When George McPhee executed a deadline trade last season sending a top prospect in Filip Forsberg to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Michael Latta and top 6 forward Martin Erat,, hopes were high that Erat would help the Washington Capitals advance further then the conference semi-finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Fast forward to Game 4 of the Eastern conference quarter finals and Erat leaves the ice after he was sent airborne, getting caught between Derek Stepan and the hard charging great 8 and breaking his elbow. He would miss the final three games of the playoffs without recording a playoff point and only registering three shots on goal.
Of the 19 games Erat was with the Caps last season he missed 6 contests due to injuries, and failed to record a point in 11 of them leaving only 2 games in which Erat recorded points. Has he had enough ice time to prove his worth or does his change in position have something to do with his slow start as a Capital?
That's right, when Erat was recording all that ice time in Nashville he was playing as a right winger. When he arrived in DC last season he was switched to the left side with the idea that since he's a leftie he should play on the left side. Oates loves doing this because its easier to get off one-timers and use the boards to protect the puck. Also, since Mike Ribiero and Matthew Perreault are gone, Erat finds himself as the smallest player on the Caps squad. Could this be the reasoning behind why Oates has him inserted on the fourth line?
After a weak preseason start and Brooks Laich back from injury, Erat may have to prove himself worthy of overtaking one of his teammates and work his way up to the lines to get back to where he believes he belongs. But in the end this is a great problem for the Caps to have. There's something to be said about your hockey team when you have a guy like Martin Erat playing on your fourth line.
Go Caps!
Zach
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