Washington Gets Jason Chimera from Columbus: How Does This Impact the Caps?

When you think of teams that are trying to improve their lineups, you may think of the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, the Capitals are the last team that you would expect to make a trade.

It was announced Monday night that the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets had reached an agreement. This agreement sent Jason Chimera to Washington for Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina.

Columbus is gaining a couple of strong, gritty players. Clark is a talented power forward who will fit well on the second or third line, and Jurcina is a huge defenseman.

It looks like the Capitals are trying to add a little bit of depth. With Chimera, they are going to get a talented player on the second and third line. If the chemistry is there, he may even play on the first line.

The thing that I find interesting about this trade is that the best offense in the NHL is trying to add more offensive talent. I'm not sure why they're doing that. To me, it would make more sense to try to improve their defense.

Although the Caps have a strong team, their defense needs to be improved more than their offense.

Chimera is known for his speed, but he hasn't been having the best year. He only has eight goals and nine assists. However, this speed could make him a solid backchecker.

Although this trade will help both teams, I think that Columbus got the better end of the deal. They got a couple of strong players, and some talented leadership in Clark.

That's exactly what the Blue Jackets needed on such a young team. They need a little bit of veteran leadership to help educate the younger guys.

See more of my NHL opinions at Tips for Hockey