post is reporting Redskins QB Robert Griffin III has a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligment in the right knee. 

One person with knowledge of the situation said Griffin might have to undergo exploratory surgery to determine the extent of the damage and whether the injuries are new. Another said Griffin hopes to avoid full-blown reconstructive surgery if the tears are partial, even if they are new injuries.