Chris Clark: 'I'm shocked'

Chris Clark just told me that he was completely blindsided by this afternoon's trade, which sent him from Eastern Conference's best team to a club that's fighting to remain in the race in the Western Conference.

"I'm shocked," the Caps' former captain said. "But then you start looking to the team where you're going. So now I'm trying to put all my energy into who's on the team, how they're doing and where I'll be playing my next game.

"I didn't mind a diminished role [in Washington] because we were winning so much and we're such a great team and had a chance to do something in the playoffs," Clark added. "I would have taken any role on this team to do that. But now I'm going to start all over again. Hopefully Columbus will be in that position in a few years."

"It's going to be tough, but I've been in this situation before. Hopefully I can help out in any way I can."