John Carlson News

Hey all! Welcome to Arctic Ice Hockey's first annual NHL Mock Draft. Over the next thirty days, Ryan, Tim and myself will attempt to telepathically channel the minds of NHL General Managers as they complete their final rankings in preparation for the 2012 NHL Draft being held June 22, 2012 in Pittsburgh, PA.

This is the second part in a three-part series where I am taking a look ahead to next season and putting together what the Caps roster might look like.

As the Washington Capitals enter yet another offseason with bitterness stemming from a disappointingly early playoff exit, George McPhee has to be wondering what he can possibly do to help the franchise advance beyond the second round for the first time since 1998.

Alex Ovechkin , Jeff Schultz , Joel Ward , Jeff Halpern , Matt Hendricks , Roman Hamrlik , John Carlson , Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals A made an important move in their organization Wednesday, extending their agreement with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears .

Professional athletes are expected to talk to the media. There are few, if any, athletes who haven't given an interview at one time or another.

The United States looked to have the best team it's put into the Worlds in a long, long time.

Brooks Laich, John Carlson, Mathieu Perreault and Joel Ward attended last night's United game, complete in matching personalized jerseys.

So which to do first? On breakdown day, McPhee was characteristically tight-lipped when asked about his ideal timeline for having a new coach in place.

He cited personal and family reasons, and when someone cites personal and family reasons, that quite often is it.

Less than 48 hours after being eliminated from the 2012 NHL Playoffs, the Washington Capitals now face another tremendous setback.

Rangers move on Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers celebrates his third-period goal with teammates as Jason Chimera of the Washington Capitals looks on during Game 7 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.

Yes, that is a bold statement and, to a great extent, it flies in the face of not just conventional wisdom but history as well.

Crunch the numbers, ride the waves of momentum, and then try to guess if the Washington Capitals or New York Rangers will survive another Game 7 and move on to the Eastern Conference finals.

Washington goalie Braden Holtby prepares to catch the puck as defenseman Roman Hamrlik and Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan battle in the first period.

Perhaps Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich thinks that saying something makes it so.

With goalie Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker, Washington's Joel Ward took a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Carl Hagelin with 21.3 seconds left in the third period.

NEW YORK - Marc Staal scored a power-play goal 1:35 into overtime after Brad Richards tied it in the dying seconds of regulation to lift the New York Rangers to a stunning 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night.

The New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Washington Capitals in overtime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry Fraser wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca ! A number of things happened in games during the weekend that stimulated questions.