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

[AlexModvechkin8]

Barring a draft lottery miracle I think the #11 or so draft pick needs to be traded and will be a highly attractive asset. Maybe not enough to get a 1C on its own but enough to get a top-end winger I would imagine. And maybe packaged with another asset they could get a 1C. If the decision is a quick retool then what good is drafting and developing a #11 overall pick when that player will take years to have an NHL impact?

I agree that Sandin probably shouldn’t be paired with Carlson to start. I think their skillsets with the puck overlap a bit too much and that Sandin would be a good match with Jensen. Hopefully Jensen can return soon and we can see that pair in action.

I do agree they are missing a top 4 LHD right now. I think they need to make a decision on Fehervary this offseason. If they aren’t going to pencil him in as a top 4 D next year (as they shouldn’t IMO) then I think they need to consider cashing in on his value that I suspect he might carry across the league in order to help upgrade the roster elsewhere. I know it would go against the “younger and faster” edict to trade him but at some point he needs to provide more than a bottom pair impact if he wants to secure a spot on the roster. I am very curious to see what his next contract is going to come in at if/when they do decide to keep him. It should be a cheap bridge but I could see them going long term which I think would be a mistake.

I think they need to get rid of Kuznetsov even if they have to settle for a lower-ceiling guy. He’s had his shots and I think there is too much risk entering next season with him on the roster and passing up potential center options in the offseason. I wish I knew who they could target though. I’ve gone through the list of centers I see as potential good fits and the only one I can see that might potentially be available if things break exactly right and negotiations break down would be Elias Pettersson. Though Washington might have a better chance of winning the draft lottery than this happening!

I was trying to think of potential fits as well. If Edmonton flames out early could they try and go nuclear and pry Draisatl out of Edmonton? 99% no but worth a call. The UFA class is awful this year. On the RFA front, is Pierre-Luc Dubois hell bent on going to Montreal or could he be had? Can New Jersey sign Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier without offloading another big piece?

I like what BMac has done dating back to last summer but it’s increasingly looking like a few guys need to have renaissance seasons and several other substantial moves will need to be made in order just to give this team a shot at the playoffs in a strong Eastern Conference next season.

 

[bacchist]

Ovi has 36 goals this season and is above PPG. I would argue his play is fine, he is not the problem, and as the best goal scorer ever, has a right to be irked about the state of this team.

If he wants to be the leader of a competitive team, he has to contribute more. He's great at using his shot when he gets fed the puck, but outside a few plays here and there that's all you can count on him for.

 

[crazy8888]

If he wants to be the leader of a competitive team, he has to contribute more. He's great at using his shot when he gets fed the puck, but outside a few plays here and there that's all you can count on him for.

He hit a bad stretch lately. Could be management giving up. Could be his father. Could be father time. Who knows. But i get what you are saying, he should be battling for the puck more instead of waiting around for his linemates to lose the puck.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

If he wants to be the leader of a competitive team, he has to contribute more. He's great at using his shot when he gets fed the puck, but outside a few plays here and there that's all you can count on him for.

The dude is 37 years old and is scoring at a hair below a 50-goal pace. He has scored 18% of the team’s total goals this year and that’s with missing five games. He’s tied for 9th in the NHL in goals and no one else in the top 10 is older than 27. He has more than double the number of goals on the team as Oshie who is second on the team in goals.

He’s doing his job. He’s not the dynamic game breaker he used to be but he’s more than pulling his weight. The finger should be pointed at a lot of people but Ovi isn’t one of them.

 

[Misery74]

The dude is 37 years old and is scoring at a hair below a 50-goal pace. He has scored 18% of the team’s total goals this year and that’s with missing five games. He’s tied for 9th in the NHL in goals and no one else in the top 10 is older than 27. He has more than double the number of goals on the team as Oshie who is second on the team in goals.

He’s doing his job. He’s not the dynamic game breaker he used to be but he’s more than pulling his weight. The finger should be pointed at a lot of people but Ovi isn’t one of them.

Look, we have other problems, he doesn’t make the top 5. But he can be a very lazy player.

 

[bacchist]

The dude is 37 years old and is scoring at a hair below a 50-goal pace. He has scored 18% of the team’s total goals this year and that’s with missing five games. He’s tied for 9th in the NHL in goals and no one else in the top 10 is older than 27. He has more than double the number of goals on the team as Oshie who is second on the team in goals.

He’s doing his job. He’s not the dynamic game breaker he used to be but he’s more than pulling his weight. The finger should be pointed at a lot of people but Ovi isn’t one of them.

If we would have kept Orlov it would have hurt the team. In order to give him the contract he wanted and deserved, we would have had to give him a contract that's similar to the ones dragging us down now. Too much money for too many years past his prime. If this team is going to be competitive any time soon, they need to be willing to upset Ovie in the process.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Hello everyone.

As outsider I have a question, do you think Mantha could be a cap dump in offseason that Hawks could target for a pick or two? I was thinking something like Mantha with 2025 2nd + 2024 3rd

Last offseason the Hawks took Mrazek dump from Leafs to move back into 1st round and the Hawks took on Zaitsev dump from Sens last month for a 2023 2nd + 2026 4th

With Hawks in full rebuild and having over $42M in projected cap room for next year I expect that our GM will be taking phone calls from teams looking to dump big $ short term deals with picks attached. Our GM talked at deadline about acquiring picks for future drafts as part of rebuilding effort thus the appeal of 2024 + 2025 picks

 

[Jags]

View attachment 664641
first try!

I feel like we're burning up all our luck on these simulations. Save it for draft day, wouldyaplease?

 

[YippieKaey]

How about our #11 draft pick, paired with Mantha and CMM in exchange for Tomas Hertl and the Sharks second round draft pick? If we're retooling that might be a way to get a strong, fairly fast and good scoring center.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

The Oshie, OV, Backstrom contracts were always going to be bad long term. Oshie was a huge reason we got a cup so in the short term it worked. OV is OV and you had to keep him. Backstrom was the one that was never going to be worth it. That one will keep us from being real contenders for as long as he is on the team.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Look, we have other problems, he doesn’t make the top 5. But he can be a very lazy player.

He looks to me like a 37 year old playing in a league dominated by 23-28 year olds. Expectations should be set accordingly.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

If we would have kept Orlov it would have hurt the team. In order to give him the contract he wanted and deserved, we would have had to give him a contract that's similar to the ones dragging us down now. Too much money for too many years past his prime. If this team is going to be competitive any time soon, they need to be willing to upset Ovie in the process.

What does this have anything to do with your comment about Ovi needing to do more on the ice if he wants to lead a competitive team?

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

If anything, Ovi being pissed about a core player and his best friend being traded, in tandem with the fact that he wants to win and still be competitive, shows that at the age of 37, he still has the drive and passion to want to be elite. I love it and have no problem with it.

Would you rather him not have an emotional and/or psychological pulse?

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Hello everyone.

As outsider I have a question, do you think Mantha could be a cap dump in offseason that Hawks could target for a pick or two? I was thinking something like Mantha with 2025 2nd + 2024 3rd

Last offseason the Hawks took Mrazek dump from Leafs to move back into 1st round and the Hawks took on Zaitsev dump from Sens last month for a 2023 2nd + 2026 4th

With Hawks in full rebuild and having over $42M in projected cap room for next year I expect that our GM will be taking phone calls from teams looking to dump big $ short term deals with picks attached. Our GM talked at deadline about acquiring picks for future drafts as part of rebuilding effort thus the appeal of 2024 + 2025 picks

Doubtful. Mantha has been bad for sure but he only has one year left before he’s a UFA. With the Caps looking like a bubble team at best over the next few years those picks could be pretty decent. He’s also fine as a 3rd liner and I think he could be better with a new coach.

The first half of the season he had strong underlying metrics and was on a 20-goal/45-point pace while playing on the third line with no PP time. He was in their top three for forwards in G/60 and even strength points per game, and he was one of their best defensive forwards analytically. He has completely fallen off a cliff the last 20-25 games. Some of it is confidence and some of it may be due to injury but I don’t see him as a pure cap dump.

 

[Misery74]

If anything, Ovi being pissed about a core player and his best friend being traded, in tandem with the fact that he wants to win and still be competitive, shows that at the age of 37, he still has the drive and passion to want to be elite. I love it and have no problem with it.

Would you rather him not have an emotional and/or psychological pulse?

Ovechkin has always been a bit lazy on defense. I think that’s pretty well established.

 

[HeyMattyB]

What does this have anything to do with your comment about Ovi needing to do more on the ice if he wants to lead a competitive team?

Ovi's the goddamned captain, and at the very least that requires leading by example on the ice, which involves more than leading the team in goals (while being fed passes, because at this point he's incapable of creating his own chances, which is understandable given his age). He's got to lead through constant, *visible* effort and hustle, even if he's slowed down (which is also understandable) He's also got to lead by physical play, but--even if he's picking his chances (which is also understandable)--that means more than hitting guys well after they've passed the puck and the play has moved on. He has to keep up with the play and keep himself involved in the play. Not simply float around waiting for a pass. We all love the guy, but right now it's clear that he's not doing a lot of leading by example on the ice.

(EDIT: And I know he's always had his defensive deficiencies and the occasional broken-controller lazy play, but a captain, a leader, should be willing and able to adjust his game as he gets older and become less of a dynamic game-breaker.)

Or perhaps that "C" on his jersey is just decorative?

 

[pman25]

Still think Mantha might be dumpable to a floor team like Anaheim or Arizona with just one year left. The buyout option also isn’t that bad either.

I’m not sure you need to attach anything to get rid of him. I’d probably give him away for free to whoever wants him for a year. Chicago, Anaheim, Arizona, whoever. But don’t really care to attach a pick to get rid of him.

 

[Roughing]

Ovi has 36 goals this season and is above PPG. I would argue his play is fine, he is not the problem, and as the best goal scorer ever, has a right to be irked about the state of this team.

Maybe he should point his anger at Kuzy.

 

[YippieKaey]

Look, we have other problems, he doesn’t make the top 5. But he can be a very lazy player.

He's probably the most impactful 37-year old the game has ever seen.

 

[Misery74]

He's probably the most impactful 37-year old the game has ever seen.

Yes, he is flawless. Happy now?

 

[McVechkin]

Yes, he is flawless. Happy now?

I would just be careful with the word lazy when talking about Ovie. He’s slowed down a lot..which hurts him in all 3 areas. It also makes his subpar puck handling skills more noticeable.

But I wouldn’t mistake his lack of speed for laziness.

 

[Misery74]

Yes, he is flawless. Happy now?

I would just be careful with the word lazy when talking about Ovie. He’s slowed down a lot..which hurts him in all 3 areas. It also makes his subpar puck handling skills more noticeable.

But I wouldn’t mistake his lack of speed for laziness.

Fair enough

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Ovi's the goddamned captain, and at the very least that requires leading by example on the ice, which involves more than leading the team in goals (while being fed passes, because at this point he's incapable of creating his own chances, which is understandable given his age). He's got to lead through constant, *visible* effort and hustle, even if he's slowed down (which is also understandable) He's also got to lead by physical play, but--even if he's picking his chances (which is also understandable)--that means more than hitting guys well after they've passed the puck and the play has moved on. He has to keep up with the play and keep himself involved in the play. Not simply float around waiting for a pass. We all love the guy, but right now it's clear that he's not doing a lot of leading by example on the ice.

(EDIT: And I know he's always had his defensive deficiencies and the occasional broken-controller lazy play, but a captain, a leader, should be willing and able to adjust his game as he gets older and become less of a dynamic game-breaker.)

Or perhaps that "C" on his jersey is just decorative?

Or perhaps we could expect the other guys on the team to do their jobs and not wait around for Ovechkin to do everything for them all the time in his 18th season? You honestly think Ovechkin being a little more physical at times or hustling a bit more here and there is going to make up for the deficiencies of all the other veterans severely underplaying their paychecks? And saying he is not adjusting his game as he gets older… what do you think he’s done to allow himself to be the most dominant age 35+ goal scorer ever? What am I even reading with these posts?

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Yes, he is flawless. Happy now?

Nobody said he’s flawless. But his flaws are not the reason the team is in the shitter. It’s a weird hill for people to die on.

 

[McVechkin]

This one bugs me. Happy for those guys to move on and get success. And I won’t let Sammy completely off the hook for his time here.. but I was always in the boat the last couple years that goaltending wasn’t the problem. I woulda picked one of them and got an experienced backup to come in. GMBM and PL scapegoated the goalies to cover up for a poorly constructed and poorly coached team.