Capitals Acquire Troy Brouwer
As Day 1 of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft concluded, the Capitals acquired a proven 20-goal scorer whose not afraid to get down in the dirty areas and scrap with other player and in only 3 seasons has already etched his name onto the Stanley Cup. The Capitals acquisition of Troy Brouwer in exchange for the 26th overall selection in the draft is one that maybe shocked a few people because of GM George McPhee's reputation as a great drafter or young talent as well as his usual unwillingness to part with draft picks.
During the press conference after the deal had been announced, McPhee commented that this draft was one of the weaker degree, and if there had been some more players that the team was interested, the deal might not have been done.
"We did the deal before the draft, and we thought it might have backfired, but around pick 20 or 21 all the guys we had interested were gone, so it worked out well for us," stated McPhee. He also had plenty of words of praise for Brouwer when asked why he made the deal.
"He's a power forward who can get us 20 goals a year, plays physical, and is supposed to be a real good leader."
Brouwer's Stanley Cup experience also excited the Caps. Having more players who know what it takes to get to the final mountaintop of NHL glory can only help a team that is seen as one of the most talented in NHL history without a Stanley Cup.
With a few more moves like this in the later months of the offseason, the Capitals could be sitting pretty once again and be poised for another playoff run.
