Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap/Lines etc. Part LXXXI -- Will we even care by July 1?

[RandyHolt]

sorry. I misunderstood. I thought when you said, "I feel like its been months since I have seen Wilson run someone over proper" that you meant you haven't seen him hit someone proper in months. Not that he could do more.

He has dialed back his monster hits this year. I assume that is not in dispute.

Heck, the entire team refrained from hitting for the first 2-3 months of the season.

 

[g00n]

Wilson is picking his spots pretty well. He's increased his value and impact overall. He can't be lost for 5min or more just for the hell of it anymore.

 

[895]

Dream offseason for me, in order of importance.

1) Getting rid of Orpik via trade or expansion, giving up Grubauer or other assets

2) Re-signing Shattenkirk and trading Carlson for an elite young player or a high pick.

3) Signing Oshie to a reasonable deal

4) Signing Alzner to a reasonable deal

That's the best setup for present and future.

 

[RandyHolt]

I would say that Willy seems to have matured as a player, only he has seemed very mature his entire career. You'd think a player like him would be undisciplined, taking boneheaded penalties of aggression, but nope.

I believe the founders of the modern day speed speed speed game forgot to factor in that players will be able to demolish one another at any time. Gone is the obstruction where a dman would slightly pick the F about to destroy his partner.

For the betterment of the game, hitting has largely disappeared, or does now for vast stretches of the season. It's hard to say Willy this or Ovi that with certainty.

The league pulls it's strings to make the game the way they want. Our hitting all but vanished last playoffs after Willy ran at Cleary and got his leg out. Why was that? I was ready for our forwards to demolish their defense all series and it never happened - I thought it was our key to victory actually. And it wasn't just fast puck movement. When a line sets out to hit a dman, it's very simple to do.

 

[txpd]

He has dialed back his monster hits this year. I assume that is not in dispute.

Heck, the entire team refrained from hitting for the first 2-3 months of the season.

Dialing it back and not doing it are two different things. He has more responsibility now than in the past. His direction from the coaches is different now than in the past.

So, yea. He might be hitting less than in the past. That's different than saying he hasn't been in months. As the video points out he fights a guy two weeks ago or so because he blows up a skill player on the opposition.

oh....and why is it that destroying a guy with a counter hit doesn't count as a big hit?

 

[Ajven]

Hi guys.. I was bored while sitting in the office and thought about our off season.. The format is little weird as I have written this in .txt document, but hopefully easily understandable


All depends obviously IF we win the CUP or PO performances of certain players, but as it stands, this is how I see it:

Vegas picks: Grubauer in Expansion Draft

to Vegas/young D team trade: Orpik for 3rd round in 2018

to xxx trade: RFA Shatty for xxx pick

Burakovsky - bridge 3yrs - 2 000 000 (casual bridge deal)
Kuznetsov - show me 3yrs - 5 000 000 (still not sure if 50-60pts or PPG)
Schmidt - bridge 2yrs - 1 850 000
Connolly - prove it 1yr - 2 250 000 (sustainable or not that he is productive 3rd line player?)

Alzner - 7yrs - 5 000 000 (front loaded at the end cap wont be a problem- we will be re-builders most likely)
Oshie - 7yrs - 5 250 000 (front loaded at the end cap wont be a problem- we will be re-builders most likely)
Orlov - 3yrs - 4 000 000 (cap controlled - trade bait if Carlson need money next season)
Backup - 1yr - 1 500 000 (for 1 year gap, rookie - vanecek/samsonov/copley next season)

=> CAP HIT 73,797,628 (with Chorney's 800k in team)


OVIE - BACKY - OSHIE
BURKY - KUZY - MOJO
VRANA - ELLER - CONNOLLY
BARBER - BEAGLE - WILSON
(basically rookies Vrana, Barber for Williams, Winnik)

ALZNER - NISKY
SCHMIDT - CARLSON
ORLOV - BOWEY
CHORNEY
(Bowey, Schmidt for Shatty,Orpik)

HOLTBY
BACKUP

Next year contracts:

Eller (currently 3 500 000) (max 4 000 000) overpayment imo 3,5 is ideal for 3C
Wilson (currentl 2 000 000) (max 3 000 000) overpayment imo - 2,5 should be enogugh (did not develop as much)
Beagle (currentl 1 750 000) (max 2 500 000) 2-2 500 000 for 3/4C/RW is little higher, but paying the versatility and PK time
Carlson (current 3 966 667) (max 6 000 000) could be probably pushed for 5,5 - 5,75 Nisky-like (can trade Orlov for cheaper 4/5thD and cap)
Chorney (current 0 800 000) (off book - rookie?) should be replced by rookie - we are deep on D (Johansen, Siegenthaler etc.)
+
Connolly (possib 2 250 000) (no idea - 3 000 000?)
Backup (possibl 1 500 000) (off book - vanecek?)

=> increase 500k+1M+750K+2M+0+750K-800k= 4 200 000 cap space in total needed

 

[Raikkonen]

Wanna quote one guy from the mains:

First line: Ovechkin (34 goals) - Backstrom (23 goals) - Oshie (33 goals)
Second line: Mojo (23 goals) - Kuznetsov (19 goals) - Williams (22 goals)
Third line: Burakovsky (12 goals) - Eller (12 goals) - Connolly (15 goals)
Fourth line: Winnik (12 goals) - Beagle (13 goals) - Wilson (7 goals)

Defense: (4) defensemen over 30+ points, (1) defensemen over 50+ points

Overall, 6 players over 55 points, 12 players over 30 points.

Oh and (2) goalies over .925 save percentage

We like our team (c)

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I honestly don't know. I have a very frank discussion with Carlson's agent about the term and dollar I'm willing to pay and see if it's in the same ballpark. If it's not, I definitely consider trading him. I wasn't a fan of Carlson last year either.

Carlson was dealing with injuries....If he doesn't play better in the postseason I'll be surprised.

 

[RandyHolt]

Point counter point

Carlson IS dealing with injuries and the games are becoming much more physical in less than a week... if he plays significantly better in the postseason I'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

He missed 24 games last year and still put up 12 pts in 12 games in the postseason. Guy is a playoff gamer.

 

[hockeykicker]

Sounds like Connolly is out and Carey is in

 

[ovikovy817]

Sounds like Connolly is out and Carey is in

I hope it is the consequence of clinching the metro? And not an injury

 

[txpd]

I hope it is the consequence of clinching the metro? And not an injury

I am sure they want to get Carey a game. Connolly's toi is the lowest among the forwards. He's the logical guy to sit.

Frankly, Connolly is going to need a good playoffs to get a qualifying offer after the season. I think he is on the cusp of getting cut after the season

 

[twabby]

Frankly, Connolly is going to need a good playoffs to get a qualifying offer after the season.

I wouldn't say that. His QO is only going to be ~$900k and he's already formed chemistry with Eller and Burakovsky, both of whom are almost surely going to be back next season. Maybe they won't protect him in the expansion draft and maybe they will walk away from an arbitrator's award if they don't like his decision, but he's almost surely going to get a QO.

 

[hockeykicker]

Trotz says Carey is in for the Boston game since his family is from that area and will be at game

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I wouldn't say that. His QO is only going to be ~$900k and he's already formed chemistry with Eller and Burakovsky, both of whom are almost surely going to be back next season. Maybe they won't protect him in the expansion draft and maybe they will walk away from an arbitrator's award if they don't like his decision, but he's almost surely going to get a QO.

I agree....

 

[Langway]

I wouldn't say that. His QO is only going to be ~$900k and he's already formed chemistry with Eller and Burakovsky, both of whom are almost surely going to be back next season. Maybe they won't protect him in the expansion draft and maybe they will walk away from an arbitrator's award if they don't like his decision, but he's almost surely going to get a QO.

I wouldn't be so sure about any of that yet outside of Burakovsky. Eller could be taken via expansion if he has just a decent playoff and they end up protecting Oshie (re-signed) and Wilson instead. There's maybe a chance Connolly ends up traded at the draft for a pick if there's league-wide interest and they're not believers in investing at arbitration price. The walk-away point is also north of $3.5M so there's plenty of room between that point and what's too rich for them. It would be one thing if they foresee him being able to replace Williams but he's got a lot to do before that's close to realistic. Maybe he'd accept a two-year deal at a reasonable rate to continue to build his game up here but we'll see if the coaching staff believes that's worthwhile. It may be due to his age and what's in the system but he does need to finish strong and not fall into essentially being their 12th forward.

 

[txpd]

Connolly is cold as ice. 10 games without a goal. 3pts in his last 14 games. His minutes have dropped to as low as 8 mins. He needs a good playoffs.

His ice time tells me that Trotz isn't liking what he is seeing. I cant imagine that if Connolly cant fix that, the Caps would want to keep him.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Wanna quote one guy from the mains:

We like our team (c)

What thread is this from? Mind posting the link?

 

[Raikkonen]

What thread is this from? Mind posting the link?

Well, I don't know, sorry. Lazy to search it.

 

[RandyHolt]

McPhee often said we like our team. Typically when rationalizing no big moves at the deadline or over the summer.

 

[Raikkonen]

What thread is this from? Mind posting the link?

OK, after RH's answer I had to find it to clarify

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=130424991&postcount=20

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

McPhee often said we like our team. Typically when rationalizing no big moves at the deadline or over the summer.

I think he believed it a little too much and that ended up being his downfall.

Arrogance, not excuse making IMO.

 

[Bananas]

I think he believed it a little too much and that ended up being his downfall.

Arrogance, not excuse making IMO.

You should only really comment on the McPhee situation if you're in the game bro.

 

[txpd]

I think he believed it a little too much and that ended up being his downfall.

Arrogance, not excuse making IMO.

As we have seen, you don't need a juggernaut to win the Cup. The best team doesn't always win. A team that is good enough to win that gets the right path and makes the right calls wins.

The Caps were good enough to win a cup 4 or 5 times under McPhee and didn't get close. Bad choices and or bad breaks or a bad path. The Caps were good enough last season to win instead of Pittsburgh but didn't. This season's team is good enough to win. This team is more than good enough. Will they?