Jason Arnott joined the Washington Capitals during this season's trade deadline to provide veteran leadership. Unfortunately for the Caps, it did not pan out as they hoped it would in a four-game sweep in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Wednesday's season-ending 5-3 loss, Arnott spoke to the media for the last time, but something was a little off in his postgame comments.
Arnott, who is a free agent this summer, referred to the Caps as "they" as opposed to "we" when asked about the team's direction.
They have everything that it takes to win, no question. It's a tough thing to do. Playoffs can go one way or another. You got to have luck, you got to have bounces go your way. For me, I think this team has a great mix of guys that can win. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen this year, but if they keep building on it and building on it and use this series as an experience to move forward next year, hopefully that'll give them the drive to do so."
At age 36, Arnott has at least a few more years left in his illustrious career, but judging by his comments, we're not sure if those years will be played out in a Capitals uniform.