Trade Winds Still Dormant

For the Caps, this year's NHL draft is really about two things: finding value in their picks and potentially ridding themselves of unwanted salaries. The team's picks this time around (round/pick) are 1/24, 2/55, 3/85, 4/115, 5/144, 6/174 and 7/204.

While a pick in this year's draft most likely wouldn't even crack the AHL for another two years (at least), a player involved in a trade should have an immediate impact. As has been discussed several times, Michael Nylander and Jose Theodore are the players the Caps need to get rid of as soon as possible.

Nylander to the KHL rumors still are floating around, but trading him would guarantee that his $5.5 million salary would get off the books. GM George McPhee probably will have to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to get a team to take Nyls, but stranger things have happened.

As for Theo, there are some potential homes for him:

* St. Louis might want a veteran to pair with Chris Mason in a time-share deal. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that there's much to trade back to the Caps.

* Colorado definitely needs a goalie, but no guarantees if Theo would return to that situation. But the Avs do have a few players that might help the Caps, including John-Michael Liles.

* Edmonton's Dwayne Roloson, 39, is a UFA and the Oilers might want a younger player -- especially since Theo only has a year left on his current deal. The team might want to get rid of Sheldon Souray, although that's doubtful.

* If the New York Islanders are, well, themselves, they might consider trading Mark Streit. But his contract doesn't expire until the 2013-14 season, so it's unlikely GMGM would take on that kind of commitment.

* And then there's Toronto, where Brian Burke is as unpredictable as they come. The Leafs definitely don't have a No. 1 goalie for next season and have very few untradable commodities not named Luke Schenn. Pavel Kubina and Tomas Kaberle are two possibilities that would help the Caps and not inflict long-term damage to the salary cap.

So while you admire some of the young up-and-comers on Friday night, keep an ear out for a trade coming from the Caps' table. Maybe GMGM will surprise us all -- or maybe not.