Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2022-23 Season Part 3: Drop the puck!

[pman25]

The 3v3 thing is a good observation and you can sorta extrapolate that to a full lineup.

Which is why Lavi seems better when we’re injured. No problems really when he’s forced into it and the lines just come together by necessity and he can just coach. But really seems to overthink things when he has more options like with Strome/Mantha and his 3v3 decisions.

Would be nice for GMBM to make the decision for him.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I'm not for making any deals this season, however if the Caps are I hope they look to our cousins in the West (St Louis). GMBM seems to like making deals with them that help out both teams.

 

[HecticGlow]

I don’t think we need to make up convoluted reasons for why Strome was scratched. I think Laviolette just thinks he’s their 5th best/5th most important center. That’s pretty concerning to me.

Laviolette has already shown incredibly poor judgment when it comes to 3v3 player decisions. He’s shown some very questionable personnel decisions last year and the year before when it came to decisions on the blue line.

It doesn’t seem far-fetched for this to just be another case of a poor evaluation of his roster. I think the evidence in the past makes this the most likely explanation of what’s going on.



I mean this is nonsense! It’s very bad! Balance is a two-way street! They need scoring! They need a good power play! I’m going to play God of War: Ragnarök now!

My big problem with Lavi’s logic here is it suggests if Eller (for example) got injured, our PK would be screwed. We have six regular PKers at present (Eller, Dowd, Kuzy, Sheary, Hathaway, Mojo), and Oshie has shown himself more than capable in the past. And that’s without Backstrom or Wilson taking a PK shift. Sitting Strome and Mantha because you can’t afford to lose Eller for a game or two is baffling.

 

[Hivemind]

My big problem with Lavi’s logic here is it suggests if Eller (for example) got injured, our PK would be screwed. We have six regular PKers at present (Eller, Dowd, Kuzy, Sheary, Hathaway, Mojo), and Oshie has shown himself more than capable in the past. And that’s without Backstrom or Wilson taking a PK shift. Sitting Strome and Mantha because you can’t afford to lose Eller for a game or two is baffling.

To expand upon this - Eller can't kill the penalties he takes and he's taking a lot of penalties this season. Eller is wasting his own PK value by putting himself in the box.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Enough with the personal stuff. Last warning. ​

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I don’t think we need to make up convoluted reasons for why Strome was scratched. I think Laviolette just thinks he’s their 5th best/5th most important center. That’s pretty concerning to me.

Laviolette has already shown incredibly poor judgment when it comes to 3v3 player decisions. He’s shown some very questionable personnel decisions last year and the year before when it came to decisions on the blue line.

It doesn’t seem far-fetched for this to just be another case of a poor evaluation of his roster. I think the evidence in the past makes this the most likely explanation of what’s going on.



I mean this is nonsense! It’s very bad! Balance is a two-way street! They need scoring! They need a good power play! I’m going to play God of War: Ragnarök now!

Damn that Lavi using logic.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

Damn that Lavi using logic.

Or lack there of.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Or lack there of.

It must be infuriating he has valid reasons…lol….love it.

 

[g00n]

Faceoffs and PK the reason for the temporary scratch, not performance? Too many guys to try and slot back in so some good players are going to have to sit while they figure everything out?

Where've I heard that before?

 

[bacchist]

I hope Lavi is gone by the time Suz and Miro get here.

 

[Brian23]

It must be infuriating he has valid reasons…lol….love it.

What are you talking about? Even with just a surface level of added thought this makes no sense. Everyone has reasons they do something, that doesn't make them suddenly valid. No one does anything without reasons they justify to themselves.

Yes, Lavi has reasonings for everything. Those reasonings are dumbass reasoning, that doesn't make them valid.

I'd also add, I doubt he's either being entirely honest or even thinking what anyone else is thinking. I'd bet he thinks the decision is between Dowd and Strome and not Eller and Strome.

Again, dumbass reasonings.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

What are you talking about? Even with just a surface level of added thought this makes no sense. Everyone has reasons they do something, that doesn't make them suddenly valid. No one does anything without reasons they justify to themselves.

Yes, Lavi has reasonings for everything. Those reasonings are dumbass reasoning, that doesn't make them valid.

I'd also add, I doubt he's either being entirely honest or even thinking what anyone else is thinking. I'd bet he thinks the decision is between Dowd and Strome and not Eller and Strome.

Again, dumbass reasonings.

Lol….this place is so happy! Certainly makes some sense.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

Went to go watch them practice and then after sitting around a bit turns out they cancelled practice lol. That sucked.

 

[twabby]

Damn that Lavi using logic.

They also need players who can play on the power play. They need players who can drive even strength play and facilitate goal-scoring.

The penalty on Eller last night was certainly a bad call, but as mentioned a few weeks ago Lars Eller has the worst penalty WAR among forwards in the league. Does that factor into Laviolette’s logic at all?

As I mentioned before I think Kuznetsov should probably be the next one to eat a healthy scratch for a game or two if not Eller. They need Kuznetsov playing at his best more than anyone in order for them to have any hopes of a long run. Right now his trajectory isn’t good!

I’m not sure a healthy scratch is going to motivate him but the status quo isn’t acceptable. It just sends a weird message to scratch a guy like Strome while the guy who takes penalty after penalty and the guy who is no good at everything continue getting sweaters.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

They also need players who can play on the power play. They need players who can drive even strength play and facilitate goal-scoring.

The penalty on Eller last night was certainly a bad call, but as mentioned a few weeks ago Lars Eller has the worst penalty WAR among forwards in the league. Does that factor into Laviolette’s logic at all?

As I mentioned before I think Kuznetsov should probably be the next one to eat a healthy scratch for a game or two if not Eller. They need Kuznetsov playing at his best more than anyone in order for them to have any hopes of a long run. Right now his trajectory isn’t good!

View attachment 635708

I’m not sure a healthy scratch is going to motivate him but the status quo isn’t acceptable.

I remember when Kuzy was appointment TV. There were a few seasons where he was captivating and could take over shifts and games. His creativity was refreshing and he made you shake your head and wonder how he did certain things. He still has flashes from time to time but he never took that next step into stardom like it looked like he could have.

 

[bacchist]

He's a bum

 

[g00n]

I remember when Kuzy was appointment TV. There were a few seasons where he was captivating and could take over shifts and games. His creativity was refreshing and he made you shake your head and wonder how he did certain things. He still has flashes from time to time but he never took that next step into stardom like it looked like he could have.

90% of his game is just cruising around looking for the fancy, long-odds play and trying to pull it off. Most of the time it fails.

He's a swooping trainwreck.

I mean, if you're going to play a guy like that as your 1C or 2C why not just put CMM in there and let him do whatever comes to mind? If your top 6 center is just going to make shit up and fling the puck all over the place, why pay top dollar? What's the value?

Kuzy needs to justify his salary and roster spot and the occasional hot dog play isn't enough...especially when he fails so often.

Not to mention the untimely penalties.

Do better, m8.

 

[Jags]

It must be infuriating he has valid reasons…lol….love it.

Faceoffs and PK the reason for the temporary scratch, not performance? Too many guys to try and slot back in so some good players are going to have to sit while they figure everything out?

Where've I heard that before?

Okay, lemme get this straight. You guys are defending the process; that there are good reasons to be doing what he's doing, or at the very least that we just aren't privy to the deciding factors and should trust the coach.

The other side is pointing out that this is three straight games with drastically different lineups, a few choices that are pretty baffling, zero apparent progress, with no end in sight.

Last night we played shitty across the board yet again, giving up 4 points to an inferior team, making it 3 straight that the offense has sputtered mightily (100% of the games affected by these moves), and it's the two of you that are posting with smug "I told ya so" vibes?

It matters that you might have been right about the coach's reasoning? Meanwhile, the other side didn't really give a shit about the reasons. The knock was against the bonkers lineup changes. You know, the ones that have us playing dogshit hockey, regardless of why.

A crap team dragged us out behind the shed and donkey-stomped us. Again. And you've got your gloating shoes on?

I get that Lavi has his reasons. Never doubted it; just hard to suss out what they were given the immediate abandoning of the lineup he chose (twice now with a third on the way) and the terrible results.

"We're winning faceoffs!" Okay, but we're losing and we can't score.

"The PK is working well!" Okay. Against shit teams. Also we're losing and we can't score.

Call me crazy, but I'll take actual victories over meaningless statistical ones, please and thank you.

 

[g00n]

Okay, lemme get this straight. You guys are defending the process; that there are good reasons to be doing what he's doing, or at the very least that we just aren't privy to the deciding factors and should trust the coach.

The other side is pointing out that this is three straight games with drastically different lineups, a few choices that are pretty baffling, zero apparent progress, with no end in sight.

Last night we played shitty across the board yet again, giving up 4 points to an inferior team, making it 3 straight that the offense has sputtered mightily (100% of the games affected by these moves), and it's the two of you that are posting with smug "I told ya so" vibes?

It matters that you might have been right about the coach's reasoning? Meanwhile, the other side didn't really give a shit about the reasons. The knock was against the bonkers lineup changes. You know, the ones that have us playing dogshit hockey, regardless of why.

A crap team dragged us out behind the shed and donkey-stomped us. Again. And you've got your gloating shoes on?

I get that Lavi has his reasons. Never doubted it; just hard to suss out what they were given the immediate abandoning of the lineup he chose (twice now with a third on the way) and the terrible results.

"We're winning faceoffs!" Okay, but we're losing and we can't score.

"The PK is working well!" Okay. Against shit teams. Also we're losing and we can't score.

Call me crazy, but I'll take actual victories over meaningless statistical ones, please and thank you.

It doesn't matter if you're in your feelings about the results of the game. You and others were indignantly and angrily arguing before the game about the reasons behind the roster move.

Now you know for sure.

 

[max21]

Kuznetsov is a guy you’d wish would take over when the team isn’t playing well but he’s out to lunch most games. Legit just skates around in circles with the puck and kills plays with his ridiculous top corner shots that never work. He’s not creating any scoring chances for wingers by skating in circles with his weird perimeter play, he’s regressed even just from last year. I hate it

 

[YippieKaey]

They also need players who can play on the power play. They need players who can drive even strength play and facilitate goal-scoring.

The penalty on Eller last night was certainly a bad call, but as mentioned a few weeks ago Lars Eller has the worst penalty WAR among forwards in the league. Does that factor into Laviolette’s logic at all?

As I mentioned before I think Kuznetsov should probably be the next one to eat a healthy scratch for a game or two if not Eller. They need Kuznetsov playing at his best more than anyone in order for them to have any hopes of a long run. Right now his trajectory isn’t good!

View attachment 635708

I’m not sure a healthy scratch is going to motivate him but the status quo isn’t acceptable. It just sends a weird message to scratch a guy like Strome while the guy who takes penalty after penalty and the guy who is no good at everything continue getting sweaters.

Im not a fancy stats guy but that 10th percentile, is that on a scale of 1-100?

I feel like Kuzy is playing like a winger these days. He is much more suited to the role than Strome who very much plays like a C.

 

[twabby]

Im not a fancy stats guy but that 10th percentile, is that on a scale of 1-100?

I feel like Kuzy is playing like a winger these days. He is much more suited to the role than Strome who very much plays like a C.

Yes those are percentile ranks from a scale of 1-100.

I’m not sure he’s suited to being a winger. I don’t watch the games so I’m not really confident in saying one way or another. But it might be worth a shot. Again, the status quo is completely untenable w/r/t Kuznetsov so whatever it takes to get him playing at his peak or close to it needs to be priority #1. Otherwise he’s pretty much unplayable right now.

 

[um]

It must be infuriating he has valid reasons…lol….love it.

Its not a valid reason to bench the guy who's been our best center this year.

 

[Jags]

You and others were indignantly and angrily arguing before the game about the reasons behind the roster move.

Not about the reasons. About the move. The general tone was, "There is no reason that justifies this. This makes us worse." And it did, so there's that. Good to know there was a reason. He can rest today safe in the knowledge that, "Sure, we got our asses kicked again, but we sure did win some faceoffs! Mission accomplished!"

We had a +3 faceoff differential and killed 2 out of 3 penalties. Yay?

And careful with the "indignant" brush. Pots, kettles, and all that.

 

[g00n]

Not about the reasons. About the move. The general tone was, "There is no reason that justifies this. This makes us worse." And it did, so there's that. Good to know there was a reason. He can rest today safe in the knowledge that, "Sure, we got our asses kicked again, but we sure did win some faceoffs! Mission accomplished!"

We had a +3 faceoff differential and killed 2 out of 3 penalties. Yay?

And careful with the "indignant" brush. Pots, kettles, and all that.

Do you ever get tired of gaslighting and moving goalposts?

You posted insulting essays about posting styles, ironically, and demanded "evidence" for the reasons behind the move.

Well you got your reasons. And this may shock you but it's not all about you. Go back and read all the posts arguing about there being no reason for the move.

In general, deal with it.

Do you think Strome in for Eller wins that game last night? Seriously? You think this was about winning one game?

Maybe that's why you don't understand what happened.