Injuries or Not, Capitals Want Jagr

Nearly two weeks into the season, Jaromir Jagr already has proved that he is as injury-prone in Washington as he was in Pittsburgh, but that hasn’t stopped the Capitals from making a long-term commitment to the high-scoring winger.

Jagr, who sat out Washington’s last two games because of a right knee injury and is questionable for tonight’s game against the Kings at Staples Center, and the Capitals are close to completing a five-year, $60-million contract extension.

“I don’t know how long the contract [extension] is going to take [to be finalized],” Jagr said Friday before the Capitals’ loss to the Mighty Ducks at the Arrowhead Pond. “I will have to wait until I find out.”

In the short time he has been with the Capitals, Jagr has shown a willingness to be a team player, something he was not always known for when he played with the Penguins.

“He’s really trying to fit in with us as far as learning [how] the system goes,” goaltender Olie Kolzig said about Jagr. “I don’t think he wants to be the rebel of the team.”

Jagr’s reputation hit an all-time low last season with Pittsburgh when he was criticized for not getting along with then-coach Ivan Hlinka, who was fired by the Penguins on Monday after losing the first four games of the season. Which is why Jagr is happy to be playing with the Capitals.

“It looked like the defense turned against me and whatever I did it was wrong, no matter what I did,” Jagr said about leaving Pittsburgh. “Everybody knows how it is if it doesn’t go the right way. I knew I would be the guy to blame and I didn’t want that.”

In his recent autobiography, Jagr didn’t hold back from ripping Hlinka.

“First, he took away my ice time,” Jagr said in his book. “He acted kind of like [Robin Hood], he took from the rich and gave it to the poor. I wasn’t able to cope with it, and the consequences of it showed during the playoffs.”

Hlinka tried to make Jagr a more responsible player on defense and it didn’t work. Jagr is not expected to have that problem with the Capitals, who want to take advantage of what he does best-scoring.

“He gets a little bit more leniency as far as [playing defense] goes,” Kolzig said. “His true talents are what happens on [the offensive end]. We have a great group of players who can support him on defense. If he gives up one goal and gets us two on his shift, I think we can live with that.”

That’s why Washington is willing to commit about $80 million to Jagr, who will make $19.5 million over the final two years of his current contract.

Jagr’s teammates realize that his scoring may be the final piece needed to get Washington back to the Stanley Cup finals, where Detroit swept them in 1997-98. With a solid defense headed by Kolzig in goal and a skillful group of forwards, which includes Peter Bondra and Adam Oates, the Capitals believe their time is now.

“The year we made [our Stanley Cup] run, we took a lot of people by surprise,” Kolzig said. “I don’t think anybody going into the season expected us to do what we did. It’s a little different in a sense that this year there’s a lot of expectations on our team. I think we’re doing as much as we can to hold up to those expectations.

“The standards in the dressing room are probably a lot higher than what people in the media write about us. So if we live up to what we think, we’ll be pretty good this year.”

Backups Step Up

Two backup goaltenders who led teams in wins and goals-against average last season are off to strong starts in their new roles this season.

St. Louis goalie Fred Brathwaite, who had 15 wins-including five shutouts-with Calgary last season, splits time with starter Brent Johnson, but has made a strong case to be the No. 1 goalie in his two starts. Brathwaite is 1-0-1 with a .907 save percentage to Johnson’s .842.

“Freddy has played well. He’s made a lot of big saves,” said St. Louis forward Doug Weight, who played with Brathwaite in Calgary last season.

Tampa Bay’s Kevin Weekes also has stepped up. Last season, Weekes led the Lightning with 20 wins and an .898 save percentage.

But he became the backup when Tampa Bay acquired Nikolai Khabibulin late last season.

Khabibulin started the first three games-all losses-before Weekes got the call. All he did was make 31 saves in beating the Kings, 1-0, for his seventh career shutout.

“He’s stayed very positive,” Lightning left wing Dave Andreychuk said about Weekes. “For a backup guy, you have to be ready to play and you have to work hard in practice, and he’s done that.”

Better Suited for WWF

It doesn’t seem as if Toronto’s Tie Domi has learned anything from his eight-game suspension for hitting New Jersey’s Scott Niedermayer with a cheap shot to the head in last season’s playoffs.

Instead of taking responsibility for his actions on the ice, Domi is blaming the media for his reputation of being a dirty player.

“It’s tough not to be playing,” Domi told George Gross of Faceoff.com. “I [can’t watch games] from the press box [like other suspended players]. I prefer watching it in our dressing room.

“This suspension is very painful, but I have learned something from it for my life after hockey. The game has changed, so have the players, but so too have members of the media.”

Domi, who has been involved in numerous violent acts in his 13 years in the league, said part of the problem is how the NHL is marketing hockey in the U.S.

“The way they’re promoting hockey in the U.S. is like it’s a game for ballerinas,” he said. “How do they market the NFL? Why, they call it, ‘War in the NFL on Sunday.’ People love it. Just as they love the WWF, even though the outcome is not real.”

Line Shifts

It’s really not a shock to see Pittsburgh fire Hlinka after the Penguins scored only seven goals in going 0-4. Assistant Rick Kehoe got the nod, but expect Mario Lemieux to play an even larger role in what type of system the Penguins will play.... Atlanta center Patrik Stefan will be out at least another month after undergoing surgery to repair a broken jaw suffered when the stick of Boston’s Bill Guerin accidentally hit him Oct. 6. As a result of Stefan’s injury, the top line for the Thrashers has Ray Ferraro centering Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley. At 37, Ferraro is a year younger than the combined age of his wingers....

Detroit’s Brendan Shanahan on NHL officiating this season: “In the three games I’ve seen so far, it’s just a joke,” he said after the Red Wings’ 4-2 loss to Calgary last week. “I’m all for protecting the players, and protecting players around the boards, and eliminating dirty plays from the National Hockey League. But divers are being rewarded in this league. And, without addressing it, the league is losing some of its integrity.”....

Word is that Wayne Gretzky is thinking of going with Patrick Roy as starting goaltender for Team Canada in the Olympics with Toronto’s Curtis Joseph as the backup....

Florida Coach Duane Sutter was so fed up with Pavel Bure’s lack of discipline, he benched the high-scoring forward for two shifts in the third period of a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. Bure has been called for a stick infraction in four consecutive games....

Phoenix Coyote captain Teppo Numminen will tie Tomas Steen’s franchise record of 950 games played tonight against Boston.