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Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2020 Offseason Pt. 3

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txpd said:
If I am remembering right they had issues finding a 2c. Not a 1c or a 3 or 4c. A chunk of that 2c mess was going stop gap to stop gap waiting for Kuznetsov to decide he wanted to play in the NHL.
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Some of those stopgaps worked out pretty darn well. Ribeiro and Grabovski were both highly successful in the role in Washington, and ended up pricing themselves out of the Capitals plans. Given how both worked out in the long run, the Caps may have dodged a bullet.
 
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Hivemind said:
Some of those stopgaps worked out pretty darn well. Ribeiro and Grabovski were both highly successful in the role in Washington, and ended up pricing themselves out of the Capitals plans. Given how both worked out in the long run, the Caps may have dodged a bullet.
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Most were fine. Brendan Morrison was pretty decent too
 
Well since the Ontario provincial government confirmed that there will be no contact allowed in the OHL this year, it may be time to consider placing Connor McMichael on the team in some sort of capacity after all.
 
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Rayquaza64 said:
McMichael is definitely a big threat to start as 3RW for the season, the OHL basically being a glorified beer league this year might influence a decision
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I am confident that there will be an alternative to keeping a player they wouldnt have oridinarily. I am not confident that there will be an AHL season. McMichael is probably more likely to play in Europe than the OHL and probably more like not in the NHL
 
tenken00 said:
Well since the Ontario provincial government confirmed that there will be no contact allowed in the OHL this year, it may be time to consider placing Connor McMichael on the team in some sort of capacity after all.
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my gut feeling is that some sort of MLB style development squad is going to be created.
 
txpd said:
my gut feeling is that some sort of MLB style development squad is going to be created.
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Or perhaps the NHL/AHL and CHL age agreement will be rescinded? I cant see the NHL being happy about this. Although you've stated that you don't think the AHL will play this year either.

I dont know. It seems like Europe right now is no better than here with more lock downs going back up. Might the Euro leagues be also in danger of shutting down as well?
 
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tenken00 said:
Or perhaps the NHL/AHL and CHL age agreement will be rescinded? I cant see the NHL being happy about this. Although you've stated that you don't think the AHL will play this year either.

I dont know. It seems like Europe right now is no better than here with more lock downs going back up. Might the Euro leagues be also in danger of shutting down as well?
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the KHL is telling everyone that there's not a chance they postpone due to covid, idk how long it will last
 
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tenken00 said:
Or perhaps the NHL/AHL and CHL age agreement will be rescinded? I cant see the NHL being happy about this. Although you've stated that you don't think the AHL will play this year either.

I dont know. It seems like Europe right now is no better than here with more lock downs going back up. Might the Euro leagues be also in danger of shutting down as well?
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I am sure the NHL isnt happy about the junior hockey thing but there is no guarentee that the AHL plays or the NCAA. Its going to be bad before the end of the winter.
 
Rayquaza64 said:
McMichael is definitely a big threat to start as 3RW for the season, the OHL basically being a glorified beer league this year might influence a decision
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His cap hit is a problem, though. Things are so tight that fitting him in would require someone else being moved out, or only carrying one healthy scratch.
 
txpd said:
my gut feeling is that some sort of MLB style development squad is going to be created.
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How does MLB do it? It would be neat if they were able to create a development “bubble” and each team sends 2-3 top prospects. You could even do it by division, 4 teams, create a league out of it for a bit. Maybe that’s what MLB does but that would be cool
 
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Premier Doug Ford appears to be pushing back on the no bodychecking idea and that makes sense.

If you look at the dern science, exhalation 'cloud' is the concern wrt transmission. The longer you spend in the cloud of an infected person shedding a high virus load the higher the risk. A great way to mitigate the cloud is with wind, so the real key is amped up ventilation above the ice surface to disperse clouds and virus load. They need to do that and get on with it as normal (with lots of testing).

The no bodychecking idea is idiotic, and I suspect decided by people who don't like hockey and certainly don't understand it. Proof of that is they had no issue with a prolonged face off with two centres and a linesman all breathing HARD into the same dern cubic meter of air for 20 seconds while the linesman insists they do it right.

Meanwhile a good, old school hip-check puts neither player in each other's exhalation clouds for all intents and purposes. Same with an Ovi-Jagr bone crusher.

If they don't have bodychecking CMM should be with the Caps on the 3rd line with maybe splitting time with a Sprong/someone else. Eases him in, gets to watch some games and then go in, then play a few and then watch a few. No pressure, but he get to adapt his skills to the highest level and may surprise and blossom. Get rid of a player if needed for Cap purposes.
 
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ArmadilloThumb said:
If they don't have bodychecking CMM should be with the Caps on the 3rd line with maybe splitting time with a Sprong/someone else. Eases him in, gets to watch some games and then go in, then play a few and then watch a few. No pressure, but he get to adapt his skills to the highest level and may surprise and blossom. Get rid of a player if needed for Cap purposes.
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No. He is either ready or he is not ready. You dont force him into NHL games to get him games because he cant play junior hockey this season. You find another alternative. There will be an alternative because no NHL team wants their top junior prospects not playing real hockey. There might not be an AHL season either. Take it a step at a time.

If he legit belongs on the team, then its moot. You are also setting up a situation where the kid only makes the team because he cant play in the OHL and that he really doesnt belong when he actually earned it and would be there regardless.
 
txpd said:
If he legit belongs on the team, then its moot. You are also setting up a situation where the kid only makes the team because he cant play in the OHL and that he really doesnt belong when he actually earned it and would be there regardless.
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I suspect he is ready or very close. The leap forward he made here last year was significant and I think that growth will continue. The idea of easing him in is mainly because he didn't get a full playoff run nor the first half of this season. Continue the trajectory but with a light load at first. I fully agree if he come to camp and is clearly not ready it's a no go. I bet he continues to ascend.
 
Im being told that if there is no contact, there will likely be no season. If there is no season, CHL prospects with no season will be allowed to play in the AHL, ECHL, or SPHL
 
ArmadilloThumb said:
I suspect he is ready or very close. The leap forward he made here last year was significant and I think that growth will continue. The idea of easing him in is mainly because he didn't get a full playoff run nor the first half of this season. Continue the trajectory but with a light load at first. I fully agree if he come to camp and is clearly not ready it's a no go. I bet he continues to ascend.
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My read of the comments pre bubble was that he was not considered ready to challenge for a spot on the roster even as a spare. I think it would be a mistake to have expectations there. My preference is that if he makes it, he makes it on his game and not because of the situation at junior hockey. We went thru that with Tom Wilson and the result was years of pain and uncertainty.

It will all depend on minor league hockey. If they have it, then that may be an option. If they dont have the AHL, i expect an MLB spare roster that will work out of Hershey or Arlington and McMichael will be there
 
txpd said:
My read of the comments pre bubble was that he was not considered ready to challenge for a spot on the roster even as a spare. I think it would be a mistake to have expectations there. My preference is that if he makes it, he makes it on his game and not because of the situation at junior hockey. We went thru that with Tom Wilson and the result was years of pain and uncertainty.
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While we are close to agreement I would point out:

• Tom Wilson was misused when he was brought up to the Caps. TW was mostly muscle through his Plymouth years except for his final season where he blossomed into a real scoring Power Forward. Caps then used him as muscle when they brought him up. Big mistake. If they decide to bring CMM up it will be to emphasize his strengths and not misuse him grinding on the 4th line. Ease him in to add scoring to the 3rd line.

• There is a difference in bringing CMM up to debut in a playoff intensity bubble rather than early in a new season. GMBM and coaching may consider that a much better fit for an early debut.
 
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ArmadilloThumb said:
While we are close to agreement I would point out:

• Tom Wilson was misused when he was brought up to the Caps. TW was mostly muscle through his Plymouth years except for his final season where he blossomed into a real scoring Power Forward. Caps then used him as muscle when they brought him up. Big mistake. If they decide to bring CMM up it will be to emphasize his strengths and not misuse him grinding on the 4th line. Ease him in to add scoring to the 3rd line.

• There is a difference in bringing CMM up to debut in a playoff intensity bubble rather than early in a new season. GMBM and coaching may consider that a much better fit for an early debut.
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If McMichael is ready, I am good with him on the team. If he is not ready and they stick him on the team because of the OHL, I am not good with that.
 
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