So we unveiled a new look for the website today. Part of the deal with the new, well, deal is this blog will have a new home. The new address is http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/in-the-room/ for those who want bookmark it.

I would have had something up earlier today about Matt Bradley, but there were some technical issues with the move. His contract is for $3 million, or $1 million per -- a nice annual raise of almost 43 percent for Bradley, who also told me he just got married.

Also, as a spoiler alert: I have been working on a list of my predictions for what the 2010 Olympic rosters could look like for the "big seven" countries (although Slovakia is in danger of making it the big six.) It was going to be posted the day after the World Championships ended and then I was going to put it up today with the unveiling of the new site, but the new site also means new blogging software, so look for it in a couple days.

- Corey Masisak

Despite a compelling series between the Red Wings and Penguins, it appears that most major newspapers are passing on covering the Stanley Cup Final.

According to the Globe and Mail, only eight major dailies outside of Detroit and Pittsburgh will be covering the event. In Canada, only the Toronto papers and two papers in Vancouver will be sending writers.

Among the no-shows: The Washington Post (you'll notice that Tarik is at Indy), Newsday and both the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times decided to cover the series only after seeing which teams are involved, according to the Globe and Mail.

While it is true that hockey still does not get as much attention from newspapers as other major sports, the lack of coverage of the finals has more to do with the state of the newspaper industry than the NHL. Travel budgets are being slashed like crazy, making it hard for editors to justify.

The decision by the Philly papers to pass on the series is surprising. At last check, they were located just five hours from Pittsburgh and in the same state. Southwest Airlines: $49 from Philly to Pittsburgh. Just sayin'.

For the record, Washington Times hockey writer Corey Masisak will be covering the games in Pittsburgh (he has family in the area) but will not be making the trip to Detroit (unless there is a Game 7).

- Tim Lemke

OK, I just typed up the quotes from the Alzner/McPhee teleconference. Since I am sure everyone is starved for Caps info, here is what they had to say:

KARL ALZNER

ON HIS EXPECTATIONS:

My expectations are the same as last year. I know I am going to be nervous and I am going to be excited at the same time. I'm going to give everything I have. I want to stand out and try to make a good impression and make it tough for the coaches and the staff to not want to send me down and keep me there. That is my main goal.

ON PLAYING IN HIS FIRST NHL PRESEASON GAME AND LAST SEASON:

Hearing the coaches and some of the players say that the first period was the fastest period they had ever seen, it put my mind at ease that I fit in for that game and that period. That was a big thing for me. I came back to junior and tried to work on the little things to polish up and round over that my game could be better. I think for the most part I did that the entire season.

ON WHAT HE WANTS TO POLISH UP:

I want to be more of an offensive threat. I don't think I am good enough on the offensive blue line. A guy who you guys are very familiar with -- Mike Green -- he always seems to find lanes and get [the puck] across the line. I want to be able to do that more like him and a little bit less like me right now.

GEORGE MCPHEE

ON KARL ALZNER:

He is what he was when we drafted him. He's a very, very smart, reliable defenseman who is good defensively. That is where you have to start with defensemen. He doesn't take penalties. He takes a lot of pride in being good defensively.

We love the way he plays the game and we're always looking for that type of defenseman. We think there is offensive upside there and he mentioned that as well. He shoots the puck really well, and it might take a little bit to develop that, but I think he just needs to develop some confidence in that part of the game and he'll be fine.

I think he will transition very well. He played in our rookie game and an NHL [preseason] game and he did just fine when we had him here last September. The ability to read the play is most important and he has great hockey sense. He makes good reads, he doesn't get caught out of position and he anticipates very well. He is very patient and he doesn't get running around. He is really just a poised player who in that part of the game is more mature than most players at that age.

He obviously has all those intangibles that you look for in a player. He is going to do real well at this level. Whether he starts with our team is up to him. If he's ready, he'll start with our team and if he's not, he'll go to Hershey until he is. He's a good player, and it is easy to make room for good players.

I don't know how to characterize it properly other than to say if he comes to camp and if he is good enough to play here and make us a better team, then he will play. If he is a month away or three months away, then he'll play in Hershey until he is ready to make us better. We're completely open-minded. This is a good team now and we like where we are going, but we'll make room for someone who will make us better. We expect that he can make us better.

ON THE AGREEMENT WITH HERSHEY:

We're really happy that we've extended the deal. Hershey has been perfect in every way that you would want it to be. Whether it is a great fan base, a great building to play in, a strong, well-managed franchise, convenient travel from Washington to Hershey and vice versa where our fans can go see our young players and their fans can come see the players when they get to the NHL.

We're getting good players out of it, and we got a really good coach out of it. We're really pleased and I hope the people of Hershey are really pleased as well.

ON INJURED PLAYERS:

[Pothier] is still symptomatic but he is improving. He is in a difficult spot with that injury and we'll just do what is in the best interest of the player. We'll monitor it throughout the summer and we'll see how he is in September. If he can play, he'll play and if he can't, he won't but it will be his decision.

Michael Nylander was cleared May 5th and he had considered playing in the World Championships but he just thought to play it safe and be completely healthy for next year. Chris Clark has made some very good progress with his injury, so all of the news is encouraging and we expect both of them to be 100 percent by camp.

ON NEGOTIATIONS WITH CRISTOBAL HUET AND MIKE GREEN:

We're talking. It is a busy time of year and we're talking to a lot of people. It is kind of an exciting time for managers as we head toward the draft. There's a lot more discussions going on with other managers. There are discussions going on with agents about players. We haven't in the past really commented on the status of negotiations and we'll keep it that way, but we're certainly talking to everyone.

- Corey Masisak

Just got off the teleconference with Karl Alzner and George McPhee and wanted to pass along a couple of quick updates. McPhee said Alzner will play professionally this year either for the Caps or in Hershey, so going back to juniors is almost certainly out of the question (he has nothing left to prove at that level so this should not be a surprise). McPhee said if Alzner is ready and will make the team better, he will stick coming out of training camp and if not, he'll spend some time with Hershey. Depending on what happens with Brian Pothier and Steve Eminger, there could be an interesting numbers crunch on the blue line during camp.

Speaking of Pothier, McPhee said he is still dealing with symptoms from the concussion that ended his season. He did say Michael Nylander was cleared to play May 5 and contemplated playing for Sweden in the World Championships. McPhee also said Chris Clark has made progress with his groin injury and expects both he and Nylander to be ready for training camp.

- Corey Masisak

More news that Corey passes along from the Caps:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Karl Alzner to a three-year entry-level contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Alzner was the Capitals' first-round choice, fifth overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Alzner, who will turn 20 on Sept. 24, recently completed his fourth season with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and was named the WHL Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year in 2007-08. He is a finalist for the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year, which will be announced at the CHL Awards Show Saturday night. The captain of the Hitmen, Alzner recorded 36 points (seven goals, 29 assists), a +26 rating and just 15 penalty minutes in 60 games in the regular season.

A two-time gold medalist at the IIHF World Junior Championship with Canada, Alzner captained the Canadian team in 2007-08 and was named one of the team's top three players by the coaching staff. Alzner also represented Canada in the 2007 Canada/Russia Super Series and played for the WHL team in the 2006 Canada-Russia Challenge.

Alzner is rated as Washington's top prospect by The Hockey News and Hockey's Future. Those publications rank him as the NHL's No. 9 and No. 12 prospect, respectively.

Alzner will attend Washington's summer development camp, to be held July 7-12 at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va.

Corey Masisak is on the road but passed along this press release from the Capitals:

Washington Capitals Extend Affiliation with Hershey Bears

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) have extended their affiliation agreement through the 2009-10 season with an option for 2010-11, Capitals vice president and general manager George McPhee and Hershey president and general manager Doug Yingst announced today.

The Bears, one of the AHL's elite franchises, recently completed their third season as Washington's AHL affiliate under the current agreement. Hershey has qualified for the playoffs each of the last three years and won the Calder Cup as the champions of the AHL in 2005-06 and advanced to the Calder Cup finals in 2006-07.

Thirteen former or current Bears -- Chris Bourque, Frederic Cassivi, John Erskine, Eric Fehr, Tomas Fleischmann, Boyd Gordon, Mike Green, Brooks Laich, Quintin Laing, Sami Lepisto, Joe Motzko, Jeff Schultz and David Steckel -- skated for Washington this past season, as the Capitals won the Southeast Division and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Washington goaltender Brent Johnson also played one game for the Bears this past season on a conditioning stint.

The Capitals recent success with Hershey extends beyond the players and to the coaching staff as well. Washington, searching for a new head coach 21 games into last season, promoted then Hershey bench boss Bruce Boudreau to lead the NHL squad. Boudreau, who coached Hershey the previous two seasons, guided the Capitals to one of their most successful campaigns in team history. In his 61 games behind the bench, the Capitals posted a 37-17-7 record and ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. Boudreau is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which is presented annually to the NHL coach who has contributed the most to his team's success.

The Bears home arena, Giant Center, seats 10,500 for hockey and is located less than 140 miles from Verizon Center. In addition to sharing a common fan base with the Bears, the Capitals have also held summer development camps, parts of training camps and two NHL preseason games in Hershey.

The Capitals and Bears were previously affiliated for seven seasons from 1977 to 1984, including the Bears' 1980 Calder Cup championship. The Capitals also have an affiliation with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

In case anybody around here hasn't heard about this, the Tampa Bay Lightning are not leaving much to the imagination about who they might select with the No. 1 pick in the forthcoming draft. Steven Stamkos has been considered pretty much a lock to go No. 1 since long before Tampa Bay won the right to select him, but now it would appear to be pretty close to official.

The Kings pick second and the Thrashers third, with just about every draft projection I've seen having a group of three or four defensemen being the guys slotting in behind Stamkos. L.A. took Thomas Hickey last year, but the Kings could add Drew Doughty (Karl Alzner's partner at the WJC), Alex Pietrangelo or Zach Bogosian to Hickey and Jack Johnson to potentially have a dynamite defense corps in front of Jonathan Bernier in a few years. Maybe the Kings would waiver on taking a third defensemen in the top 5 in four years, but the Thrashers should be happy to collect another high-end blueliner to put with Tobias Enstrom in the future, because Atlanta is clearly lacking in the back end.

- Corey Masisak