Oleg Saprykin shipped to Washington

With Saprykin's refusal to sign in Boston made official by his statement of "I refuse to sign with the Bruins under any circumstances", the hockey club had to act fast in order to make something happen. Saprykin was immediately put on the market in the effort to draw a bit of a bidding spat - since it wouldn't be a full fledged war - to get some bit of value for Saprykin.

Ultimately, though, it came down to just two teams - Colorado and Washington. Both made some attractive offers, but the ultimate tip went to Washington when they solidified their offer with a conditional pick based on Sparykin signing.

"While we know the pick is not guaranteed," Bruins GM Joshua Anderson said from his car phone, still lost in Luxembourg, "there is a shot, at least, of the little bee-yotch signing in Washington, which would add a fourth round pick to our coffers. Colorado did not match nor beat that offer, so that tipped the scales in Washington's direction."

In addition to the conditional pick, the Bruins acquired the Philadelphia Flyers second round pick in 2009 and Washington's second round pick in 2010.

"Both the Flyers and the Capitals are mid-level contenders," Anderson explained. "We know that just as easily as these could be junk picks, the wheels could fall off either wagon at any time, and these could be prime potential picks. Even if they are not, though, they are ammunition for either some wheelin' and dealin' come restricted free agent time, or for restocking the farm system, which as has been lamented regularly, is pretty thin."

Oleg Saprykin, plane crash survivor, lost boy, strip club connosieur... Washington Capitals property.