A long list of injuries add to the resume of Chris Clark. A known scorer, hard player and gritty offender, Clark is now out for the season. The captain has been watching from the sidelines for a good majority of the past two seasons. Now the captain will finish out a third season off the ice; he prepared for a mid-season wrist surgery last week. His newest injury will keep him out at least until the playoffs.
While injuries are beneficial to no one, they are particularly unhelpful to Clark and his Capitals. As of late, new young talent has flooded the roster, gently filling Clark's place. As the team develops without their captain, it makes it harder for him to jump back into the line-up. His rusting skills have to catch up with the fresh, practised talent, which is difficult, given the amount of time he spends on injured reserve. I must say it is saddening to see Bruce Boudreau list him as a healthy scratch, simply because his play is stagnant.
So therefore, the question becomes what should be done with him? There is no question about Clark's commitment (if he could be playing, he would) or skill (he made it to the NHL didn't he?), the question is does he still belong in Washington.
Loyalty to Clark as a Capital makes me want to keep him, but common sense says no. What good is a player who is never in the line-up? Great captain or no, Clark is not doing his team any favors on the sidelines. With such a full roster both in Washington and Hershey, it is hard to find a spot for an injury plagued player.
What the Capitals will do remains in question. It is clear that Clark's captaincy is not, and never was, an issue. The team loves and respects him, as do management and the fans. I don't believe that the team would ever consider taking the "C" away from him, even though they have a ready captain in Ovechkin. But if he can do no more to aide his team, then the Capitals may look for a trade to help advance them in their Stanley Cup chase.
While injuries are beneficial to no one, they are particularly unhelpful to Clark and his Capitals. As of late, new young talent has flooded the roster, gently filling Clark's place. As the team develops without their captain, it makes it harder for him to jump back into the line-up. His rusting skills have to catch up with the fresh, practised talent, which is difficult, given the amount of time he spends on injured reserve. I must say it is saddening to see Bruce Boudreau list him as a healthy scratch, simply because his play is stagnant.
So therefore, the question becomes what should be done with him? There is no question about Clark's commitment (if he could be playing, he would) or skill (he made it to the NHL didn't he?), the question is does he still belong in Washington.
Loyalty to Clark as a Capital makes me want to keep him, but common sense says no. What good is a player who is never in the line-up? Great captain or no, Clark is not doing his team any favors on the sidelines. With such a full roster both in Washington and Hershey, it is hard to find a spot for an injury plagued player.
What the Capitals will do remains in question. It is clear that Clark's captaincy is not, and never was, an issue. The team loves and respects him, as do management and the fans. I don't believe that the team would ever consider taking the "C" away from him, even though they have a ready captain in Ovechkin. But if he can do no more to aide his team, then the Capitals may look for a trade to help advance them in their Stanley Cup chase.
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