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

[Raikkonen]

Orpik has 2 years left. Won't be traded at deadline next season. Most probably.

We can trade him to Vegas for some younger D McPhee gonna have in the draft though.

 

[Joel Ward]

if Schmidt isn't taken by Vegas I think getting rid of Orpik should be a big priority. No point in keeping him around at the cost of Oshie to play him on the third pairing. However if Schmidt is taken it's still worth it to get rid of him, but something would have to happen with our defense.

I'd prefer Vegas took Grubeaur so we could have an easier time trading Orpik.

Nemeth has played 108 NHL games including just 40 this year on a team that has a horrible defense. At 25 years old I would say that he would never play for the Caps. They don't need Niemi or his cap hit or throwing away cap space buying him out.

My view is that Orpik can be at minimum given away to a team with a young defense and some cap space. Should it be a playoff missing team, they make a profit by trading him at the deadline.

I just have a tough time seeing another team taking on Orpik's contract without being compensated for it. It's not even as if he is cheap in actual salary either, so teams with internal budgets aren't likely to want him as a means of reaching the cap floor. My original idea was Grubauer and Orpik for Henri Kiviaho (goaltender who meets expansion requirements) and a pick which would get the full $11M off the books, but Stars fans didn't seem to be terribly interested.

Obviously there are concerns about losing Schmidt in the expansion draft, but I am not convinced that exposing Grubauer would prevent that.

 

[FloridaCap]

At this point I think losing Schmidt in the expansion draft is more likely than losing Grubauer. There are plenty of capable exposed goalies, while I think the D will end up being much thinner.

 

[txpd]

I just have a tough time seeing another team taking on Orpik's contract without being compensated for it. It's not even as if he is cheap in actual salary either, so teams with internal budgets aren't likely to want him as a means of reaching the cap floor. My original idea was Grubauer and Orpik for Henri Kiviaho (goaltender who meets expansion requirements) and a pick which would get the full $11M off the books, but Stars fans didn't seem to be terribly interested.

Obviously there are concerns about losing Schmidt in the expansion draft, but I am not convinced that exposing Grubauer would prevent that.

I got my years wrong and its a little more difficult with 2 years remaining on his contract. That said if he has a strong playoffs. If the Caps win another round of playoffs, there are teams with young, impressionable defenseman that Orpik could have a real impact on.

Lets remember why MacLellan and Trotz wanted him. There were a lot more reasons than just his on ice play. As far as I can tell Orpik has delivered everything that the Caps acquired him for. My feeling is that there are teams that could use him for those same reasons if the Caps cant afford to keep him.

 

[txpd]

At this point I think losing Schmidt in the expansion draft is more likely than losing Grubauer. There are plenty of capable exposed goalies, while I think the D will end up being much thinner.

Maybe but remember that Dave Pryor is McPhee's goalie coach. He knows Grubauer well.

 

[HabsTown]

Hey guys! Looking forward to your matchup against the Pens! Good hockey ahead

Just curious, would you think if your team loses in 2nd round that you'll enter a *significant* retool.

Don't be harsh on me, would it be possible to work with :




Evgeny Kuznetsov
Andre Burakovsky
Brooks Orpik (50% retained)




Max Pacioretty
Nathan Beaulieu (you probably will lose Alzner + D to Vegas. Beaulieu would help on the left for cheap and is decently young)
Tomas Plekanec (50% retained)

 

[Langway]

God no. This team needs all of the youth it can get. It doesn't seem to know how to develop them fully but that's another matter.

 

[FloridaCap]

Hey guys! Looking forward to your matchup against the Pens! Good hockey ahead

Just curious, would you think if your team loses in 2nd round that you'll enter a *significant* retool.

Don't be harsh on me, would it be possible to work with :




Evgeny Kuznetsov
Andre Burakovsky
Brooks Orpik (50% retained)




Max Pacioretty
Nathan Beaulieu (you probably will lose Alzner + D to Vegas. Beaulieu would help on the left for cheap and is decently young)
Tomas Plekanec (50% retained)

No thanks, with Ovechkin and Backstrom hitting 30 or nearing 30, we have to rely on Kuznetsov/Burakovksy to be the successors. and wth our 2C gone, we'd have nobody to get Patches the puck anyway.

 

[Devil Dancer]

God no. This team needs all of the youth it can get. It doesn't seem to know how to develop them fully but that's another matter.

Still going with that narrative even after the growth we're seeing with Orlov, Schmidt and to a lesser extent Wilson? They've apparently done a great job with Grubauer, too.

 

[Langway]

Still going with that narrative even after the growth we're seeing with Orlov, Schmidt and to a lesser extent Wilson? They've apparently done a great job with Grubauer, too.

Sure enough, they've done a good job on defense and goaltender. Reirden and Korn are legit at what they do. At forward, though, not so much. Johansson and Kuznetsov have improved but they still have weak depth with no end in sight in terms of legit internal upgrades. Wilson has improved and is getting bigger minutes but he hasn't improved enough to warrant consistent scoring-line time. Burakovsky still plays like a stupid junior player. Vrana was never a strong organizational fit and still gets cracked down on for not being enough of a game-breaker in spite of it. Organizationally they don't seem to know how to crank out depth forwards (or smart two-way forwards period). Their forward depth isn't producing at all so far. They brought in Eller and Connolly and they've mostly been ghosts.

Part of it is there seems to be not much actual offensive structure in place so everything is more flimsy than it otherwise could be. They don't really build chemistry between linemates much. Not at a high enough level anyway. Part of it's a lack of really toolsy prospects capable of playing at a high pace while also having some grind to their game. For a supposedly stacked team they're all too beatable up front and a large portion of that is their continued depth issues, which are in large part due to not being able to produce answers internally (like PIT has managed to do despite not using early picks on them).

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Typically retooling involves getting younger, rather than getting older.

And don't Habs fans agree that Pacioretty is pretty underwhelming in the playoffs? Maybe not the guy Washington needs.

 

[artilector]

Hey guys! Looking forward to your matchup against the Pens! Good hockey ahead

Just curious, would you think if your team loses in 2nd round that you'll enter a *significant* retool.

Don't be harsh on me, would it be possible to work with :




Evgeny Kuznetsov
Andre Burakovsky
Brooks Orpik (50% retained)




Max Pacioretty
Nathan Beaulieu (you probably will lose Alzner + D to Vegas. Beaulieu would help on the left for cheap and is decently young)
Tomas Plekanec (50% retained)

I think it's a great retool -- for the Canadiens.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Hey guys! Looking forward to your matchup against the Pens! Good hockey ahead

Just curious, would you think if your team loses in 2nd round that you'll enter a *significant* retool.

Don't be harsh on me, would it be possible to work with :




Evgeny Kuznetsov
Andre Burakovsky
Brooks Orpik (50% retained)




Max Pacioretty
Nathan Beaulieu (you probably will lose Alzner + D to Vegas. Beaulieu would help on the left for cheap and is decently young)
Tomas Plekanec (50% retained)

Horrible deal unless the Caps want to be the Oilers and miss the playoffs for 10 years.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Still going with that narrative even after the growth we're seeing with Orlov, Schmidt and to a lesser extent Wilson? They've apparently done a great job with Grubauer, too.

Well played.

 

[txpd]

Isnt the basic idea of a retool to jettison older players to make more ice time available for young and up and coming players. Older....Max-Turtleneck. Youngers Burakovsky-Kuznetsov.

I don't understand the logic here at all.

 

[peterthegreat12]

I think for all intensive purposes, Burra and Kuzy are not going anywhere. Guys like them, Bowey, Samsonov, Vrana, are the future of the franchise. (less so Vrana the more I watch him play).

 

[MrGone]

Evgeny Kuznetsov
Andre Burakovsky
Brooks Orpik (50% retained)




Max Pacioretty
Nathan Beaulieu (you probably will lose Alzner + D to Vegas. Beaulieu would help on the left for cheap and is decently young)
Tomas Plekanec (50% retained)

Evgeny Kuznetsov
Andre Burakovsky
Brooks Orpik (50% retained)




Max Pacioretty
Nathan Beaulieu (you probably will lose Alzner + D to Vegas. Beaulieu would help on the left for cheap and is decently young)
Alex Galchenyuk

This is a little closer. Habs still get younger and get an upgrade with Kuza over Galchenyuk. And Caps hope Pacioretty steps in better than Burakovsky in the short term.

 

[PB12]

One thing this team has to do is add a shooter or two. We got two many guys who want to play with the puck. Maybe look at trading Mojo or Bura. Cause when i look at when Williams and possibly Oshie when they leave, i only see OV as the only pure shooter on this team. We got too many passers on this team.

 

[MrGone]

None of this matters until this core of losers are gone. Coaches come and go and its still the same. Its the players that are the problem.

You can make the statement that Golden Knights are closer to a cup then this team. They are not burden contracts of players that will never get it done.

The best thing that could happen to this team is OV going the Russia to play. It will never be fixed until its started over. Adding a few moving parts to this core does nothing.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

None of this matters until this core of losers are gone. Coaches come and go and its still the same. Its the players that are the problem.

You can make the statement that Golden Knights are closer to a cup then this team. They are not burden contracts of players that will never get it done.

The best thing that could happen to this team is OV going the Russia to play. It will never be fixed until its started over. Adding a few moving parts to this core does nothing.

Let's try to keep it together as fans until we're actually eliminated.

I've got a long winded Ovechkin/Backstrom post brewing myself, but the patient isn't dead yet.

 

[Sam Spade]

Let's try to keep it together as fans until we're actually eliminated.

I've got a long winded Ovechkin/Backstrom post brewing myself, but the patient isn't dead yet.

They are eliminated already and everyone here knows it. Pens are winning the Cup this year and it won't even be a struggle for them. It is what it is.

I am definitely over this team. I will follow Ovechkin because he is my favorite player but there is no point rooting for the Caps anymore.

They have to gut the team and try to figure out which way they want to go. I would start with seeing if Ovechkin would accept a trade.

Good luck to them.

 

[artilector]

Whatever the outcome, there's still time for individual players to make a better (or worse) impression.

So I'll wait with the post-mortem.

 

[Efactor]

If we lose this series, major core changes must be made. No winners in our core.

 

[hockeyfan88]

The Caps' management need to stop and think what the hell they want to be as an organization going forward.

Do they want to be a skilled team? A heavy/cycling team? A fast/energy team?

After they decide on their philosophy, they need to re-evaluate if Trotz is the right man to build a Stanley Cup favourite team using that specific playstyle. Then, retool the core accordingly.

This "hybrid" playstyle has been complete garbage in the playoffs. Too many coin-flip games as the team can barely establish any dominance over the opponents. The Caps were closer to winning the Cup when they had the "heavy hockey" concept than they are right now.

Just my 2c.

 

[txpd]

The Caps' management need to stop and think what the hell they want to be as an organization going forward.

Do they want to be a skilled team? A heavy/cycling team? A fast/energy team?

After they decide on their philosophy, they need to re-evaluate if Trotz is the right man to build a Stanley Cup favourite team using that specific playstyle. Then, retool the core accordingly.

This "hybrid" playstyle has been complete garbage in the playoffs. Too many coin-flip games as the team can barely establish any dominance over the opponents. The Caps were closer to winning the Cup when they had the "heavy hockey" concept than they are right now.

Just my 2c.

I think what ails this team is far more centric to the Capitals than to the make up of the roster and its style. They have a team that has the amazing knack of breaking under the pressure of the playoffs. Often its not the team as a whole as much as primary chunks of it that crash and burn under the pressure. Holtby messed up game 6 last season by allowing Kessel to shoot a clean puck past him from the face off dot for an early lead. That was a loser ga. In game two his team is ripping it up and he does it again. Gives up two clean pucks from at or near the face off dot and the team wilts.

This group of players generally freed from being the Capitals blow thru the league year in and out. Presented with their sweater for the playoffs and they crack under the weight that thing lays on them.