The Capitals continued a busy week by signing restricted free agent Eric Fehr to a two-year contract on Thursday. The team earlier signed defenseman Jeff Schultz and forward Boyd Gordon. All three were headed to arbitration without a deal this month. Fehr’s contract is for two years, $2.2 million, according to NHL sources. That triples his salary, but still leaves Washington about $8.6 million under the NHL salary cap with four roster spots left open. Forward Tomas Fleischmann is the team’s only high-profile restricted free agent left.
Fehr, 24, scored a career high 21 goals in 2009-10 despite averaging just 12 minutes, 7 seconds of ice time – 12th among all Caps forwards. He also added 18 assists. Does a bigger role await in 2010-11?
“I’m definitely hoping that’s the case,” Fehr said. “That was part of the reason why I wanted a two-year deal where I could just go out and play and not have to worry about re-signing at the end of the season.”
Fehr is one of the few Caps who consistently uses Twitter - @EricFehr16. So one day after NBA star – and Prince George’s County native – Kevin Durant announced his five-year contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a tweet Fehr did the same. LeBron James take note.
The big thing for Fehr this summer is an actual chance to train for the upcoming season. Last year at this time he was coming off double shoulder surgery and needed his wife to feed him for a a few weeks. He couldn't lift his arms abopve his head. A chronic back injury also limited him in his past.
“I honestly can’t remember [the last healthy summer],” said Fehr, who noted he’s had a surgery-free offseason. “It must have been one year after junior or something. But you know what – it’s been a while.”
The Caps have about $8.6 million in cap space left. They still have time to work out a deal with Fleischmann’s camp – though the two sides are further apart than Gordon, Schultz and Fehr were. The final three roster spots could go to players already in the system, too, if center Marcus Johansson, the 2009 first-round draft pick from Sweden, and center Mathieu Perreault, who had some nice moments with the Caps last season and helped Hershey to the Calder Cup title, prove themselves in training camp. Add in another minimum-salary player from Hershey and the Caps would have plenty of cash to swing a mid-season trade, if needed. Not many NHL teams can say that. But for Fehr, at least, the waiting is over. Now begins the work of building on that breakthrough season and earning more ice time in the process.
“I still feel like I have a lot to give and hopefully I’ll be able to score a few more goals than 21,” Fehr said. “I feel a little bit better about a shorter-team deal.”
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