fedfed
@FedFedRMNB
Eric Fehr is one of the best feel-good stories in the NHL in recent years.
Many Caps fans didn't like the guy mostly because Caps took him 18th in the 2003 Draft. Ryan Getzlaf was 19th, Brent Burns was 20th, and Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, Corey Perry all want later in the first round.
His first stint with the Caps he suffered from chronic shoulder injuries that prevented him from becoming a goal scorer he was supposed to be after being a two-time 50-goal scorer in the WHL. In 2011, he was traded for almost nothing to Winnipeg as a hometown boy for the relocated Jets.
After missing 112 of 328 games between 2008 and 2012, Eric Fehr ended up without NHL contract prior to the work stoppage. To be honest, at that point I thought we've seen the last of Eric Fehr in the NHL. He headed to Finland where he was a point-per-game player during the lockout and received an invitation to the Caps camp. He worked his way to a one-year deal there.
Then the Caps re-signed him to another cheap contract, this time two-year long. Adam Oates' legacy in Washington will be that of a villain, not a hero, but he resurrected Fehr's career by trying him at center in the 2013 pre-season to solve the logjam at RW position. The next season Fehr bounced all over the line-up, from first line to healthy scratch, and playing all three forward positions. Year later, Barry Trotz returned Fehr to his natural RW spot full-time, but soon realized he was far more effective centering our third line.
Fehr, who leads the NHL in goals scored in ourdoor games (4) is now just 0.01 point-per-game behind his career-high 2009-10 rate and plays his best all-around hockey ever. He's second on the team and in top-50 in the league in goals, tied with the likes of James Neal, Ryan Getzlaf (irony), Ryan Johansen, and ahead of Jamie Benn and Sidney Crosby.
I think Fehr's path is a great example to players who suffer from chronic injuries. His perseverance and hard work paid off and he's become an important player for Washington.
Many Caps fans didn't like the guy mostly because Caps took him 18th in the 2003 Draft. Ryan Getzlaf was 19th, Brent Burns was 20th, and Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, Corey Perry all want later in the first round.
His first stint with the Caps he suffered from chronic shoulder injuries that prevented him from becoming a goal scorer he was supposed to be after being a two-time 50-goal scorer in the WHL. In 2011, he was traded for almost nothing to Winnipeg as a hometown boy for the relocated Jets.
After missing 112 of 328 games between 2008 and 2012, Eric Fehr ended up without NHL contract prior to the work stoppage. To be honest, at that point I thought we've seen the last of Eric Fehr in the NHL. He headed to Finland where he was a point-per-game player during the lockout and received an invitation to the Caps camp. He worked his way to a one-year deal there.
Then the Caps re-signed him to another cheap contract, this time two-year long. Adam Oates' legacy in Washington will be that of a villain, not a hero, but he resurrected Fehr's career by trying him at center in the 2013 pre-season to solve the logjam at RW position. The next season Fehr bounced all over the line-up, from first line to healthy scratch, and playing all three forward positions. Year later, Barry Trotz returned Fehr to his natural RW spot full-time, but soon realized he was far more effective centering our third line.
Fehr, who leads the NHL in goals scored in ourdoor games (4) is now just 0.01 point-per-game behind his career-high 2009-10 rate and plays his best all-around hockey ever. He's second on the team and in top-50 in the league in goals, tied with the likes of James Neal, Ryan Getzlaf (irony), Ryan Johansen, and ahead of Jamie Benn and Sidney Crosby.
I think Fehr's path is a great example to players who suffer from chronic injuries. His perseverance and hard work paid off and he's become an important player for Washington.
