Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap/Lines etc. Part LXXXIV -- The Doggiest Days (Woof!) 2017

[g00n]

Their old stud goalie is known for choking too. We came so damn close to beating them, we just had to hold on for 60 minutes and pot one before them. Maybe in some alternate reality we win this game and go on to win it all.

I understand that this team chokes all the time but I still haven't fully grasped the concept of choking. It's foreign to me, I've never choked. Not in sports, not in every other aspect of my life. I remember a chemistry class which I was about to fail in high school. I basically had to get over 95% on the final exam, and that was after getting a terrible grade on the midterm. I walked in for the exam, knowing there was no margin for error and that I would have to repeat the class otherwise. Got 100% on the final and passed. I never had any doubt in my abilities, I was confident I could make it and I did.

How do you step on the ice to play a ****ing game and stop performing because of the pressure and the expectations? If I was a player for the Caps, I'd be super excited to play in a game like that. Every hockey player in the world dreams of playing in a game 7 of a tight series against their worst enemy.

Long post:

[collapse=69]

Well the less failure you experience the less afraid of it you will likely be. The more you experience repetitive failure the more it becomes the story you tell yourself about yourself. This is why young golfers are often lights-out putters while many great players fall off the tours as they age. The golf industry is full of terrific ballstrikers who couldn't stick on the tours because they lost the ability to make clutch putts. An accumulation of missed putts weighs on their minds and they begin to fear the 3 and 4 footers they know they SHOULD make. They get the yips.

The Caps have the playoff yips.

Regarding your test anecdote, what if you'd been totally confident in your ability to pass that test, but when you got the results you found out you actually failed? How would you feel? Even though you prepared as well as you believed you needed to, and in your mind you knew you were going to pass, the results did not match your perceptions. You failed a test you thought you were going to ace.

That's when the doubts and confusion set in. That's when people start to question what they really know and what they're really capable of doing. That's when they start to fear a repeat of that unexpected or unwelcome failure, which can make the fears more likely to materialize.

Let's add to those feelings and altered expectations with the following scenario:

After failing that test you're crushed. You have no idea how you failed and thus no clue what to do next. You get a phone call from the professor and he's willing to give you one more chance to pass his class, and this time it will come in the form of a single question that he will ask you at some random day and time. You have no idea what the question will be or when you will hear from him.

What do you do? If you're smart you begin by preparing for any eventuality. You cover as much material as you can, as quickly and as thoroughly as you can. You go over your previous results and try to pinpoint your errors. You rehearse all manner of scenarios until they become second nature. Even though it isn't foolproof it's still the best option.

What SHOULDN'T you do after failing that test? You should not simply shrug your shoulders and say to yourself "it was just bad luck, I was prepared and should have passed, I'll be fine on the next one. It's only one question and I didn't get them all wrong so I might get this one right, too." This might relieve some anxiety but it won't help you improve, unless 90% of your problem is simply anxiety and you really, truly were somehow 100% unlucky.

As the days or even weeks go on the tension and pressure may increase to unbearable levels as you wait for the expected follow up phone call. Even with thorough preparation, if you are not in the right state of mind you could find yourself agonizing over countless hypotheticals and failure scenarios which may impair your cognitive abilities and undermine your retention, or at least cause you to lose sleep and/or eat poorly, which also hinders your performance.

Now let's say it's been 2 months and you haven't heard anything. You're on vacation with your family and having a good time since it's the first relief you've had from months of studying and test pressure. You're sound asleep at 3am in your hotel room on a Saturday night. Suddenly there's a loud knock on the door. You stagger to the door half-drunk thinking it's probably someone trying to get into the wrong room or one of your family members. You open the door and it's your professor, and he's holding a full length quiz. You have 20 minutes to complete the 30 question quiz and make a passing grade, starting from the moment you open the door. The material covered is not impossible but it's obscure enough that there would be no way to pass the quiz without complete immersion and preparation.

You're so rattled by the sudden and seemingly inappropriate situation you go blank at the worst time. Added to that is some anger and resentment at the professor, as well as a feeling that the whole process is unfair since you expected a phone call with a single question, not a 3am visit with a full test. In the end it doesn't matter what you expected or wanted, this is the reality. You have the ability but you can't answer the questions due to your temporary mental state. The next morning you know all the answers but it's too late. The real test was THE MOMENT.

Now imagine that happening every year, with some new random surprise quiz being dumped on you when you least expect it (during sex, on the scene of a fender bender, while in a meeting with your boss, etc), and failing both quizzes every year mostly because you were too shaken by sudden appearance of that pressure situation at a time you felt least able to handle it. How much worse will your mindset be from one year to the next? After 10 years of this cycle, even believing you have prepared for the information covered on the pop quiz, how confident will you be that the 11th time around will be the breakthrough?

At what point do you start to dread the entire process, such that the sight of your professor causes anything from a confused nervousness to sheer panic? Or, eventually, maybe the sight of him brings relief since the pain of anticipation of failure becomes worse than the actual pain of failure, and you know that getting the quiz out of the way clears you from anxiety for another year?

This is what the Caps are experiencing. Some probably just chalk it up to bad luck but I am pretty sure many of these players go into each season believing they've analyzed their past failures and have made corrections, only to find themselves reeling and dumbfounded when new, unexpected situations and pressures arise at key moments that cause them to forget what they've learned, and to clench up tight at the thought of "oh no, here we go again" when that professor shows up. Or again, others simply glide through the process in order to get the ordeal over with.

And the problem is they don't realize what the problem is. It's not that they haven't studied the material. They know how to play hockey. It's that they haven't prepared themselves for the pressure of the big moment that forces itself on you whether or not you feel ready.

That's part of what choking is...you simply don't perform as well as you should because the situation causes you to react in a way that diminishes your execution and poise. Only by expecting the unexpected and becoming comfortable with it--while DECIDING the past does not equal the future, and that you are more than capable of handling anything--will you be able to push through the mental obstacles that arise during those pressure situations.[/collapse]

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Long post:

[collapse=69]

Well the less failure you experience the less afraid of it you will likely be. The more you experience repetitive failure the more it becomes the story you tell yourself about yourself. This is why young golfers are often lights-out putters while many great players fall off the tours as they age. The golf industry is full of terrific ballstrikers who couldn't stick on the tours because they lost the ability to make clutch putts. An accumulation of missed putts weighs on their minds and they begin to fear the 3 and 4 footers they know they SHOULD make. They get the yips.

The Caps have the playoff yips.

Regarding your test anecdote, what if you'd been totally confident in your ability to pass that test, but when you got the results you found out you actually failed? How would you feel? Even though you prepared as well as you believed you needed to, and in your mind you knew you were going to pass, the results did not match your perceptions. You failed a test you thought you were going to ace.

That's when the doubts and confusion set in. That's when people start to question what they really know and what they're really capable of doing. That's when they start to fear a repeat of that unexpected or unwelcome failure, which can make the fears more likely to materialize.

Let's add to those feelings and altered expectations with the following scenario:

After failing that test you're crushed. You have no idea how you failed and thus no clue what to do next. You get a phone call from the professor and he's willing to give you one more chance to pass his class, and this time it will come in the form of a single question that he will ask you at some random day and time. You have no idea what the question will be or when you will hear from him.

What do you do? If you're smart you begin by preparing for any eventuality. You cover as much material as you can, as quickly and as thoroughly as you can. You go over your previous results and try to pinpoint your errors. You rehearse all manner of scenarios until they become second nature. Even though it isn't foolproof it's still the best option.

What SHOULDN'T you do after failing that test? You should not simply shrug your shoulders and say to yourself "it was just bad luck, I was prepared and should have passed, I'll be fine on the next one. It's only one question and I didn't get them all wrong so I might get this one right, too." This might relieve some anxiety but it won't help you improve, unless 90% of your problem is simply anxiety and you really, truly were somehow 100% unlucky.

As the days or even weeks go on the tension and pressure may increase to unbearable levels as you wait for the expected follow up phone call. Even with thorough preparation, if you are not in the right state of mind you could find yourself agonizing over countless hypotheticals and failure scenarios which may impair your cognitive abilities and undermine your retention, or at least cause you to lose sleep and/or eat poorly, which also hinders your performance.

Now let's say it's been 2 months and you haven't heard anything. You're on vacation with your family and having a good time since it's the first relief you've had from months of studying and test pressure. You're sound asleep at 3am in your hotel room on a Saturday night. Suddenly there's a loud knock on the door. You stagger to the door half-drunk thinking it's probably someone trying to get into the wrong room or one of your family members. You open the door and it's your professor, and he's holding a full length quiz. You have 20 minutes to complete the 30 question quiz and make a passing grade, starting from the moment you open the door. The material covered is not impossible but it's obscure enough that there would be no way to pass the quiz without complete immersion and preparation.

You're so rattled by the sudden and seemingly inappropriate situation you go blank at the worst time. Added to that is some anger and resentment at the professor, as well as a feeling that the whole process is unfair since you expected a phone call with a single question, not a 3am visit with a full test. In the end it doesn't matter what you expected or wanted, this is the reality. You have the ability but you can't answer the questions due to your temporary mental state. The next morning you know all the answers but it's too late. The real test was THE MOMENT.

Now imagine that happening every year, with some new random surprise quiz being dumped on you when you least expect it (during sex, on the scene of a fender bender, while in a meeting with your boss, etc), and failing both quizzes every year mostly because you were too shaken by sudden appearance of that pressure situation at a time you felt least able to handle it. How much worse will your mindset be from one year to the next? After 10 years of this cycle, even believing you have prepared for the information covered on the pop quiz, how confident will you be that the 11th time around will be the breakthrough?

At what point do you start to dread the entire process, such that the sight of your professor causes anything from a confused nervousness to sheer panic? Or, eventually, maybe the sight of him brings relief since the pain of anticipation of failure becomes worse than the actual pain of failure, and you know that getting the quiz out of the way clears you from anxiety for another year?

This is what the Caps are experiencing. Some probably just chalk it up to bad luck but I am pretty sure many of these players go into each season believing they've analyzed their past failures and have made corrections, only to find themselves reeling and dumbfounded when new, unexpected situations and pressures arise at key moments that cause them to forget what they've learned, and to clench up tight at the thought of "oh no, here we go again" when that professor shows up. Or again, others simply glide through the process in order to get the ordeal over with.

And the problem is they don't realize what the problem is. It's not that they haven't studied the material. They know how to play hockey. It's that they haven't prepared themselves for the pressure of the big moment that forces itself on you whether or not you feel ready.

That's part of what choking is...you simply don't perform as well as you should because the situation causes you to react in a way that diminishes your execution and poise. Only by expecting the unexpected and becoming comfortable with it--while DECIDING the past does not equal the future, and that you are more than capable of handling anything--will you be able to push through the mental obstacles that arise during those pressure situations.[/collapse]

Very good analogy, I picture it much better now. There are a few aspects of it I'd like to discuss with you.

1. Complacency. So you failed this test, you have no idea why. Not knowing why by itself is unacceptable, the reason for the failure is the first thing one must establish after it happens. Otherwise it is nearly impossible to learn from past failures.
The professor gives you a second chance, but you don't know when and where you will get it. After a few weeks of not seeing the professor, you get complacent and when he finally shows up at 3AM knocking on your door, you're caught off guard and you fail again. Considering what's at stake, it would be wise to practice every single day to make sure you're at the top of your abilities if the professor does show up that day. The Caps don't prepare like that. They study a month or two before the exam and when the time of the exam comes, they're rusty and they draw a blank on supposedly easy questions.

2. Roster turnover. Not every player on the team has been here for the entire Ovechkin era, except Ovechkin himself. Some guys like Williams had passed the test 3 times already, how is it that they find themselves caught off guard as if they had never done the test before?

3. Stoicism. It seems to me that after 10 or 12 consecutive failures, one would approach the issue with stoicism. Alea jacta est. The die is cast, whatever is meant to happen will happen. That to me should relieve all the accumulated pressure, by accepting the fact that you may or may not pass. Accepting the reality of failure before it happens may ironically allow you to get through the test because you temporarily cleared the negative thoughts from your mind. That is my approach when I face a seemingly impossible situation. I certainly accept all the times I've failed before, I forgive myself. I only forgive myself if I know precisely why I failed and if I've made sure that I can never fail again that way. Of course that's not how it always works, we're human after all.

4. Probabilities. If you're 0 in 10 after 10 years, chances are that you are bound to succeed, even if it's just pure luck. We're due for a bit of luck, we're due for that fluky run like in 1998.

We draw similar conclusions, but "choking" isn't impossible to overcome. Other teams have done it, it's our turn to do it. No more excuses.

 

[g00n]

Very good analogy, I picture it much better now. There are a few aspects of it I'd like to discuss with you.

1. Complacency. So you failed this test, you have no idea why. Not knowing why by itself is unacceptable, the reason for the failure is the first thing one must establish after it happens. Otherwise it is nearly impossible to learn from past failures.
The professor gives you a second chance, but you don't know when and where you will get it. After a few weeks of not seeing the professor, you get complacent and when he finally shows up at 3AM knocking on your door, you're caught off guard and you fail again. Considering what's at stake, it would be wise to practice every single day to make sure you're at the top of your abilities if the professor does show up that day. The Caps don't prepare like that. They study a month or two before the exam and when the time of the exam comes, they're rusty and they draw a blank on supposedly easy questions.

2. Roster turnover. Not every player on the team has been here for the entire Ovechkin era, except Ovechkin himself. Some guys like Williams had passed the test 3 times already, how is it that they find themselves caught off guard as if they had never done the test before?

3. Stoicism. It seems to me that after 10 or 12 consecutive failures, one would approach the issue with stoicism. Alea jacta est. The die is cast, whatever is meant to happen will happen. That to me should relieve all the accumulated pressure, by accepting the fact that you may or may not pass. Accepting the reality of failure before it happens may ironically allow you to get through the test because you temporarily cleared the negative thoughts from your mind. That is my approach when I face a seemingly impossible situation. I certainly accept all the times I've failed before, I forgive myself. I only forgive myself if I know precisely why I failed and if I've made sure that I can never fail again that way. Of course that's not how it always works, we're human after all.

4. Probabilities. If you're 0 in 10 after 10 years, chances are that you are bound to succeed, even if it's just pure luck. We're due for a bit of luck, we're due for that fluky run like in 1998.

We draw similar conclusions, but "choking" isn't impossible to overcome. Other teams have done it, it's our turn to do it. No more excuses.

1. Agree on this, among other issues.

2. Ever seen one kid throw up and then all the other kids start to barf?

3. "It is what it is" became their mantra. When used in a practical sense of getting past a trauma in order to improve, it's healthy. When it's just a middle finger and wave of the hand, it's not. Your way is better than what I perceive from many of the Caps, not just because it temporarily clears the cobwebs but because it also demystifies and defangs the worst case scenario. There's a difference between getting beyond fear of failure and simply giving up when the house of cards starts to wobble.

4. I disagree with this one. There are plenty of franchises that spin their wheels for long periods of time and just keep doing it. Luck is one factor but there are other, more important factors involved. If we're waiting for luck then there's no real point in watching and no real value in winning.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

1. Agree on this, among other issues.

2. Ever seen one kid throw up and then all the other kids start to barf?

3. "It is what it is" became their mantra. When used in a practical sense of getting past a trauma in order to improve, it's healthy. When it's just a middle finger and wave of the hand, it's not. Your way is better than what I perceive from many of the Caps, not just because it temporarily clears the cobwebs but because it also demystifies and defangs the worst case scenario. There's a difference between getting beyond fear of failure and simply giving up when the house of cards starts to wobble.

4. I disagree with this one. There are plenty of franchises that spin their wheels for long periods of time and just keep doing it. Luck is one factor but there are other, more important factors involved. If we're waiting for luck then there's no real point in watching and no real value in winning.

The 4th point goes back to the discussion we had a few weeks before on luck in the playoffs and the value of winning. I'll spare you that debate, you know my stance on this and I know yours.

We can agree that they don't approach the problem with the proper attitude, that is obvious to anybody who watched a Caps playoff run. What the hockey media calls "winning culture" is really a "winning mentality".
Unlike what the hockey media thinks, this isn't an issue of the players. This issue starts at the top, it is an organizational issue. You can change the coaches, you can stack your roster as much as you want, you can practice voodoo and it won't solve the problem. This organizational mantra has to go. This "Will over skill" BS highlights precisely why we're failing again and again. If they players aren't motivated enough to overcome the obstacles on the road, no wonder we can't even get close to the Stanley Cup. I don't think they like the motivation anyway, our efforts are misplaced.
This crippling fear of failure has to go.

 

[g00n]

"Will over Skill" was a dud some mocked from the start. Will and Skill are related, and I'm not even sure they know what "will" means in this case. They seemed to use it as a surrogate for effort, which Langway laments here frequently.

In fact, "Will and Skill" would've been much better. I can't recall if I said that before. Both are needed and either one can unlock or enhance the other.

"Will over Skill" makes it sound like some guys are being singled out for being too good while others are being heralded for trying hard despite a lack of talent. If there's a laziness problem among some stars then address that directly. Don't **** all over the entire culture with a garbage mission statement better suited for a mites team chugging its way to another participation trophy.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

"Will over Skill" was a dud some mocked from the start. Will and Skill are related, and I'm not even sure they know what "will" means in this case. They seemed to use it as a surrogate for effort, which Langway laments here frequently.

In fact, "Will and Skill" would've been much better. I can't recall if I said that before. Both are needed and either one can unlock or enhance the other.

"Will over Skill" makes it sound like some guys are being singled out for being too good while others are being heralded for trying hard despite a lack of talent. If there's a laziness problem among some stars then address that directly. Don't **** all over the entire culture with a garbage mission statement better suited for a mites team chugging its way to another participation trophy.

I've said that a thousand times. As if will or skill had to take precedence over the other. Why not both?

 

[trick9]

"Will over Skill" was a dud some mocked from the start. Will and Skill are related, and I'm not even sure they know what "will" means in this case. They seemed to use it as a surrogate for effort, which Langway laments here frequently.

In fact, "Will and Skill" would've been much better. I can't recall if I said that before. Both are needed and either one can unlock or enhance the other.

"Will over Skill" makes it sound like some guys are being singled out for being too good while others are being heralded for trying hard despite a lack of talent. If there's a laziness problem among some stars then address that directly. Don't **** all over the entire culture with a garbage mission statement better suited for a mites team chugging its way to another participation trophy.

I don't know. 'Will over skill' always screamed to me as the issue that's been there for years, and that's some players thinking they are too good to fail. They roll through the regular season and dominate most teams by giving less than 100% effort and suddenly become shocked when it no longer happens in the Playoffs. I'm not saying they don't give 100% in the Playoffs, but they always lose to a team giving their 110%. Like you should in the Playoffs. I just don't see that with this team.

Besides, using something like 'Will over skill' -statement as your motto sure lead me to thinking that they are lacking in one of those. And it's not skill. I have hard time seeing anything like that come out from someone like Bowman or Quenneville. They already know top team needs both of those things.

 

[g00n]

I don't know. 'Will over skill' always screamed to me as the issue that's been there for years, and that's some players thinking they are too good to fail. They roll through the regular season and dominate most teams by giving less than 100% effort and suddenly become shocked when it no longer happens in the Playoffs. I'm not saying they don't give 100% in the Playoffs, but they always lose to a team giving their 110%. Like you should in the Playoffs. I just don't see that with this team.

Besides, using something like 'Will over skill' -statement as your motto sure lead me to thinking that they are lacking in one of those. And it's not skill. I have hard time seeing anything like that come out from someone like Bowman or Quenneville. They already know top team needs both of those things.

It was surely designed to try and overcome that exact problem you mentioned in the first paragraph. I just don't believe it was the right motto or approach. "Entitled to nothing" was a little more to the specific point but even that had kind of a negative connotation (it could also mean they literally deserve to win nothing).

But I'm not going to lay it all on the players being mentally fragile. I still believe the coaching was lacking in the playoffs. Trotz is not an agile coach. IMO the only ways this team will get over the 2nd round hump are if they somehow grind every team into dust (which might require significant roster changes despite some long term contracts), get the most favorable matchups in history, or the players go off-script and start adapting despite whatever Trotz's gameplan may be.

So I guess they're boned barring some virtuoso performances by the players and some incredible, rogue leadership from the locker room guys. IMO this is part of what put the 94 Rangers over the top.

 

[hockeykicker]

“It’s good,†Carlson said Friday. “You hate to see friends and teammates and great players leave, but it’s also great to get some fresh faces, some young guys to bring up the energy all the time.â€

The veteran defenseman added: “I think it’s going to be good for us, so I’m excited for it. It adds a different dynamic and it can help everybody.â€

“Last year we didn’t have many young guys,†he said. “It’ll be the first taste of the NHL for a lot of them. You got to show them the ropes. People did that for me. People helped me along the way. Whether it’s forwards or Ds, it doesn’t matter, it’s about showing them how to have success.â€

Carlson added: “I think we have tremendous leaders in the locker room. There’s a lot of guys that have played a lot of games. …I know the quality of the people we have and I know they’ll step up and make sure everyone is comfortable from day one.â€

In addition to the potential benefits of injecting youth into the lineup, there’s one more reason Carlson is looking forward to September: he hopes the buzz and anticipation of a new season will help him put last spring’s playoff disappointment in the rearview, finally.

“You still think about it all the time,†Carlson said of the second round loss to the Penguins. “You run into people, talk to people, it always kinda comes up. There’s no hiding from it. But once camp starts, you really just have to shift your focus and make sure that what we’re doing now is going to set us up for the end of this year. You can’t be looking back like that.â€

some quotes from carlson on upcoming season

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-capitals/capitals-john-carlson-ready-embrace-change

 

[RandyHolt]

Wouldn't Will over Skill be a better mantra for a team full of plumbers / grinders? Basically, dump and chase vs trying to score off the rush.

Despite Barry's efforts to make Ovi Kuz and the boys grinders, it's not us and it failed.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

some quotes from carlson on upcoming season

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-capitals/capitals-john-carlson-ready-embrace-change

Pretty lame that they talked to Carlson about the roster changes and didn't bother to ask him about his feelings on this being the last year of his deal with the Caps.

 

[MrGone]

Wouldn't Will over Skill be a better mantra for a team full of plumbers / grinders? Basically, dump and chase vs trying to score off the rush.

Despite Barry's efforts to make Ovi Kuz and the boys grinders, it's not us and it failed.

I would be happy with a will over skill team. It would be the first time I felt like they went down fighting. I don't like losing but I would feel a lot better if for once if I felt like they played as hard as they could. That has never happen in the OV era. Other then a few times with 15min to go in a game. The big push after nothing for two periods for another home lose.

 

[Devil Dancer]

I would be happy with a will over skill team. It would be the first time I felt like they went down fighting. I don't like losing but I would feel a lot better if for once if I felt like they played as hard as they could. That has never happen in the OV era. Other then a few times with 15min to go in a game. The big push after nothing for two periods for another home lose.

No thanks, that's how I remember the late 80s and 90s Caps teams. Always had a lot of character and heart, never had the prime elite talent to compete on a meaningful level. Despite the heartbreak of the Ovie Caps, at least this team had (has?) a legitimate chance to win a Cup.

 

[Corby78]

I would be happy with a will over skill team. It would be the first time I felt like they went down fighting. I don't like losing but I would feel a lot better if for once if I felt like they played as hard as they could. That has never happen in the OV era. Other then a few times with 15min to go in a game. The big push after nothing for two periods for another home lose.

Woe is me... if you haven't felt like you haven't gotten a hard fought game since Ovie got here, you never will. And you won't feel that way about any other team either.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I would be happy with a will over skill team. It would be the first time I felt like they went down fighting. I don't like losing but I would feel a lot better if for once if I felt like they played as hard as they could. That has never happen in the OV era. Other then a few times with 15min to go in a game. The big push after nothing for two periods for another home lose.

That's not true at all. We've had teams that went down fighting. The 2016 team absolutely gave everything they had. The Penguins were superior, they owned us for most of the series. Even in game 6 when we went down 3-0, we managed to tie the game to go to OT.

 

[Caps8112]

I would be happy with a will over skill team. It would be the first time I felt like they went down fighting. I don't like losing but I would feel a lot better if for once if I felt like they played as hard as they could. That has never happen in the OV era. Other then a few times with 15min to go in a game. The big push after nothing for two periods for another home lose.

Not saying you specifically but when Ovi finally goes and retires or Backstrom moves on it will be a real eye opener for younger Caps fans. Going back to just being mediocre every season with no super star player. Bondra was my favorite growing up but he was irrelevant to the really good players in the league in the 90s. it was him and 17 guys named sally versus Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr every season. I remember the "will over skill" days watching Konowalchuk fumbledick his way up and down the ice with Niko both incapable of scoring goals but also representing the teams secondary scoring. Or when that joke Chris Simon led our team in goal scoring.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Not saying you specifically but when Ovi finally goes and retires or Backstrom moves on it will be a real eye opener for younger Caps fans. Going back to just being mediocre every season with no super star player. Bondra was my favorite growing up but he was irrelevant to the really good players in the league in the 90s. it was him and 17 guys named sally versus Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr every season. I remember the "will over skill" days watching Konowalchuk fumbledick his way up and down the ice with Niko both incapable of scoring goals but also representing the teams secondary scoring. Or when that joke Chris Simon led our team in goal scoring.

I'm not looking forward to that all. At least we will still have Kuzy and Oshie by the time Ovi and Nick leave or retire. That's assuming 92 and 77 are still relevant 5-10 years from now.

 

[hockeykicker]

I'm not looking forward to that all. At least we will still have Kuzy and Oshie by the time Ovi and Nick leave or retire. That's assuming 92 and 77 are still relevant 5-10 years from now.

Let's not act like they won't draft another star or go sign a few stars with that cap space

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Let's not act like they won't draft another star or go sign a few stars with that cap space

A lot of teams fall into mediocrity. Look at Vancouver. 6 years ago they were the best team in the NHL and almost won the Cup, now they've been garbage for the past two years.

 

[hockeykicker]

A lot of teams fall into mediocrity. Look at Vancouver. 6 years ago they were the best team in the NHL and almost won the Cup, now they've been garbage for the past two years.

Right but we can all agree maclellan is a wayyyyy better gm then benning so the odds of that happening are slim

 

[g00n]

Right but we can all agree maclellan is a wayyyyy better gm then benning so the odds of that happening are slim

Benning torpedoed that franchise almost immediately, iirc. Guy was supposed to be a genius GM. Ended up taking them backwards with some questionable moves.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Right but we can all agree maclellan is a wayyyyy better gm then benning so the odds of that happening are slim

Benning torpedoed that franchise almost immediately, iirc. Guy was supposed to be a genius GM. Ended up taking them backwards with some questionable moves.

I don't expect us to become as bad as the current Canucks but you would be surprised at how easy it is to be a mediocre team in the NHL. Some teams have been stuck in mediocrity for a long time. Look at the Bruins since 2014. They weren't good enough to make the playoffs but they didn't suck enough to tank. Finishing 9th is the worst thing that can happen in the NHL.

 

[MrGone]

Not saying you specifically but when Ovi finally goes and retires or Backstrom moves on it will be a real eye opener for younger Caps fans. Going back to just being mediocre every season with no super star player. Bondra was my favorite growing up but he was irrelevant to the really good players in the league in the 90s. it was him and 17 guys named sally versus Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr every season. I remember the "will over skill" days watching Konowalchuk fumbledick his way up and down the ice with Niko both incapable of scoring goals but also representing the teams secondary scoring. Or when that joke Chris Simon led our team in goal scoring.

I am not a young Cap fan. I have been around long enough to the point the regular season has no meaning with this bunch.

Truth is I would get more out a regular season with a fringe playoff team fighting for every inch. Then what I am getting now.

We have so much to look forward to. Maybe we can see a few twisting passes as the team peaks in October. And then in April we can blame the coach or GM while the real problems is the broken core.

 

[Caps8112]

Let's not act like they won't draft another star or go sign a few stars with that cap space

ahhh drafting future stars, the caps were amazing at that from 90 till 04. Remember Brian Sutherby or Alex Volchov or Yogi Svejkovsky or Jan Bulis and the list of absolutely dreadful players the caps drafted goes on and on. I know its a low percentage of players that stick in the NHL but acting as if they can just hit on their next 3 drafts after Ovi and Backstrom are gone is a bit silly imo. My point was really that they will never ever be as good as they have been in the ovechkin era. Oshie and kuzy are great but neither exploded into the league like Ovi. Newer caps fans have no idea what mediocre is. Kozlig and Bondra wasted their careers playing in washington.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I doubt if you asked Bondra and Kolzig if their careers were wasted they would agree. Bondra practically begged to not be traded. Kuzy is the star that should take them into the next era. They'll certainly take some steps back after 19 and 8 are gone, but my concerns about their drafting is pretty low. I could see a few years of missing the playoffs to reap a few high draft picks.