JOHN ERSKINE RUMORS & GOSSIP

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is rough and tumble defenseman John Erskine, who completed...

The Bruins remain down in the nation’s capital for what they hope will be their final visit to Washington this season. Boston currently leads the Capitals 2-1 in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. A win Thursday in D.C. in Game 4 would give the Bruins a chance to close out the series on home ice in Game 5 at the Garden on Saturday. A loss Thursday guarantees a return...

from Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, The Washington Capitals could be stiffening up for Game 4 after getting pushed around by the Bruins in their own building on Monday night. Capitals coach Dale Hunter put bruising defenseman John Erskine on a defenseman pair with Dennis Wideman at practice on Wednesday afternoon at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and mentioned a desire to “protect”...

After the series took a nasty turn in Game 3, the Capitals appear ready to bulk up for the next battle. While the main focus for Washington will be replacing Nicklas Backstrom up front as he serves a one-game suspension for cross-checking Bruins forward Rich Peverley, reports out of Washington hint that the Capitals might be making changes on their blue line as well. Perhaps in response...

Follow me @jaeckel WASHINGTON RUMOR: Late breaking, Hawks have (I’m hearing this morning) discussed a deal for big Cap defenseman John Erskine. There also has been a discussion of a larger deal involving Jeff Halpern (as I predicted on the message board thread this AM) and a number of Hawk prospects. As reported by al Cimaglia yesterday, a contingent of Cap scouts has been...

#4A.K.A. "Big John"Position: DefensemanHeight: 6' 4" Weight: 220 Shoots: LeftBorn: 6/26/80, Kingston, Ontario Drafted: 1998, 2nd Round, 39th Overall (Dallas)Acquired:  9/14/06, Signed as an Unrestricted Free AgentPlayer Pages CapGeek - NHL - TSN - LOH - HR - HF Regular Season NHL StatsPP SH Season Salary Team GP G A P +/- PIM G A...

Ever since John Erskine had his breakout performance last season, a debate has been going on between Capitals bloggers, fans, and media: when the lineup is fully intact among defensemen, does Erskine or Jeff Schultz deserve to get the call on a nightly basis?  Under Bruce Boudreau, the answer was almost always Schultz.  Boudreau had seen what Schultz could do every night when he...

The John Erskine vs. Arron Asham fight in the first period of Thursday’s Caps-Pens game seemed self-explanatory: it looked like retaliation for Asham’s lambasting of Capitals forward Jay Beagle in October and his classless gesture afterwards. But Erskine, after Thursday’s game, was sticking to the mantra that the fight wasn’t related to the earlier Beagle incident. “It...

Washington Capitals defenseman John Erskine will make his season debut on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks. Erskine has been sidelined since the playoffs last season with a shoulder injury. He had surgery shortly after the Capitals were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 31-year-old Erskine, who will likely be paired with Jeff Schultz...

Three weeks into the young NHL season, Washington Capitals defenseman John Erskine has still not been cleared by team doctors for contact. Erskine underwent shoulder surgery early in the offseason this past spring and was expected to be cleared for contact within the first few weeks of the season. Erskine was supposed to see a lot of minutes on the blue line this year as a shutdown...