The Washington Capitals have decided that Mike Ribeiro will not get the contract extension he’s seeking, making the veteran center an unrestricted free agent beginning on Friday, July 5.

He was reportedly seeking a 5-year deal; the Capitals weren’t going to go that long, even after Ribeiro was one of the few players who produced offensive numbers wire to wire last season, his first and only one in Washington.

Ribeiro had a desire to remain in D.C. if the team could meet his contractual demands. “If I can stay in the city and retire here. It’s more about the kids. If I could stay in the city until they go to college,” he said after the season.

Alas, the Capitals decided to go in a different direction … and this did not sit well with Mrs. Ribeiro.

From Tamara W Ribeiro’s Twitter feed (s/t Japers’):

Now, in fairness, there’s no telling if she’s “#PissedBeyondBelief” at the Capitals, the nature of the business or at whomever convinced her husband that asking for a 5-year deal at his age was a good thing.

She’s not the first player’s wife that has spoken out about an offseason transaction. Please recall:

• Katie Hamilton, wife of MLB outfielder Josh Hamilton, was disappointed that the Texas Rangers didn’t move quickly enough before he signed with the Los Angeles Angels. “They let us go out and date other people and kind of give our hearts away,” Katie Hamilton said in Dec. 2012, via The Dallas Morning News. “I’m so glad they didn’t (push hard to re-sign Hamilton.) We feel so strongly this is where God has moved us and planted us.”

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• Deidre Pujols, in an interview with Christian radio station KLJY, said the St. Louis Cardinals’ 5-year contract offer was “insulting,” and resulted in his signing with the Angels in Dec. 2011. “We got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and the community that he at least deserved the opportunity to have real lifelong … I tell you what: We didn’t want to go through this again. Free agency, it’s stressful,” she said.

• But it’s not just players’ wives that give transactional grief. Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob signed off on a trade that sent Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks. His fiancée, Nicole Curran, was friends with Ellis’ wife. The result? She didn’t speak to Lacob for days after the trade.

Ribeiro will find another home in the NHL, thanks to the power play points handed to him by Capitals coach Adam Oates. But with Lecavalier and Briere both in the market too, it’s suddenly a lot more crowded than it looked a month ago.

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