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

[zappa4ever]

All our injuries, all our problems, and we're:
- 1 point from WC1
- 1 point from 6th in Conference

No one has the injuries we've had and yet we're right in the pack

If we can go on any kind of a good streak and get healthier, we've got a good a chance as anyone, and rock solid goaltending could make an even bigger diff when it matters in the spring

 

[4thTierSport]

All our injuries, all our problems, and we're:
- 1 point from WC1
- 1 point from 6th in Conference

No one has the injuries we've had and yet we're right in the pack

If we can go on any kind of a good streak and get healthier, we've got a good a chance as anyone, and rock solid goaltending could make an even bigger diff when it matters in the spring

Guessing that was before games were played but multiple points and multiple teams with game(s) in hand. That’s on top of creeping towards half way point of the season before significant returns from IR.

 

[Hivemind]

The injury excuse is played out. This wasn't exactly a surprise. We knew Backstrom was going to be out. We knew Wilson would be out. We knew Hagelin would be out. Oshie missing time is pretty much a guarantee. Carlson has either missed time or played while visibly banged up in multiple straight seasons. Are we really saying that a surprise injury to Connor Brown, losing a guy who didn't even make the team out of camp (Beck Malenstyn) for 6 weeks, and losing Orlov for a couple games is the difference between this team being good or not? Please.

Folks here have been talking about the fact that this team is older and injury prone for seasons now. This isn't a surprise. Yet we've seen management and coaching staff prioritize milking every second of ice time from these older players rather than grooming their younger, healthier replacements (and in some cases letting those replacements get grabbed on waivers - Hagelin and AJF). This front office would rather bale water out of the sinking ship with spare parts veterans than start transitioning to the next hull.

 

[Brian23]

Yet we've seen management and coaching staff prioritize milking every second of ice time from these older players

Carlson coming back from injury and instantly playing 24 minutes a night is insane to me, and then seeing how he's preformed the last two games makes that doubly so.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Carlson coming back from injury and instantly playing 24 minutes a night is insane to me, and then seeing how he's preformed the last two games makes that doubly so.

I have seen enough. Carlson should be traded like the Sharks traded Burns to the Canes.

 

[Hivemind]

It's hard to believe that Carlson is "only" 32. That receding hairline and forehead wrinkles are doing him no favors.

 

[RedRocking]

It’s gonna be like this after every loss, huh?

CATASTROPHE! MISERY!

Fire everyone, trade everyone. Throw Ted out of DC along with Dan.

The horror, the horror…

 

[Misery74]

It’s gonna be like this after every loss, huh?

CATASTROPHE! MISERY!

Fire everyone, trade everyone. Throw Ted out of DC along with Dan.

The horror, the horror…

Let’s be fair, it was 4-0 and we didn’t even have a shot on goal. Last night was one of the worst games I have seen in years.

Thanksgiving in less than 2 weeks. That should be all for this coaching staff.

 

[Langway]

It's hard to take an organization seriously that seeks to play a checking style led by Carlson, Kuznetsov & Strome with little apparent focus on development. It's delusional and incoherent. A bridge to nowhere.

Getting Orlov/Wilson will help their push but it's all but impossible to believe that trio is adequate ultimately. There's nowhere close to enough pushback from that trio to expect them to be stingy against anyone when it matters. The rest is window dressing. It's a Frankenroster with a Frankenapproach and a glib sense of discipline and improvement. Maybe a new coach shifts focus toward IQ/poise/efficiency rather than sheer effort but a lot of their issues are incredibly deeply entrenched at this stage. Old dogs new tricks and all that. They're a one-note team and that's that.

 

[hb13xchamps]

Lapierre is on a hot streak in Hershey. He’s another guy that could help with 5 on 5 play. Maybe a Lapierre/McMichael switch is warranted for a bit. Gives Lapierre a shot to see what he can do and gives McMichael a chance to gain some confidence in the AHL

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Lapierre is on a hot streak in Hershey. He’s another guy that could help with 5 on 5 play. Maybe a Lapierre/McMichael switch is warranted for a bit. Gives Lapierre a shot to see what he can do and gives McMichael a chance to gain some confidence in the AHL

Agreed. While I'm not going to continue what others keep saying about McMichael, I have never seen a Cap's prospect treated so strangely. I mean he was highly touted, went to goal scoring areas in Jr., and came through in those games with timely scoring. I want him to get regular playtime in Hershey at this point. We don't need to rush and ruin his NHL career chances. I do realize a player has to show improvement and remain accountable too. Sitting and eating popcorn isn't going to improve his chances and I agree he needs to go to Hershey.

Also I might add having Irwin in the defensive pair isn't going to be a success. He's as fringe as the name can be.

 

[Misery74]

Lapierre is on a hot streak in Hershey. He’s another guy that could help with 5 on 5 play. Maybe a Lapierre/McMichael switch is warranted for a bit. Gives Lapierre a shot to see what he can do and gives McMichael a chance to gain some confidence in the AHL

As long as he doesn’t get 7 minutes per game.

I think we need a new coach.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

It’s gonna be like this after every loss, huh?

CATASTROPHE! MISERY!

Fire everyone, trade everyone. Throw Ted out of DC along with Dan.

The horror, the horror…

I am not overreacting this year. I think we are a very mediocre club, even when healthy. But fans are upset because it has been 4 straight years of going this direction without any real changes in the plan or vision for the franchise. And every year we are told we are overreacting when we can so clearly see the writing on the wall. Eventually a rebuild was going to have to happen but I think better coaching/management should have gotten us one or two more deep runs before that.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I am not overreacting this year. I think we are a very mediocre club, even when healthy. But fans are upset because it has been 4 straight years of going this direction without any real changes in the plan or vision for the franchise. And every year we are told we are overreacting when we can so clearly see the writing on the wall. Eventually a rebuild was going to have to happen but I think better coaching/management should have gotten us one or two more deep runs before that.

And for 3 years, the rebuttal has been, “they’re just trying to keep Ovechkin on a playoff qualifier, this is a puncher’s chance roster, nothing more”……there’s no mystery, this is the vision. It’s just fugly…

Today my belief is, I don’t think this Core ever had a 2nd deep run in them. Too many health issues, and not enough dedication and will to win from the remaining healthy parts.

Add to that a weak development pipeline and average drafting/position for many years, and it becomes a cumulative issue. This is why I foresee a massive drop off and rebuild when Ovy retires. The guys they will manage to develop won‘t be ready or just won’t be enough to keep them good.

I expect they are looking for in-season help, but won’t heavily mortgage the future with bad trades right now.

I think they may be resigned to being ok with trying, but missing the playoffs with an injury-depleted roster this year as it’s a strong draft, and extensively retool the existing roster this summer.

 

[Devil Dancer]

I don't really care if they fire the coaching staff this year, just don't re-sign Lavi. He's not the guy they need to develop young NHLers, and he's not winning anything with this team.

And please don't buy at the deadline.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I don't really care if they fire the coaching staff this year, just don't re-sign Lavi. He's not the guy they need to develop young NHLers, and he's not winning anything with this team.

And please don't buy at the deadline.

Builds a respectably gritty team, but it’s so uninspiring offensively. At this point, I’d accept any really credible replacement just to change things up some. I like the guy, but damn…

 

[IafrateOvie34]

And for 3 years, the rebuttal has been, “they’re just trying to keep Ovechkin on a playoff qualifier, this is a puncher’s chance roster, nothing more”……there’s no mystery, this is the vision. It’s just fugly…

Today my belief is, I don’t think this Core ever had a 2nd deep run in them. Too many health issues, and not enough dedication and will to win from the remaining healthy parts.

Add to that a weak development pipeline and average drafting/position for many years, and it becomes a cumulative issue. This is why I foresee a massive drop off and rebuild when Ovy retires. The guys they will manage to develop won‘t be ready or just won’t be enough to keep them good.

I expect they are looking for in-season help, but won’t heavily mortgage the future with bad trades right now.

I think they may be resigned to being ok with trying, but missing the playoffs with an injury-depleted roster this year as it’s a strong draft, and extensively retool the existing roster this summer.

Honestly if not for a big win in Game 3 against Columbus, this organization failed with big moments, especially with advantages. To me that is why 2018 will always be special. They defied all the odds and overcame those hurdles, however only to go back to old ways.

 

[tycoonheart]

I think they make another run if Trotz was still with the team. Just my feeling on things. They won the metro twice with a bum coach after Trotz left. At the very least I think they make it past R1.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I think they make another run if Trotz was still with the team. Just my feeling on things. They won the metro twice with a bum coach after Trotz left. At the very least I think they make it past R1.

I doubt it. They had nothing in the tank that next year, and other issues each subsequent year….at best a few rounds 2 defeats those next 2 years.

Coin-flip hockey Barry reached its pinnacle in ’18.

 

[hb13xchamps]

As long as he doesn’t get 7 minutes per game.

I think we need a new coach.

Agreed, and I’ve been a GMBM defender in the past but drafting and development under his watch has been far from ideal. Drafting some boom or bust guys the past few drafts may pay off down the line with Lappy and Miro both falling. The development and development plan just doesn’t seem to really be in place. They spend years developing these guys to lose them on waivers. I get that some of them aren’t pushing for spots, but you have to think some of them can thrive in the right environment.

It’s hard to point a finger at who is responsible for what duties, but he’s the GM so you’d think it still falls underneath him. I liked his off-season for the NHL roster. It’s a shame that Brown was injured so quickly.

 

[Brian23]

I doubt it. They had nothing in the tank that next year, and other issues each subsequent year….at best a few rounds 2 defeats those next 2 years.

Coin-flip hockey Barry reached its pinnacle in ’18.

100% agree with this. I understand how 18 ended really washes away the muck of previous failures, but that 18 Trotz team prior to bringing in Kempny looked as bad (or worse) as the current team but had enough talent to not be as poor in the standings. Not saying that to say anything is possible and that it can happen this year, but to remind that people were rightfully calling for Trotz' head and they truly caught lightning in a bottle.

I honestly thought after 2017 he probably should have been let go, I've never seen a more talented Caps team then those 16 and 17 teams and he couldn't get it done. But that's neither here nor there.

They spend years developing these guys to lose them on waivers.

Like I said earlier, it's absolutely ridiculous it's 2022 and we still have no idea if Lucas Johansen is an NHL quality player or not. He's not even got a cup of coffee up till this point.

 

[hb13xchamps]

100% agree with this. I understand how 18 ended really washes away the muck of previous failures, but that 18 Trotz team prior to bringing in Kempny looked as bad (or worse) as the current team but had enough talent to not be as poor in the standings. Not saying that to say anything is possible and that it can happen this year, but to remind that people were rightfully calling for Trotz' head and they truly caught lightning in a bottle.

I honestly thought after 2017 he probably should have been let go, I've never seen a more talented Caps team then those 16 and 17 teams and he couldn't get it done. But that's neither here nor there.


Like I said earlier, it's absolutely ridiculous it's 2022 and we still have no idea if Lucas Johansen is an NHL quality player or not. He's not even got a cup of coffee up till this point.

Well LuJo has been hurt just about every year since he was drafted, but I still understand the point you are making.

 

[trick9]

Agreed. While I'm not going to continue what others keep saying about McMichael, I have never seen a Cap's prospect treated so strangely. I mean he was highly touted, went to goal scoring areas in Jr., and came through in those games with timely scoring. I want him to get regular playtime in Hershey at this point. We don't need to rush and ruin his NHL career chances. I do realize a player has to show improvement and remain accountable too. Sitting and eating popcorn isn't going to improve his chances and I agree he needs to go to Hershey.

Also I might add having Irwin in the defensive pair isn't going to be a success. He's as fringe as the name can be.

Really? You don't remember how Orlov was treated when he was younger?

 

[Jags]

Like I said earlier, it's absolutely ridiculous it's 2022 and we still have no idea if Lucas Johansen is an NHL quality player or not. He's not even got a cup of coffee up till this point.

Definitely agree. I think it just comes down to being realistic. Throwing the kitchen sink at a run in 2019 is fine. You just won one, why not go all-out to try to win again? But after that, we were just wildly unrealistic about what we had. Our management approach suggested that we were serious contenders a piece or two away from blah blah blah, and we weren't.

There's a time to go into bunker mode -- bringing in vets to shore up a talented team on a serious run -- but we had clearly entered a phase where we needed to start developing young talent, and we just didn't. We always brought in vets to clog up the turnover spots we needed to evaluate young players in real NHL situations; playing with and against NHL talent in games that count.

We had young guys making noise at need spots in our lineup, and we discarded them in favor of Orpik 2.0, Chara, Hagelin, etc. No one thought guys like Stephenson or Siegenthaler were going to break out huge, but they'd proven they could play deep in the lineup and step up when called upon. One better decision per year over the last 5 years and this team would look much different and be way better right now.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Really? You don't remember how Orlov was treated when he was younger?

I do and that was a decade ago so I'm not going to be that sharp getting older.