Much has been made about what Michal Neuvirth may or may not have said about his teammates, but Braden Holtby told InGoal Magazine that it isn’t a big deal.
In fact, it seems like he agrees with what he believes was Neuvirth’s point.
“He texted me and apologized, but it was blown up too big,” Holtby said. “I have known Michal for a long time and I know what he was trying to say, and I believe it’s the right thing when you figure he had a guy drafted in front of him [Semyon Varlamov], to an NHL veteran [Tomas Vokoun] in front of him, to a guy [Holtby] who is younger than him. So I understand what he was trying to say and I don’t blame him one bit.”
(He almost even dropped a “Michal being Michal” line later in the story, by the way.)
The Washington Capitals are indeed making a gamble on two relatively unproven netminders after parting ways with Vokoun after an up-and-down season.
Holtby has 21 career regular season games and 14 postseason contests on his NHL resume while has played in 108 regular season contests but just nine playoff games.
Combine that inexperience with the likelihood that new head coach Adam Oates will allow the Caps to take more chances offensively (read: not spend the whole game blocking shots) and both goalies might just run the risk of getting “blown up” frequently next season.