Playing deadline day ‘a distraction’

WASHINGTON — Brooks Orpik’s most vivid memory of trade deadline day mayhem is a decade old now, but fresh all the same. He was in his fourth season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the team had pulled off a blockbuster for winger Marian Hossa just minutes before the cutoff time. But with the Penguins playing the New York Islanders that night, not everyone was immediately aware the deal went down.

“Obviously, most guys nap from 1 [p.m.] to 4 or whatever,” Orpik said. “Colby Armstrong was on our team, and he was a really well-liked guy. He woke up, and I think his momhadcalled him actually. That’s how he found out [he’d been traded]. I don’t think he believed it at first. I think he’d probably laugh about it now, but he was pretty devastated at the time.

“Fans and media are really excited about it, and people overlook the humanside of a guy who’s played in one organization. He doesn’t think he’s going to ever get movedandhewakesupfromanapandhe’sbeentraded to a different team. It can be really tough on guys.”

Trade deadline day brings anxiety for players in even the most secure situations. Sometimes it’s their friends who are getting uprooted, and Orpik mentioned that it was hard for Washington Capitals players to see extra defenseman Taylor Chorney waived last week because he was popular in the locker room. For the 10 teams who will play a game today, including the Capitals in Columbus, there’s an added layer of tension.

“I think what happens on that day is all of the players, as soon as they got off the ice for morning skate or whatever, they’re all looking on their phones,” coach Barry Trotz said.

So, should teams even play on the day of the trade deadline? “It’s definitely a distraction for guys,” Orpik said. The sense around Washington is that this trade deadline will pass by quietly. The Capitals have already acquired two mobile, puck-moving defensemen in Czechs Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek, and while three players on the team could be reassigned to the American Hockey League without clearing waivers, Washington’s tight salary cap situation is prohibitive from the team making any “big” moves without dealing a player on the current roster. The Capitals are also taking a more conservative approach after trading a first-round pick and top prospect to St. Louis last February for defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.

But around the league, this is shaping up to be one of the more active trade deadline days in recent memory.

“I don’t really focus too much on it,” Capitals center Jay Beagle said. “I’ll all of a sudden see a new guy on a new team when we play them and be like, ‘Oh, all right, he must have gotten traded.’ I don’t really check or pay too much attention to it.” Tonight, 7 TV: NBC Sports Washington Radio: 106.7 FM