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

[trick9]

Yea...the 2 in g1 we're soft for starters

Still have no idea how someone think that Marner goal in G1 was soft. That's a crazy bounce from the side of the net and if you have to blame it on someone, it should be that D who didn't take his stick away in the slot.

Goalies never stand at the middle of the crease when someone is taking a shot from zero angle trying to bank it in. They need to take the near side away. Standing in the middle of the crease just in case the puck takes a crazy bounce from the net right into the slot would just be terrible goaltending because that's how you'd get scored on much more often.

Hard to blame the goalie for playing that right as he should have.

 

[Caps8112]

thoughts on kuzy if he disappears again this playoff? anyone really want management to pay this guy. So far outside of one big goal against the islanders he turns into a perimeter player that brings nothing to the table. Almost looks scared of contact in the playoffs.

 

[Caps8112]

Still have no idea how someone think that Marner goal in G1 was soft. That's a crazy bounce from the side of the net and if you have to blame it on someone, it should be that D who didn't take his stick away in the slot.

Goalies never stand at the middle of the crease when someone is taking a shot from zero angle trying to bank it in. They need to take the near side away. Standing in the middle of the crease just in case the puck takes a crazy bounce from the net right into the slot would just be terrible goaltending because that's how you'd get scored on much more often.

Hard to blame the goalie for playing that right as he should have.

i thought it was soft but Holtby does that from time to time. he seems lackadaisical about getting back into position. it also was bad luck that it hit off the cage and found a tiny hole to squirt back out above the crease. He did it again either later in game 1 or sometime in game 2. made a save and was almost admiring it or acting cocky and a leaf shot it from no angle out of the corner which caught him off guard and he juggled it in his feet. Dont think Holtby is the problem but ive noticed this over the years.

 

[trick9]

i thought it was soft but Holtby does that from time to time. he seems lackadaisical about getting back into position. it also was bad luck that it hit off the cage and found a tiny hole to squirt back out above the crease. He did it again either later in game 1 or sometime in game 2. made a save and was almost admiring it or acting cocky and a leaf shot it from no angle out of the corner which caught him off guard and he juggled it in his feet. Dont think Holtby is the problem but ive noticed this over the years.

He clearly lost sight of the puck and wanted to keep his position. By the time he realised that the puck went into the slot, it was already too late. He didn't know if the puck was still around his feet somewhere, so he didn't want to make a quick move back to the crease which might have resulted in own goalie.

It's just bad luck.

 

[Raikkonen]

I think we can agree that all of Orlov, Schmidt, Wilson and Kuznetsov got better comparing to last year (even if only "against weak Toronto" so far). This is huge for keeping the window open.

Burakovsky is showing glimpses but not scoring so far. That is not that bad I guess. Keeps his contract demands lower (than many expected* ~ 3M).

On the other hand, Ovechkin is still kinda alive, and has to be able to play at the same level next year too.

Alzner, Orpik, Shattenkirk and Carlson - will be either gone or cheaper (than many expected*).

There is still potential to field a good roster next season.


PS: * than many expected = my speculation based on talks in this thread.

 

[PB12]

Thoughts on trading Mojo this offseason. Good player, but him and Kuzy on the same line is bad. You don't need two playmakers. And putting him on the first line isn't going to do anything either with Backstrom on there.

 

[trick9]

Thoughts on trading Mojo this offseason. Good player, but him and Kuzy on the same line is bad. You don't need two playmakers. And putting him on the first line isn't going to do anything either with Backstrom on there.

I wouldn't mind trading him but we need young NHL-ready player. Preferably on ELC.

Good chance for selling high right now. Career-high 24 goals and 58 points.

 

[Sam Spade]

I wouldn't mind trading him but we need young NHL-ready player. Preferably on ELC.

Good chance for selling high right now. Career-high 24 goals and 58 points.

You get rid of Marge just to free up space for Oshie and Orlov, plain and simple.

Where will we ever find the bolded?

 

[trick9]

You get rid of Marge just to free up space for Oshie and Orlov, plain and simple.

Where will we ever find the bolded?

The best-case scenario would be top-prospect LHD that's NHL-ready straight away. I didn't mean necessarily a forward. D would go long way in helping to replace the guys leaving from the current defense.

That being said i wouldn't mind switching up the forward core slightly though. Maybe they find a new gear but so far i don't want Eller back, best-case scenario is Vegas taking him. Another one is Winnik. Really growing tired of his yearly disappearing act in the Playoffs.

 

[artilector]

I think we can agree that all of Orlov, Schmidt, Wilson and Kuznetsov got better comparing to last year (even if only "against weak Toronto" so far). This is huge for keeping the window open.

Burakovsky is showing glimpses but not scoring so far. That is not that bad I guess. Keeps his contract demands lower (than many expected* ~ 3M).

On the other hand, Ovechkin is still kinda alive, and has to be able to play at the same level next year too.

Alzner, Orpik, Shattenkirk and Carlson - will be either gone or cheaper (than many expected*).

There is still potential to field a good roster next season.


PS: * than many expected = my speculation based on talks in this thread.

Yeah, I think the roster will be ok. Not as good as the current one on paper, but not a huge step back on the ice.

But not sure about any of those D getting cheaper -- all those guys will get paid based on overall resume, IMO. It's just that losing them would be much less painful,
if the current level of mediocrity continues. Hockey-wise, I'd miss none of them. I guess they'll keep Carlson -- it's easier, and Shattenkirk has not made a particularly great case for himself.

I guess there's still time to change perceptions. I wish we could see more of Schmidt+Shattenkirk to make a comparison vs. Carlson...

 

[artilector]

Thoughts on trading Mojo this offseason. Good player, but him and Kuzy on the same line is bad. You don't need two playmakers. And putting him on the first line isn't going to do anything either with Backstrom on there.

I'd be ok with any outcome on Mojo. He's useful, but not irreplaceable.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Keep in mind you have Vrana waiting in the wings. Moving MAJO makes sense from both cap and roster management. I see both Burakovsky and Vrana as potential MAJO's replacements. Moving MAJO's contract will help to address the Oshie resigning as well as the RFAs coupling that with letting Alzner walk. If we can retain Schmidt (LV not taking him) the d-corps will be decent next season, Orlov/Niskanen, Schmidt/Carlson, Orpik/Bowey and Chorney.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The best-case scenario would be top-prospect LHD that's NHL-ready straight away. I didn't mean necessarily a forward. D would go long way in helping to replace the guys leaving from the current defense.

That being said i wouldn't mind switching up the forward core slightly though. Maybe they find a new gear but so far i don't want Eller back, best-case scenario is Vegas taking him. Another one is Winnik. Really growing tired of his yearly disappearing act in the Playoffs.

I'd much rather have a RHD or C prospect. LHD is probably the last position we need to focus on as an organization. Orlov and Schmidt have the top 4 LD positions covered for the foreseeable future with Siegenthaler and Johansen (and maybe Djoos) waiting in the wings. Niskanen is the only RHD certainty past next season. Carlson may price himself out of DC and the only prospect of note on the right side is Bowey.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Thoughts on trading Mojo this offseason. Good player, but him and Kuzy on the same line is bad. You don't need two playmakers. And putting him on the first line isn't going to do anything either with Backstrom on there.

It wasn't true on the main boards and it's still not true here.

 

[Langway]

I'd much rather have a RHD or C prospect. LHD is probably the last position we need to focus on as an organization. Orlov and Schmidt have the top 4 LD positions covered for the foreseeable future with Siegenthaler and Johansen (and maybe Djoos) waiting in the wings. Niskanen is the only RHD certainty past next season. Carlson may price himself out of DC and the only prospect of note on the right side is Bowey.

There's Hobbs, even if he's fairly raw. Plus Lewington and also Priskie as far as depth defender options in the next few years. There's a bit of a gap maybe but that depends on Lewington's readiness. The staff has liked him, even if he's just a depth guy.

I'd target any really fast prospects and they probably do need centers most of all organizationally. Stephenson isn't going to give them a ton and I'm not sure Boyd ever gets a chance in the middle (if he does at all). They don't appear to be signing Pinho so there's another option down. Beagle likely shouldn't be around forever and Eller may not do enough to make it worthwhile either so that's the position they need to be planning for.

They need Johansson's speed for now. I guess if there's a swap to make it's maybe Johansson and Burakovsky but the later still hasn't done enough to earn that. They really need 65 playing at a high level going forward if their depth is going to be adequate.

Getting a pick for Connolly seems increasingly unlikely. Dr. txpd is probably right in him not getting qualified, at least as things stand.

 

[PB12]

It wasn't true on the main boards and it's still not true here.

If you been watching this series you should know its true. I've been watching Kuzy and Mojo play a game of circles with each other around the net.

Kuzy- No you take it and shoot it
Mojo-No you take it and shoot it
Kuzy- No you take it and shoot it
Mojo-No you take it and shoot it

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

There's Hobbs, even if he's fairly raw. Plus Lewington and also Priskie as far as depth defender options in the next few years. There's a bit of a gap maybe but that depends on Lewington's readiness. The staff has liked him, even if he's just a depth guy.

I'd target any really fast prospects and they probably do need centers most of all organizationally. Stephenson isn't going to give them a ton and I'm not sure Boyd ever gets a chance in the middle (if he does at all). They don't appear to be signing Pinho so there's another option down. Beagle likely shouldn't be around forever and Eller may not do enough to make it worthwhile either so that's the position they need to be planning for.

They need Johansson's speed for now. I guess if there's a swap to make it's maybe Johansson and Burakovsky but the later still hasn't done enough to earn that. They really need 65 playing at a high level going forward if their depth is going to be adequate.

Getting a pick for Connolly seems increasingly unlikely. Dr. txpd is probably right in him not getting qualified, at least as things stand.

Right. There are some guys who play RHD but I think they're much bigger question marks with more limited upside than the guys on the left. I guess Schmidt could play the right side moving forward if need be? He didn't seem too out of place there. Orlov started as a RD as well but he seems to have really taken a liking to the left side with Niskanen and I see no reason to switch him back.

C prospect depth is a big concern to me for all of the points you made plus the fact that we don't have a pick this year until what, the 4th round?

Getting rid of JoJo and not feeling an impact in performance would require big jumps in play and consistency from Burakovsky and Vrana which is not a risk I'm willing to take unless Johansson is fetching a blue-chip prospect, or if they decide they want to do a partial rebuild. 65 hasn't done anything to warrant a permanent top 6 spot and 13 is still very raw.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

If you been watching this series you should know its true. I've been watching Kuzy and Mojo play a game of circles with each other around the net.

Kuzy- No you take it and shoot it
Mojo-No you take it and shoot it
Kuzy- No you take it and shoot it
Mojo-No you take it and shoot it

I've been watching the series. Have you? They've been consistently matched against the Matthews line and they're still generating a bunch of scoring chances. Yes, they need to shoot more but to say they're bad together is just not correct. Beagle and Ovechkin are bad together. Alzner and Carlson are bad together. Kuznetsov and Johansson are dynamic together.

 

[txpd]

ah...Johansson.

4th in points.
2nd in evg(just a playmaker)

Easy to replace.

Johansson is the perfect wing man for Kuzy. First he can actually skate and maneuver with 92. Its those two that create those long shifts of zone time circling the offensive zone.

The GWG last night is a primary reason why Johansson works with Kuznetsov.

btw...Are we still on board with keeping Shatty and Trading Carlson?

 

[artilector]

I think a number of people miss the general context of discussion about Mojo. I am not sure anybody really views him as addition by subtraction. But if the Caps need to fit under the salary cap, there are only so many salaries that are realistic candidates to be moved. It'll likely be Oshie, or Mojo, or somehow keep both and lose defensive depth. Every alternative will hurt -- if you think the Caps can keep everyone, then you are in fantasy land.

 

[artilector]

btw...Are we still on board with keeping Shatty and Trading Carlson?

No, we're keeping Alzner, and trading Orlov for Mike "Game Over" Green.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

No way Oshie gets moved. He's at times our best forward and the concern that he wouldn't produce in the playoffs is gone. 17 pts in 17 playoff games with us, including an overtime hat trick vs the Pens in game 1.

 

[artilector]

No way Oshie gets moved. He's at times our best forward and the concern that he wouldn't produce in the playoffs is gone. 17 pts in 17 playoff games with us, including an overtime hat trick vs the Pens in game 1.

In the words of the immortal #8: "Cha-ching".

 

[txpd]

I think a number of people miss the general context of discussion about Mojo. I am not sure anybody really views him as addition by subtraction.

At least with me, that is not the point. What I argue against is the idea that Johansson would be easily replaced by Burakovsky or Vrana. Or that he is a bad linemate for Kuznetsov.

I am fine with trading him if that is the best way to field a team under the salary cap.

I hope that makes sense

 

[PB12]

At least with me, that is not the point. What I argue against is the idea that Johansson would be easily replaced by Burakovsky or Vrana. Or that he is a bad linemate for Kuznetsov.

I am fine with trading him if that is the best way to field a team under the salary cap.

I hope that makes sense

I probably shouldn't have said they were bad linemates. They got good chemistry. But one one of them needs to start pulling an Oshie and start shooting. And this hasn't been a one year thing. This happened last year as well. And thats why i'm suggesting trading Mojo. If i'm Mac, i'm telling Mojo your job is on the line if you don't start shooting.