Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2020 Offseason Pt. 4

[SherVaughn30]

Wow. we made the salary cap cut by only $3,456. Talk about brushing right up to the ceiling.

They will have to give Anderson a contract if they are gonna have him on the Taxi Squad.

 

[HecticGlow]

Wow. we made the salary cap cut by only $3,456. Talk about brushing right up to the ceiling.

Crucially though, we can exceed the cap by up to $1m for each player brought up from the taxi squad if we don't have 18 players or 2 goalies fit to play without having to play a game undermanned, so if these are effectively their preferred 23 guys, there isn't much risk in being right up against the cap. And, with $4 million of our 'cap space' actually LTIR money, it's not as though we have anything to bank anyway. Good cap management.

 

[pman25]

They will have to give Anderson a contract if they are gonna have him on the Taxi Squad.

And he wouldn’t count towards the cap since his contract could be buried

 

[HecticGlow]

They will have to give Anderson a contract if they are gonna have him on the Taxi Squad.

Though admittedly they could wait until the very last minute to do so – wait until they're sure other teams are set in goal, and then sign him and assign him through waivers. Although that policy might require Pheonix Copley to initially be on the taxi squad, if Anderson wasn't signed by Thursday.

 

[HecticGlow]

I think teams are keeping 3 goalies. COVID kind of requires that. If you have 2 goalies and one get injured, the call up requires quarantine. You are SOL.

Yes, inexperienced goalies have shown they CAN come in and perform, they fail more often than they succeed. They if they CAN perform, they are performing at SURVIVAL level far more often than cup winning/division winning level. Keep in mind that if they keep Vanecek, they have a starting goalie that has never done that before. Where his main NHL experience is playing managed games for a back up goalie. That and a back up that has never played a game in the league. For me the phrase crap shoot comes to mind

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but they effectively will have 3 goalies but with one on the taxi squad. It's either 3 with the NHL club, or one on the taxi squad, but either way your third has to travel with the team and be ready as an emergency backup goaltender during all home and away games. That means Anderson gets to train with and mentor the two young guys – and step up if they falter (though someone would need to clear through waivers if all were healthy) – without contributing to the cap.

 

[kicksavedave]

Shh, no one tell Francoispants!

 

[crab]

Shh, no one tell Francoispants!

Odd for a goalie he said should be in the ECHL...

 

[tenken00]

I'm more interested in the fact that if these are the OD lines, that Sprong beat out Sheary for the 3RW spot. I know Sprong really wanted to fix his shortcomings and impressed in camp last year, good to see him put it on himself to prove himself all over again this year with a new head coach. There is still 2 or 3 days to go before the first game, but it'll be interested to see how Panik-Eller-Sprong looks against real competition.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

We beefed up the defense so hoping for the best.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I have suggested that this is where Anderson may end up

And you were told you were a fool for thinking that. LOL

 

[txpd]

And you were told you were a fool for thinking that. LOL

Yea. True. I lost track of how often that happens

 

[Ridley Simon]

I'm more interested in the fact that if these are the OD lines, that Sprong beat out Sheary for the 3RW spot. I know Sprong really wanted to fix his shortcomings and impressed in camp last year, good to see him put it on himself to prove himself all over again this year with a new head coach. There is still 2 or 3 days to go before the first game, but it'll be interested to see how Panik-Eller-Sprong looks against real competition.

I have stated I wouldn’t be surprised if both Sprong and Sheary play — and Hathaway sits some.

we will see

 

[Gurglesons]

I'm more interested in the fact that if these are the OD lines, that Sprong beat out Sheary for the 3RW spot. I know Sprong really wanted to fix his shortcomings and impressed in camp last year, good to see him put it on himself to prove himself all over again this year with a new head coach. There is still 2 or 3 days to go before the first game, but it'll be interested to see how Panik-Eller-Sprong looks against real competition.

How was Sprong looked for you guys? Lavi does seem like a coach who would deal with Sprong's gaping defensive issues. Plus Sprong's been given two reality check moments.

 

[tenken00]

How was Sprong looked for you guys? Lavi does seem like a coach who would deal with Sprong's gaping defensive issues. Plus Sprong's been given two reality check moments.

Honestly, I'm probably the wrong guy to ask. I havent been keeping up with training camp the past week or so besides reading articles here and there. Been busy and haven't gotten around to watching the scrimmages even. So this is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you lol.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Really happy for Vanecek. He absolutely deserves a chance. Sometimes you don’t see the beauty of the long development curve. He was drafted in 2014 and busted his ass off at every level, including the ECHL. Happy that he has this chance to prove he’s a 1B.

Worst comes to worst, he’s not NHL-caliber and we move on. Best-case scenario? We have a solid, young 1B to pair with Sammy for years to come.

No risk in beginning the season with these two youngsters and seeing what happens - adjust if needed.

 

[txpd]

No risk in beginning the season with these two youngsters and seeing what happens - adjust if needed.

In a 56 game season with the division lineup they face, I am not sure how anything is no risk. 20 games is a third of the season. They have 22 games of NHL experience in their net. Its a crap shoot

 

[txpd]

I have stated I wouldn’t be surprised if both Sprong and Sheary play — and Hathaway sits some.

Good luck with that

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I have stated I wouldn’t be surprised if both Sprong and Sheary play — and Hathaway sits some.

we will see

I think we’ll see an adjusted and better Hathaway this year.

that said we’re talking about forward 11 or 12, so sitting wouldn’t be a reach.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

with an older team and so many B2B games i can see Lavi getting alot of players into the mix

 

[Capagonia]

they seem to have gone through a lot to bring him into DC even though camps over... I think he'll get a few games.

I think he gets more than a few games. IMO he’s the 5C on the depth chart. If a center goes down it gets bleak pretty quick. I’m not confident in Phino, Sgarbossa, Malliet etc.

CMM slides in at 3C in any situation where a center is out. If we lose Backy or Kuzy, Eller moves into the top six and McMichael slides in at 3C. If Dowd goes down Eller moves down to 4C and McMichael slides into the 3rd line. Just takes Eller’s spot if he is out.

 

[Hivemind]

yeah but there likely arent juniors for a while if at all

OHL season is slated to start in early February, with training camps starting just after the NHL season.

 

[Hivemind]

And he wouldn’t count towards the cap since his contract could be buried

Depends on how much the contract is. Anything over $1.075M will be counted against the NHL cap hit.

 

[Hivemind]

How was Sprong looked for you guys? Lavi does seem like a coach who would deal with Sprong's gaping defensive issues. Plus Sprong's been given two reality check moments.

He looked motivated in the second scrimmage, but it's a tiny sample size. He will likely trade off with Sheary for a roster spot on the 3rd line. 4th line seems fairly set (for now) with Hagelin-Dowd-Hatheway.

 

[Roshi]

Posted this to Finnish subforum too, but thought it was fun enough to post here aswell.

Does history repeat itself?

If it does, Vanecek will be our next superstar goalie! Just look at the similarities to the timeline when we were going through the last goalie generation swap!

Beloved and best goalie of the franchise history Olaf Kolzig (Braden Holtby) finally came to the end with his time in DC. It was time for the new shiny toy, highly appreciated first round pick young Russian goalie Semyon Varlamov (Ilya Samsonov) to take the thrown for the next decade. They recruited a seasoned veteran, Vezina- & Hart-trophy winner Jose Theodore (Lundqvist would have been perfect fit here, but Anderson is fine too) to help the team through transition. On the background there was also another skilled young goalie Braden Holtby (Vitek Vanecek), who had been well seasoned for years in the AHL, gaining confidence and applauses in Hershey but still not much orgasationally recognized by the big team and its fans. And they also had fourth decent option for backup goalie in promising Michal Neuvirth (Pheonix Copley), but he was there basically just to challenge Varlamov and bring options for nr2.

Everyone knows how that situation ended up. Holtby grapped the spot and led Caps to their first Stanley Cup. The expected starter Varlamov was traded to Colorado for two high draft picks, of that one brought us Tom Wilson.

Theres some numbers behind this too. Draft pick numbers! Varlamov was drafted 23. overall. Samsonov was drafted 22. overall. Varlamov and Samsonov are basically the same guy, right!? Holtby was picked 93. overall. Vanecek was 39. overall? Can that be just a coincidence? Propably not. The stars have shown us the way, Vanecek will be the next Holtby. The more you look at it and compare them, the more clear it becomes. So much similarities. Too much.

 

[Langway]

OHL season is slated to start in early February, with training camps starting just after the NHL season.

That was the plan but it was pushed and nothing firm has been announced since. The AHL should remain a possibility in the meantime. There should be an opportunity for at least a few weeks there and then they can revisit to either bring him up to the taxi squad or assign him to the OHL. But it's very possible there's no OHL season.