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

[JayBeagleFanAccount]

remember when everyone was defending the mantha trade lmfaoooooooooooooooo

its really nice that we spent a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick to trade away jakub vrana and daniel sprong, two of the most efficient scoring wingers in the entire nhl, but hey at least we got some old, slow bums

 

[Ovi895]

remember when everyone was defending the mantha trade lmfaoooooooooooooooo

its really nice that we spent a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick to trade away jakub vrana and daniel sprong, two of the most efficient scoring wingers in the entire nhl, but hey at least we got some old, slow bums

I remember when we paid a kings ransom for a dude whose entire game was sniping snappers and one timers as a large plodding left shot RW and immediately propped him on LW and kept him there ever since

 

[YippieKaey]

Evgeny Kuznetsov has reportedly requested a trade, first asked the Capitals two years ago

Awesome. No feelings hurt then

 

[RedRocking]

Feel like this is a lot more of a possibility if the Avs go out in the 1st or 2nd round due to their lack of a true 2C

That’s the team I’ve always thought of as well. There he could “hide” behind MacK, and the team plays an uptempo, attacking style in the more wide open West. He would probably be happier and produce in that environment - so he should still hold decent trade value to that kinda team.

A D piece like Toews is intriguing, though I’d almost prefer they put that salary (~4M) towards getting Orlov back, ha. Ofc the term with Orly would be nuts, and Toews only has 2 (?) more years.

I think Newhook could be an interesting target to get a potential C back, esp if the org would prefer him over CMM and/or Lappy. I don’t think the Avs are in a position to wait for his development. And, it’s gonna be next to impossible to recoup a top 6 C back after moving Kuzy - so I’d be cool with getting a young, explosive guy who can at least replace Kuzy’s skating ability, play wing, and may be ready for a bigger role once 19 retires.

Of course, the Avs might be pissed at BMac after dealing them the corpse of Eller at the TDL, lol.

 

[Ovi895]

Willing to bet its gonna be Kuznetsov for Ryan Strome, reuniting the brothers

 

[trick9]

Should have traded him year ago if he already wanted out. He's an enigma who was coming off of PPG season and i don't think many are surprised he's following that with a poor season.

I doubt he's going to return much now. Atleast they should be able to ship him without having to pay assets for it, like is the likely case with Mantha.

Terrible asset management.

 

[Corby78]

I don’t and wont dislike him but I feel more like when a parent says, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.” He was so fun to watch develop as a player and the “Kuzy Magic” stage was awesome and 2018 was obviously amazing but he’s been a headache ever since. The lackluster play, the Covid nonsense, late to team meetings, the cocaine incident, getting suspended for lying to the NHL, getting banned from IIHF competitions for drug use… it’s just been a lot. He looked like a budding superstar and then just kinda crapped out after he got paid and after they won. The joy he used to play with seemingly disappeared for whatever reason. Sucks but such is life.

This

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

It almost feels like the morning after they got eliminated in the playoffs but in this instance they still have eight more games to slog through, so that’s fun.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Trading Kuz will open up a Center spot which looked like a logjam. Strome Backstrom Dowd all seem pretty much locked in next season. CMM hopefully gets a good look but leaves us very short if Backstrom has to be 1C or 2C again for 82 games.
GMBM has warts for sure like the draft and the trade deadline. But he is pretty good at free agency. So he probably already likes a center not on our radar.

 

[g00n]

Sharks snake blooj for 1OA while Caps tank resumes spot in formation.

 

[Langway]

Two sets of back-to-backs remaining and they close with three in four. NYI don't impress me at all so I'm guessing the Caps finish with 82-84 points. Between 10-13 seems all but assured pre-lotto.

Whether they like it or not about all this current formulation can do is fun-and-gun it and a slow fun-and-gun at that. It's probably not going to be too routinely successful playing such a brand. But #8 will get his goals I guess. Might as well go whole hog and add another high event D over Alexeyev next year.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Once eliminated I'd say play a bunch of kiddos. Bring up Stevenson and give him a few starts. Tank baby tank. We could easily get in the top 6-8.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Once eliminated I'd say play a bunch of kiddos. Bring up Stevenson and give him a few starts. Tank baby tank. We could easily get in the top 6-8.

Easily? No chance. 8 would be us not winning again this season lol.

I wouldnt bring up the kids. Let them have a playoff run in Hershey as a team. They dont need to be on a team learning from a bunch of Vets who quit on the season.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Easily? No chance. 8 would be us not winning again this season lol.

I wouldnt bring up the kids. Let them have a playoff run in Hershey as a team. They dont need to be on a team learning from a bunch of Vets who quit on the season.

We're five points out of 8th place with games in hand in everyone above us in the quest for last. How you figuring that?

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

We're five points out of 8th place with games in hand in everyone above us in the quest for last. How you figuring that?

The Flyers are 7th to last at 68 points. We are 11th at 76 points. It just doesnt seem like we can drop that much and we know Lavi wont bottom out if hes not here next season.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

The Flyers are 7th to last at 68 points. We are 11th at 76 points. It just doesnt seem like we can drop that much and we know Lavi wont bottom out if hes not here next season.

If Lavi isn’t coming back (he isn’t), GMBM should tell him he has to play some young guys a lot of minutes. The time is over to respect the coaches autonomy at this point of the season given where they are.

 

[Brian23]

It almost feels like the morning after they got eliminated in the playoffs but in this instance they still have eight more games to slog through, so that’s fun.

8 extra game's of time of having to hear how Mantha is literally the worst NHLer of all time.

 

[Holtbyisms]

The Flyers are 7th to last at 68 points. We are 11th at 76 points. It just doesnt seem like we can drop that much and we know Lavi wont bottom out if hes not here next season.

It's still very achievable though, were only a few losses out and at least a game in hand if not two against all those other teams above us. There are also a couple teams ahead of us who are streaking at the moment. It's not as unrealistic as you think and vastly improves our chances at another franchise cornerstone piece even if not Bedard.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Kuznetsov wanting out is like the least surprising news ever. It strikes me like the dude just doesn't enjoy hockey much anymore, and hasn't for some time. He was so much more creative and energetic in the first few years he spent in NA.

The team becomes more and more boring to watch with every skilled player sent out. Sad. At least 8 is there!

 

[Peeri]

The team becomes more and more boring to watch with every skilled player sent out. Sad. At least 8 is there!

If not for Ovechkin, Capitals would not be worth watching at all. There is nobody else on this team who is remotely interesting to watch now that Kuzy magic is gone.

 

[HecticGlow]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Kuzy is still here next year simply because nobody able to take him (cap hit and his 10 team NTC) would actually want him. He has skill, certainly, but he lacks discipline and effort. Is that really what a team like Colorado wants? Winning cups is about having everyone buy in.

Equally even if a team like Montreal or Buffalo was a possibility, is that the influence you want in your locker room around young players?

Mantha for a 7th seems possible for a team willing to take a chance for a year - think St Louis with Vrana. But I’d like to think Mantha will be waived before he’s ever bought out or a draft pick spent to take his contract, and I can see some team maybe looking at him as a relatively low risk gamble.

As for replacing Kuzy, I wonder how much Arizona would want for Clayton Keller? Doesn’t fit their rebuild timeline very well, his value is probably at its now for Arizona… does a 1st, 2nd and CMM package get it done?

 

[pman25]

If he actually wants a trade then I feel like his NTC mostly becomes moot and would accommodate a move to wherever if a change of scenery is what he wants most

 

[Brian23]

If he actually wants a trade then I feel like his NTC mostly becomes moot and would accommodate a move to wherever if a change of scenery is what he wants most

Nah, I would assume there's a place he wants to go. He's not gonna be okay getting shipped to Arizona to do nothing for however long it takes. I think the Avs would be the best hockey spot for him, but I don't know if that's also where he'd want to go. Me thinks he'll want to end up on one of the coasts in a big city.

But, then again, I can't even imagine why he'd be requesting a trade so I probably don't know Kuzya as well as I think I do.

 

[AZ Caps Fan]

Evgeny Kuznetsov has reportedly requested a trade, first asked the Capitals two years ago

Damn. Well, shouldn't really be a surprise. I mean it makes sense. He plays so uninspired. Like some have already stated, thanks for 2018, now f off.
Also, can't really expect a person to not feel scapegoated when your team isn't playing well but you tell the media we go as kuzy goes. Not the motivation Bmac expected it to be I guess.

 

[pman25]

Nah, I would assume there's a place he wants to go. He's not gonna be okay getting shipped to Arizona to do nothing for however long it takes. I think the Avs would be the best hockey spot for him, but I don't know if that's also where he'd want to go. Me thinks he'll want to end up on one of the coasts in a big city.

But, then again, I can't even imagine why he'd be requesting a trade so I probably don't know Kuzya as well as I think I do.

Maybe, doubt Arizona is in the picture at all, Kuznetsov is owed some money and they don’t like the whole giving players money to play hockey thing.

I do think the best fit for him is a playoff contender in need of a 2C. Carolina or Colorado. Columbus makes sense too, they could use a center to bridge with Bedard/Fantilli/Carlsson. Maybe Detroit too? Center depth isn’t great there outside Larkin. Maybe they can take back Mantha too!