Caps' McPhee updates trade status of Erat, Orlov, Neuvirth

CSNWashington.com relays a few trade-related thoughts from Capitals GM George McPhee, as he addressed the trade requests from Martin Erat (player to GM), along with Dmitry Orlov and Michal Neuvirth (agents to GM).

“Things can change with players,” McPhee said. “With respect to agents, you get five of those – I think every team gets five of those requests every year.

“Someone isn’t playing well or not playing enough, can you give him a chance someplace else? The only thing we put stock in is when a player walks in our office and says to me, ‘I’d like an opportunity someplace else.’ Then you try to accommodate him.

“Sometimes that changes throughout the year. If he starts playing better, he may say, ‘You know what? I was wrong. I want to change my mind.’”

On Erat specifically: “I don’t think that’s going to change,” McPhee said of Erat’s request. “I’ll talk to him when he gets back and if he still wants to be traded, we’ll try to accommodate him.

“It’s been a difficult year with transactions. Had this been a typical year we might have been able to move him within weeks of his request, but that wasn’t the case this year.”

McPhee indicates he expects both Orlov and Neuvirth to stay on the Caps' roster.

Source: Chuck Gormley, CSNWashington.com