Mike Ribeiro isn’t thinking about where he’ll be April 3rd: “I can put things in different places at the right time. I don’t think about it before the game or during the next few days or so. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. So we’ll see what this week brings us and then we’ll go from there.”
Ribeiro turned down an extension earlier in the week that would have paid him $14M over the next 3 years, but he has made it known that he is only looking for a 4-5 year deal as he doesn’t want to bounce around with his family in tow. He’d rather settle down and look towards the future and he says he’d like to do that in Washington.
“I’m comfortable here with the guys. Obviously we have a great team here. I believe in the team that can make damage,” Ribeiro said. “It’s a short season and we had a bad start. If you look at the talent and the team we have here I’m pretty comfortable staying here.”
Ribeiro has been the Caps best and most consistent player so far this year. Not only that, he has taken it upon himself to be a leader on and off the ice. When he first arrived, he was very vocal with the team and was afraid to pinpoint problems and make everyone aware of how he felt. While most new players would be afraid of speaking their mind on a brand new team, it was quite a breath of fresh air for a Caps team who hasn’t had a good locker room prescence in quite some time.
“ His commitment is in this locker room, I think he wants to stay here and he’s been one of our best players and we’d sure like to have him,” Brooks Laich said.
Courtesy: Scott Levy
The Capitals have been doing well as of late and it’s tough to say how they will handle Ribeiro, whether they sign him to a 4-5 year deal and risk losing another player in the future, like an Alzner, or ship him out and try to get the best return possible. The need for a good second line center in the NHL is high and almost every team in a playoff hunt wants someone like Ribeiro – bad. The San Jose Sharks are high on the list of potential suitors, however the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks would love Ribeiro as well.
Wherever he ends up, whethers it’s across the map in British Columbia or here in Washington, one thing for sure is that Riberio has found his game and found a calm place to settle down on and off the ice.
“I think I’ve said that from the get-go. I don’t want to move all the time,” Ribeiro said. “If I get traded before the end of this year and then move again at the beginning of the next year — So we’ll see. It’s part of the business and we’ll see where that goes.”
