It’s expected Mike Knuble will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game when the Capitals host the Sharks tonight.
No surprise, then, that the 39-year-old was rather blunt in explaining how it feels to be benched at such a key point of the season.
“It sucks, quite frankly, to be sitting out and missing games and watching your team play,” Knuble told ABC7 Washington. “It’s the best time of year to play.”
Knuble -- the oldest player on Washington’s roster -- seems to have run afoul of head coach Dale Hunter, who is only 12 years older than his assistant captain (the two actually played against each other in 1997-98.) Knuble said he spoke with his coach about why he was a healthy scratch the last two games with the coach replying, “You haven’t scored in a while, bad plus-minus.”
It’ll be curious to see what Washington does with Knuble as the trade deadline nears. The Toronto Sun speculated San Jose could be a good fit becuase of his history from playing in Boston with Joe Thornton, but whatever the case, it feels like Knuble will have to go before this situation becomes too big a distraction. Even though Knuble’s production has fallen through the floor, he’s a key, vocal presence on the team (remember his speech from 24/7?) and likely won’t stay quiet if he continues to be a healthy scratch.
“You never accept it, say ‘fine’ and sweep it under the rug and wake up tomorrow,” Knuble said. “You never accept it.
“When you do, as a player, then it’s over.”
