"Matt Bradley may have surprised some of his old teammates by speaking out earlier this month about the Capitals' lack of discipline, but they don't all disagree with his candid assessment.

"It's not like he went out and told lies," former Capitals forward David Steckel told The Post's Tarik El-Bashir and other reporters Wednesday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Bradley "didn't really say anything bad about anybody. He just stated what he felt."

Bradley, now a member of the Florida Panthers, told Ottawa's TEAM 1200 that ex-teammate Alexander Semin "just doesn't care," and that the Russian sniper didn't show up when Washington needed him in the playoffs. Bradley also spoke at length about the Capitals' caste system that rewards underperforming stars and a lack of focus in the dressing room.

"First reaction was like, 'Brads, what did you do?'" Steckel said. "Then I read the transcript and, I mean, it's Brads. It's not like he's somebody breaking into the league telling things that nobody knows about already. He's an elder statesman in the league; he's been around and he's in a different organization now."

"The transcript I read, there was nothing that shocking at all, that blew me away," he added."