Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2022-23 Season Part 1: Free Agent Edition

[Cappy76]

I hate it

It could be a lot worse in my opinion. What I saw the other day was barely noticeable probably even less so during gameplay.

 

[John Price]

I hate it

i can't hate what I can't see

up high in my poor people's section I wouldn't be able to discern an ad on the jersey anyway lol

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

 

[twabby]

Only one ESPN+/Hulu exclusive game.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

I hate it

NBA has had it for years and i dont even notice them anymore

 

[Hivemind]

NBA has had it for years and i dont even notice them anymore

Same with the AHL

 

[Calicaps]

Whoever negotiated NHL's TV/streaming contracts with TNT and Disney should be fired. It's so confusing and stupid and the blackouts are worse than with NBC.

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

 

[twabby]

It's looking like Hagelin might be back to start the season.

We rag on the guy but it really is nice to see that his eye injury may not be career-ending.

 

[Rayquaza64]

with hagelin back i feel like its safe to pencil this as the opening night lineup
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Brown
Mantha-Strome-Oshie
Sheary-Eller-Johansson
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway
Borgstrom

Fehervary-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Gustafsson-TvR
Carlsson

Kuemper
Lindgren

obviously training camp injuries could happen but besides that id bet the team goes with this

 

[Misery74]

with hagelin back i feel like its safe to pencil this as the opening night lineup
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Brown
Mantha-Strome-Oshie
Sheary-Eller-Johansson
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway
Borgstrom

Fehervary-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Gustafsson-TvR
Carlsson

Kuemper
Lindgren

obviously training camp injuries could happen but besides that id bet the team goes with this

Ugh. This team looks bad, especially with Wilson out.

Gustafsson, MoJo and Hagelin all regulars? Would rather fail with LuJo, CMM and Jimi than watch us trot out these Swedish relics.

I now remember why I advocated for firing Laviolette.

 

[twabby]

with hagelin back i feel like its safe to pencil this as the opening night lineup
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Brown
Mantha-Strome-Oshie
Sheary-Eller-Johansson
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway
Borgstrom

Fehervary-Carlson
Orlov-Jensen
Gustafsson-TvR
Carlsson

Kuemper
Lindgren

obviously training camp injuries could happen but besides that id bet the team goes with this

If Hagelin truly is ready to return I suspect your lineup is mostly correct. Maybe Sheary or Mojo move up a line and Oshie drops to the third line for balance.

With Laviolette at the helm it's hard to see where McMichael fits in if Hagelin returns. Some made the point that Eller could have dropped to 4LW if Hagelin was still out injured, but with that no longer really an option it's hard to see Laviolette opting for McMichael over any of Sheary, Eller, Hagelin, or Johansson. As you mentioned injuries can and probably will happen, but I'm going to be pretty disappointed if McMichael starts the year riding the pine.

 

[Rayquaza64]

If Hagelin truly is ready to return I suspect your lineup is mostly correct. Maybe Sheary or Mojo move up a line and Oshie drops to the third line for balance.

With Laviolette at the helm it's hard to see where McMichael fits in if Hagelin returns. Some made the point that Eller could have dropped to 4LW if Hagelin was still out injured, but with that no longer really an option it's hard to see Laviolette opting for McMichael over any of Sheary, Eller, Hagelin, or Johansson. As you mentioned injuries can and probably will happen, but I'm going to be pretty disappointed if McMichael starts the year riding the pine.

he’ll probably start the year centering the top line in hershey if i had to guess but yeah. disappointing but its lavi we’re talking with so the roster being without the young forwards isnt really shocking

 

[g00n]

Ugh. This team looks bad, especially with Wilson out.

Gustafsson, MoJo and Hagelin all regulars? Would rather fail with LuJo, CMM and Jimi than watch us trot out these Swedish relics.

I now remember why I advocated for firing Laviolette.

Eh, if no other serious injuries that lineup should be enough to keep them in playoff contention until the return of Wilson, and maybe Backstrom.

I would guess some kind of move at TDL or early might be necessary if Nick can't go.

 

[Langway]

That third line. Blech. Snively or AJF make it over Borgstrom I'd think. Hopefully Snively. Maybe he was just a flash in the pan but they'd be daft not to see if it wasn't.

Carlsson is intriguing given his size but Johansen should challenge him and I don't doubt they still keep Irwin around.

Hopefully CMM/Lapierre/Iorio make the cutdown tough or else it does look a bit bland. I am intrigued by the new Canadians Brown & Strome but Johansson & Gustafsson I'll need to be won over to believe in the fit. They know what they have in 90 and he's cheap but I don't think he solidifies them really. Same with Gustafsson on a more stylistic level.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Didn’t they praise CMM over the summer? State he needed a bigger role? Or did I make that up?

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Didn’t they praise CMM over the summer? State he needed a bigger role? Or did I make that up?

You remember correctly. They also said they need a place for him full time at center since they like him better there.

Being a healthy scratch or playing eight minutes a night as a bottom six wing would really suck for his development.

 

[um]

This is surprisingly spread out. And they're finally showing off Edmonton and Toronto games in the US.

Good stuff!

 

[um]

Ugh. This team looks bad, especially with Wilson out.

Gustafsson, MoJo and Hagelin all regulars? Would rather fail with LuJo, CMM and Jimi than watch us trot out these Swedish relics.

I now remember why I advocated for firing Laviolette.

Remember when we won the cup with a bunch of young guys stepping up and contributing, I wish we'd try that again.

 

[Corby78]

Same with the AHL

AHL is a minor league.

NBA has had it for years and i dont even notice them anymore

I notice (though I don’t regularly watch the NBA) and think it looks like a cheap money grab

 

[Hivemind]

AHL is a minor league.

And? The post I was responding to was about noticing jersey ads. Minor leagues don't wear some entirely different type of hockey jersey. AHL jersey ads are hardly noticeable, even when using very distinct colors (like baby blue on chocolate brown).

The NHL jersey ads are much the same. You'll forget they're there, just like you forgot the helmets had ads on them.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Remember when we won the cup with a bunch of young guys stepping up and contributing, I wish we'd try that again.

who were all those young regular lineup guys again? My check shows Vrana as the youngest in terms of experience and he was in his 2nd year in 2018. Bura was in his 4th. Djoos barely played...anyone else?

Ugh. This team looks bad, especially with Wilson out.

Gustafsson, MoJo and Hagelin all regulars? Would rather fail with LuJo, CMM and Jimi than watch us trot out these Swedish relics.

I now remember why I advocated for firing Laviolette.

well, if you want to fail and not make the playoffs, definitely start Lujo on the top pair and sprinkle in the other partially ready guys in key roles as well.

 

[Rayquaza64]

That third line. Blech. Snively or AJF make it over Borgstrom I'd think. Hopefully Snively. Maybe he was just a flash in the pan but they'd be daft not to see if it wasn't.

Carlsson is intriguing given his size but Johansen should challenge him and I don't doubt they still keep Irwin around.

Hopefully CMM/Lapierre/Iorio make the cutdown tough or else it does look a bit bland. I am intrigued by the new Canadians Brown & Strome but Johansson & Gustafsson I'll need to be won over to believe in the fit. They know what they have in 90 and he's cheap but I don't think he solidifies them really. Same with Gustafsson on a more stylistic level.

forgot about irwin, he and carlsson are the only real roster battle that isnt obvious to see who wins out on that and even then they might just keep both

Didn’t they praise CMM over the summer? State he needed a bigger role? Or did I make that up?

unless he beats out eller he probably wont get one unfortunately

 

[Rayquaza64]

this roster also makes things potentially interesting, as leason alexeyev and lujo all need waivers. if one of alexeyev/lujo can beat out gustafsson that would be great, but i have my doubts simply because veteran vs rookie. joe snively is also another name we could potentially lose to waivers. It’s also why im pretty confident mcmichael wont win a roster spot even if he is better simply on the fact that he is waivers exempt so they can store him for another year.

 

[Langway]

Stephenson was also a versatile depth piece as a rookie. Not massive roles for youth but a blend of fresh legs here and there. They need to be more brutal cycling through support pieces, albeit within a coherent vision. To not have more faith in what's developing suggests an organizational disconnect, if not in the developmental process than in what existing strengths need to be prioritized beforehand. I get needing to be won over and earning spots but level ground is needed so that generic veteran play isn't the main standard. Reliability is great but esp. 5v5 offensively there's got to be more selectivity, creativity and imagination if they're to get any further when it matters. That blend is probably not there if they're opting exclusively for the likes of Eller, Johansson & Hagelin.

They need developing upside pushing them forward and part of that involves more openness to risk. Otherwise where's the ambition? Tilting too much the other way has run its course and now that they should have goalies that can make a stop there's a lot less reasoning behind it. I get dumbing it down since their vets aren't that bright but in a stalemate it's still going to come down to decision-making. Better to instead play more to their strengths and try more to strike first.