Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2020 Offseason Pt. 1

[CapitalsCupReality]

John Carlson also had two dreadful postseasons in a row along with finishing up this season poorly. His body of work is also similarly suspect if that is the case.

The entire team was bad for the period of time you mention, there's nothing special about Vrana playing poorly during it when 3/4 the team did.

um he was hurt......thx bye. And he still put up points.

Vrana has been shit. Stop deflecting and protecting for the player eesh.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I heard Ted describe hiring Cassidy. They interviewed several candidates. McPhee brought Hanlon. Patrick brought a name not mentioned, and Leonsis brought Cassidy. The other two made their case against Cassidy and then they decided on Cassidy.

Further, there is no way that McPhee had anything to do with hiring Adam Oates. Boudreau and Hunter were McPhee but both were supposed to finish out the season only and allow for a proper coachin search.

We know that Leonsis had an affection for Trotz already. Was not Trotz and MacLellan hired on the same day?

Maybe I am wrong but based on that it looks to me like Ted does more than just sign off.

be assured there are at least 3 votes and one final decider. GM, Dick, Ted....

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

be assured there are at least 3 votes and one final decider. GM, Dick, Ted....

And I fear money might be the deciding factor

 

[Raikkonen]

My understanding is that Kuzy is beyond repair. He isnt going to become solid 2-way player or consistent genius he sometimes is on the ice. Getting older his production will slip even more.

I guess new coach can make him better for some short period of time... but long term they have to trade him to allow Backstrom retire as a Cap. They can handle Eller as 3C, Backstrom as top-9C, Kuzy as top-6 C - but all three at once they cant. There is only one option to upgrade realistically.

 

[HecticGlow]

Has anyone else noticed Kuzy’s regular magic rather disappeared when Trotz left. Kuznetsov in 2016-2018 was a joy to watch on the ice in the regular season, and a force to be reckoned with in 2018-2019. Obviously, he may just have lost his drive now he’s won, but it also coincides with a more laid back coach with an increasingly complicated yet unstructured system.

I think he also plays a different game when paired with Ovi. Mojo/Bura-Kuzy-Williams meant Kuzy was the star on the ice, trying to step out from the Ovi-Backstrom shadow. It’s unsurprising he plays differently when with Ovi, because the objective is more to get the puck to him than to do some fancy trick that gets his line mate a goal.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Has anyone else noticed Kuzy’s regular magic rather disappeared when Trotz left. Kuznetsov in 2016-2018 was a joy to watch on the ice in the regular season, and a force to be reckoned with in 2018-2019. Obviously, he may just have lost his drive now he’s won, but it also coincides with a more laid back coach with an increasingly complicated yet unstructured system.

I think he also plays a different game when paired with Ovi. Mojo/Bura-Kuzy-Williams meant Kuzy was the star on the ice, trying to step out from the Ovi-Backstrom shadow. It’s unsurprising he plays differently when with Ovi, because the objective is more to get the puck to him than to do some fancy trick that gets his line mate a goal.

I think it’s more related to the contract + Cup. He’s comfortable and complacent. Kuzy has never been the image of consistency, even in the Trotz era he regularly took nights off or made stupid/lazy plays. 2017 he was great because it was a contract year. 2018 he delivers because it got him a Cup.


Now he’s happy and complacent. Some guys are okay with just doing it once. Other guys never stop wanting to win. Sadly we have too many of the former and only a handful of the latter.

 

[caps4cup]

I think it’s more related to the contract + Cup. He’s comfortable and complacent. Kuzy has never been the image of consistency, even in the Trotz era he regularly took nights off or made stupid/lazy plays. 2017 he was great because it was a contract year. 2018 he delivers because it got him a Cup.


Now he’s happy and complacent. Some guys are okay with just doing it once. Other guys never stop wanting to win. Sadly we have too many of the former and only a handful of the latter.

Kuznetsov’s best season production wise of his career was actually the first season of his new deal, while his worst was his contract year (besides his rookie year), which doesn’t seem to point to his contract being the motivation. His defensive game has definitely fallen off a cliff since the Cup though, and more specifically the last two years, which points more to a coaching problem, especially when that issue has been team-wide.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Leonsis calls the shots on the coach. See the reasons why the Caps hired Trotz instead of Lavy last time.

That was before he had a Cup winning GM. All
of the “Ted Hires” were. HCTR was seemingly a GMBM choice, wasn’t he?

I think GMBM makes the choice w “influence” from TednDick. Just now much influence?

 

[OV Rocks]

Has anyone else noticed Kuzy’s regular magic rather disappeared when Trotz left. Kuznetsov in 2016-2018 was a joy to watch on the ice in the regular season, and a force to be reckoned with in 2018-2019. Obviously, he may just have lost his drive now he’s won, but it also coincides with a more laid back coach with an increasingly complicated yet unstructured system.

I think he also plays a different game when paired with Ovi. Mojo/Bura-Kuzy-Williams meant Kuzy was the star on the ice, trying to step out from the Ovi-Backstrom shadow. It’s unsurprising he plays differently when with Ovi, because the objective is more to get the puck to him than to do some fancy trick that gets his line mate a goal.

Maybe he doesn't have magic powder to give him that little boost of extra creativity and energy anymore....

In all seriousness though, I think it is time to move him to wing to get back that creativity. He is bogged down with worrying about his 200 foot game as a center, his faceoffs aren't where they need to be, and I think he is disinterested in defensive responsibility as a center. That would require a total re-work of the top-6 though and I am not sure how possible that is currently.

 

[twabby]

um he was hurt......thx bye. And he still put up points.

Vrana has been shit. Stop deflecting and protecting for the player eesh.

Sure Carlson might have been hurt this postseason but that excuse doesn't hold water for his poor play at the end of this regular season and last postseason. It's also not entirely clear the injury impacted his play and I don't think we'll ever know for sure. The fact that he did struggle down the stretch of the regular season makes it harder to just pin his poor play against the Islanders on the injury.

I'm not saying Vrana's play hasn't been subpar the past 2 postseasons. No one in their right mind would say that. I'm saying his poor play is probably more due to the entire team playing poorly due to coaching issues rather than some critical flaw he has in his game that warrants him being traded.

 

[tenken00]

Is there a way to clear some cap and sign Granlund now that he's willing to test free agency? Is Granlund even a good bounce back candidate? He was pretty bad in Nashville, but not that far removed from his Minnesota days. And that might help depress his contract demands.

 

[txpd]

Maybe he doesn't have magic powder to give him that little boost of extra creativity and energy anymore....

In all seriousness though, I think it is time to move him to wing to get back that creativity. He is bogged down with worrying about his 200 foot game as a center, his faceoffs aren't where they need to be, and I think he is disinterested in defensive responsibility as a center. That would require a total re-work of the top-6 though and I am not sure how possible that is currently.

If they have to use him on the wing, then I would trade him. The Capitals roster is designed to play a certain kind of hockey. A style of hockey that they cant play with Kuzy on the wing. Trading him for a legit 2c might make more sense

 

[txpd]

It's also not entirely clear the injury impacted his play .

I see. On TV we saw him twist his lower leg in a way that would injure and then not play another game til game 1. But you want a doctor's note?

 

[895]

Is there a way to clear some cap and sign Granlund now that he's willing to test free agency? Is Granlund even a good bounce back candidate? He was pretty bad in Nashville, but not that far removed from his Minnesota days. And that might help depress his contract demands.

Too much money on wingers already.

 

[txpd]

Is there a way to clear some cap and sign Granlund now that he's willing to test free agency? Is Granlund even a good bounce back candidate? He was pretty bad in Nashville, but not that far removed from his Minnesota days. And that might help depress his contract demands.

He's a 2c. Backstrom Kuzy or Eller. You choose

 

[tenken00]

Too much money on wingers already.

Probably right. Just looking at buy low/spend low options that could play better than their value, because thats really all the options we can most likely afford.

 

[OV Rocks]

If they have to use him on the wing, then I would trade him. The Capitals roster is designed to play a certain kind of hockey. A style of hockey that they cant play with Kuzy on the wing. Trading him for a legit 2c might make more sense

I disagree, I think that Kuzy at wing would create some interesting line combination options for the Caps. They would need to add a center, Domi maybe, but the top-6 would be interesting because of it.


Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Domi-Kuznetsov

 

[tenken00]

He's a 2c. Backstrom Kuzy or Eller. You choose

Well he can be a playmaker, but hes mostly played as a winger. At least he's versatile.

 

[maacoshark]

Honestly, I can only think of 1 player who played well, or at least well enough, in both the last two postseasons.

Who was that?

 

[tenken00]

Who was that?

I can only think of the captain that had a somewhat decent showing in both this year and last year.

 

[maacoshark]

Chandler has looked great this playoffs for Vegas. Good for him.

He has looked very good. Vegas is using him in a similar way Trotz used him. They move him up and down the lineup. They will also use him as a winger or Centre. and he is doing an excellent job on the pk.
He could have done well here hut Reirden just didn't utilize him. He didn't know how to use him.

 

[txpd]

I disagree, I think that Kuzy at wing would create some interesting line combination options for the Caps. They would need to add a center, Domi maybe, but the top-6 would be interesting because of it.


Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Vrana-Domi-Kuznetsov

Lets try this a different way. The Capitals forecheck with their wings. They play a heavy game. Look at the top line wings and then the bottom wings. Vrana and Kuznetsov would be a waste of time. Unless its a pure race for a loose puck. They got Oshie for a reason. They can abide Vrana because they have Ov, Wilson and Oshie.

 

[txpd]

Well he can be a playmaker, but hes mostly played as a winger. At least he's versatile.

He is a 5-10 winger? I return to my Kuzy isnt a good Caps winger argument then. He doesnt fit the Caps roster construction and identity. Wrong player. Who's spot do you have him taking? Its not Oshie.

 

[tenken00]

He is a 5-10 winger? I return to my Kuzy isnt a good Caps winger argument then. He doesnt fit the Caps roster construction and identity. Wrong player. Who's spot do you have him taking? Its not Oshie.

Probably Oshie.

 

[txpd]

Probably Oshie.

Why would you do that? Tired of him? 2nd on the team in goals. 3rd in even strenth goals. One of a handful of guys that showed up and performed in the playoffs. I thought the idea was to demote or move the guys with work ethic problems, not the guys that deliver.