Where Should Martin Erat Go?

Apparently, one player in the NHL is not well suited to play for his current team. And because of that, he requested a trade.

Capitals forward Martin Erat wants out and the team has said it will try to accommodate his wishes. Erat said of his demands, "Since day one, I didn't get the chance here. I got traded here to be a top-six player but never got the chance, never played more than 15 minutes here, and it's time for me to move on."

GM George McPhee said the request happened earlier this season and has been in the office repeatedly. Erat also requested a trade from the Predators last season because of his limited playing time.

Erat was acquired at the trade deadline last spring, when Brooks Laich went out with an injury. Erat's been playing on the second line. Michael Latta was also picked up with Erat. Laich is back healthy this season and with the addition of Mikhail Grabovski, the Capitals have had too many forwards.

In 23 games this season, he has had no goals. He has a no-trade clause, but that's likely to be flexible come the time that they trade him.

Martin Erat is one of those guys who wants playing time wherever he goes. But it seems he always gets traded to another team who has one of their players injured or out because of injury. I feel sorry that he's not been able to feel at home on a team that wants him. I understand why he wants to be traded. He wants to go somewhere where he can be effective and be able to produce with a talented offense. The Capitals have too many people, and with Grabovski and Laich playing a lot of ice time, it seems that Erat is the odd man out.

I'm not sure where he should go. There are plenty of teams that can pick him up. They're not likely to be contenders for the Cup, but teams like the Panthers, Islanders, Flames, and Stars would be good spots for Erat. But again, I'm not entirely sure where he'll be able to fit in. The Flames just traded away Tim Jackman and acquired Lane McDermid so I'm not sure if Calgary is going to work, but it might be a nice opportunity. For any other team, they might be willing to take a chance on Martin Erat. Thing is, he has to produce and that means getting out of the slump that he's been in and be an effective scorer on any line for any team that he joins.