Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines/etc) | 2023-24 Regular Season Edition

[SherVaughn30]

I would take Garland over Mantha in a heartbeat! Some of you just talk blah, blah, blah with Garland taking a roster space away from some Caps players that haven't even established themselves yet as every game in lineup players. Oshie will not play 82 games and neither will Backstrom. CMM could be shifted to Center, so a spot would open up for winger. Mantha plays casual and doesn't play the fast game. Garland makes this team a bit faster and can provide 2ndary scoring ability. Mantha has offensive skill, but his attitude just flat out stinks and he has shown to not be a team player.

 

[zappa4ever]

In 2 years our Roster and Contracts are WIDE OPEN

Bringing in 1 Top-6 or Middle-6 fwd that has 2 more years is not going to prevent the prospects from coming up (and may turn out to be desperately needed as our core retires/signs elsewhere)

 

[HTFN]

Youths not being ready blocks youths…we’re trying to get another few playoff runs with Ovechkin, and an immediate upgrade over Mantha would be impactful.

Let the results sort out who sits or is demoted to 4RW….not picking up an upgrade today for a maybe next year isn’t the way IMO.

You have a terrible benchmark for "ready" and "not ready" though, so sorry if I'm not interested in another year of "they'd be playing if they're ready" and the infinite appeal to infallible authority.

 

[traparatus]

I think this team is considerably further away from a playoff spot than an addition of player like Garland.

I wouldn't even be trying to offload Mantha as things stand. Last year of contract and right at this moment he is not blocking the path for a young player. Sooner or later one of the geriatrics will be on IR. See if you can rebuild some of Mantha's value and recoup some assets at the deadline. The time to get rid of Mantha and do a meaningful upgrade to the top-6 was in the offseason. Right now is the time to hunker down and see this season out.

 

[Langway]

I don't really see the fit now that Phillips has earned a look. Does Garland play PP2 over Wilson? Top six over Oshie? PK? It seems like a move for sake of it. Perhaps he could be flipped if productive but hard to bank on it. He adds depth but I think they moreso need complete 200 ft. tonesetters and that's not Garland really.

While I'm sure there may be some urgency to resolve the Mantha situation before Pacioretty returns they probably need to wait and see what this team is. If the core group is basically mush then they're probably better off not aggressively paying up to dump Mantha. Just let it play out a while and reassess. But mostly I would still hold pretty high standards when it comes to adding players with term. They're going to have ample cap flexibility but it doesn't mean just going out and aiming relatively low out of the gate. Other options will emerge.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

You have a terrible benchmark for "ready" and "not ready" though, so sorry if I'm not interested in another year of "they'd be playing if they're ready" and the infinite appeal to infallible authority.

Cool story…

 

[Marshall]

Is he definitely better than anyone in the top six at the moment? If Patches comes back in early December, is there room?

I don't get it.

Ed - unless it's for Mantha.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Any chance that you guys would be interested in dealing Jensen or Var Riemsdyk? If so what would the individual asks be?

 

[Hivemind]

Any chance that you guys would be interested in dealing Jensen or Var Riemsdyk? If so what would the individual asks be?

Both are on fresh deals and there's very little RD depth in the system aside of Iorio, so I would be surprised if they were moved. But if the team is out of it at the deadline, it's certainly not impossible. A 2nd round pick seems appropriate for either of them, perhaps a late 1st for Jensen if he rebounds from his early season woes.

 

[Roshi]

If there is a deal to be made swapping Mantha to Garland without picks involved, im all over it. Garland is an actual top6/9 hockey player who can score once in a while. And we gonna suck next year too anyways so who cares he has years left, + he might actually live up to the numbers.

TvR i dont mind, but for Jensen id not pull the trigger yet. He might fetch a decent return at TDL.

 

[trick9]

Is he definitely better than anyone in the top six at the moment? If Patches comes back in early December, is there room?

I don't get it.

Ed - unless it's for Mantha.

He isn't trusted to play top-6 role in Vancouver. That's why he is on the block.

He wasn't trusted to play top-6 role long-term in Arizona. That's why they traded him.

See a pattern here? It's also not like elite teams had to move on from too expensive talent on their 3rd line. These were both really bad teams that are actively looking for top-6 upgrades and want to move Garland because their coaches have never trusted him with top-6 minutes and because he gets paid too much to play in their 3rd line.

I wouldn't hate it because Mantha is that bad and Garland is a clear upgrade there, but i'd rather just let the clock run out on Mantha. We have much better issues to fix right now than our 3rd line which is exactly where Garland would eventually end up in here. Like i said i'd preferably not acquire a 27-year old that needs to play rookie minutes to succeed when our line-up is filled with holes in bigger, more important roles.

 

[HecticGlow]

The forwards aren’t our principal concern right now, it’s the defence. Outside of Carlson, who doesn’t exactly play a solid two-way game, everyone has looked bad on the back end.

Offensively the team is creating chances - and hitting a lot of iron. But they seem to be struggling to maintain possession on breakouts, they look a mess defensively in their own end, and Kuemper has to be near-perfect for them not to get completely destroyed.

Fingers crossed Jensen’s game is off due to the personal reasons that kept him out during some of the preseason and will bounce back, because he doesn’t look like himself out there.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Well I guess if we're going down in a blaze of glory were setup for a great chance at Mike Misa in 2025. If we suck real bad all this year then the following year will be complete total tear down trade deadline extravaganza with all the expiring contracts and put us in the hunt for the #1 pick(if we aren't already there on our own). Backy shipped off to a cup contender for one last shot. Oshie, Kuzy and Dowd are all attractive playoff pieces especially with all the retention we could provide if we're getting picks and prospects back. I've been talking myself into this for a couple years now, I think I'm ready.

 

[Brian23]

I'm not sure I buy the analytics on this one.

 

[HeyMattyB]

.

 

[zappa4ever]

One achilles of this defense for many years is the strong aggressive forecheck
Has already cost the team this year (along with some badbadbad/DH32 missed assignments)

New lines were a nice improvement (for awhile at least) v OTT
Offense still needs to get over the hump and have at least 3GF v MTL and get OV on the G sheet

Wonder how much of the growing pains are learning the new system and new coaches

 

[StrikingDistance]

The team looks way too casual out there.

New system, old players, new lines last night, new coach, the PP looks like Forsythe is still on payroll (it looked a lot more dynamic pre-season...wtf happened?).

Again, given all the above, the players have to give 100% effort. I'm saw like 2 players hustle last night and appear to actually care. Everyone else was skating in mud, coasting around, or looked lost.

Was like watching a first pre-season game where the Caps were doing shots between shifts. Ugly.

 

[Misery74]

He isn't trusted to play top-6 role in Vancouver. That's why he is on the block.
He wasn't trusted to play top-6 role long-term in Arizona. That's why they traded him.
See a pattern here? It's also not like an elite teams had to move on from too expensive talent on their 3rd line. These were both really bad teams that are actively looking for top-6 upgrades and want to move Garland because their coaches have never trusted him with top-6 minutes and because he gets paid too much to play in their 3rd line.
I wouldn't hate it because Mantha is that bad and Garland is a clear upgrade there, but i'd rather just let the clock run out on Mantha. We have much better issues to fix right now than our 3rd line which is exactly where Garland would eventually end up in here. Like i said i'd preferably not acquire a 27-year old that needs to play rookie minutes to succeed when our line-up is filled with holes in bigger, more important roles.

 

[g00n]

The team looks way too casual out there.

New system, old players, new lines last night, new coach, the PP looks like Forsythe is still on payroll (it looked a lot more dynamic pre-season...wtf happened?).

Again, given all the above, the players have to give 100% effort. I'm saw like 2 players hustle last night and appear to actually care. Everyone else was skating in mud, coasting around, or looked lost.

Was like watching a first pre-season game where the Caps were doing shots between shifts. Ugly.

People revert to their strongest habits under stress.

Preseason is meaningless. The shit in practice is probably easier to pull off by thinking it through.

But it's not a habit yet, so during real game pressure they likely go through strongly grooved patterns.

Carbery has his work cut out for him.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

What's up with Mantha since the Wings traded him?

he had so much potential. He had skill

 

[StrikingDistance]

People revert to their strongest habits under stress.

Preseason is meaningless. The shit in practice is probably easier to pull off by thinking it through.

But it's not a habit yet, so during real game pressure they likely go through strongly grooved patterns.

Carbery has his work cut out for him.

Agreed. Just commenting on their current pre-season mode now.

 

[um]

What's up with Mantha since the Wings traded him?

he had so much potential. He had skill

He's a big guy who plays like a small guy. He also forgets to move his feet when he has the puck. And his decision making consist of a lot of hesitating and doing things slowly.

Maybe he can turn it around, but the big connecting factor here is Mantha has a very weak mental game.

 

[Cappy76]

After last night being the first game I've watched closely all the way through im of the opinion of nobody is certain on where they should be. Seemed to often that passes were off or just missing each other. Players 2nd guessing and stuff like that. I wonder how much is players still trying to work through a new system I'd say give it 10-15 games before we have a for sure idea of what issues we actually have.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

The system is 180 degrees different than what Laviolette played. They look better in the offensive zone but defensive zone coverage and breakouts are very much a work in progress so growing pains are to be expected.

For this group getting the lead is going to be important. They don’t have the legs or pace to chase the game. I know their only win came after they were down 2-0 but that’s not a recipe for success. They’ve been down 2-0 in every game they’ve played so far.

I’m not making any sweeping declarations for another month. They need to at least tread water until they figure it out and get to Thanksgiving.

In more positive news, Milano and McMichael both look very good. McMichael looks like a player, if his finishing improves he’s going to be very good.

 

[Langway]

I'd sooner cut them slack as a work in progress if a.) the PP showed signs of new life and b.) they had better defensive personnel. I don't think they're even attempting to be overly methodical and overthinking rather than reacting. They seem to be doing a lot of reversion to past tendencies instead, in part because IMO they don't think the game all that well. Also in part they're trying to play faster than they are, which leads to rushing, sloppiness and lack of poise. Up front anyway they're a team that needs to grind out wins but the back-end isn't built for that. Their center play isn't dedicated to that style either so...shrug. There's not much of a path with this group given what we know about their hockey IQ and athleticism.

It's going to be a huge challenge of their professionalism and buy-in to stick with it, remain dedicated/positive and continue to put in the work. The early signs on the PP of that work is kind of a shambles and it's where I look most and wonder if they're not effectively cooked rather than refreshed at all. There's not much of an athleticism excuse with the man advantage. It's more mental but they seem to want to stick to being stagnant rather than absorbing what they're being asked to incorporate to be harder to handle. It's again the old dog learning new tricks question, which is a pretty massive one at this stage given that so-so hockey IQ. They'll have many more kicks at the can but it's such a limited recipe that it's tough to have faith. I don't doubt they just don't have it upstairs to the point where they're able to compensate enough for declining athleticism and increasingly inconsistent effectiveness.

Previously they've slacked and still had the will to pull out of it. But now? I'm not sure they still have that form to mask their flaws. More stable defensive play can allow them to withstand inconsistency up front. If that's not the top priority personnel-wise I'm not sure what they're doing.