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

[AlexModvechkin8]

For better or worse, Mac is trying to improve the team.

 

[Brian23]

Have seemingly been very proactive with changes. I'd still think they should be sending Lujo down, but what do I know.

 

[um]

Have seemingly been very proactive with changes. I'd still think they should be sending Lujo down, but what do I know.

I thought it was a Cap space issue, or was it something with waivers?

Either way I'm glad HHA is back up, hopefully his good preseason play wasn't just that.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

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.

I'm not a believer the Caps will remain this bad for the rest of the season, however should they completely fall save every tradable asset until the TDL. The other teams will have injuries and eventually call on guys like Mantha. It bewilders me why, however teams just do it. I essence, I agree with you.

 

[Brian23]

I thought it was a Cap space issue, or was it something with waivers?

Either way I'm glad HHA is back up, hopefully his good preseason play wasn't just that.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

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.

The PP is my biggest disappointment so far.

 

[um]

The PP is my biggest disappointment so far.

I’d like to see different guys out there. The current 1st unit hasn’t been dominant for years now.

 

[Caps8112]

I’d like to see different guys out there. The current 1st unit hasn’t been dominant for years now.

who would you put out there? I agree the number 1 unit has sucked but there really is a massive drop off in goalscoring/playmaking abilities between teams pp1 and pp2 most of the time. Ovi may stand there like a turret or a wall for others to bounce the puck off of but there really isnt an option to replace his shot there. Backstrom and kuzy are redundant but none of the rest of the players on the team have their vision. Carlson isnt what he was but hes been running the point so long its muscle memory and putting Sandin there for example is a gamble/turnover waiting to happen. So its pretty much watch the old guys operate at 75-85% of what they use to be or watch the young guys never score and most likely turn the puck over. This team isnt fixable with the players they have and its going to be a long 3-5 years before actual young talent is here. Imo all of the young players aquired in the last 3-5 years barely make other teams rosters if at all since the caps were always drafting last. Hopefully leonard (spelling) is the start of something.

 

[YippieKaey]

So i dont think the powerplay is the problem, it was exactly average last year at 16th best/worst. Better than the team as a whole. But a formation where Willy and Protas just stand in front of the goalie whilst Ovi shoots could be worth a try.

 

[trick9]

Vancouver fans on X think they cracked the Garland -rumour about a team that asked the Canucks to retain 1.9 million on Garland.

They think it was the Capitals. TvR's deal expires at the same time as Garland's deal and his cap hit is... 1.9m less than Garland's. TvR also has the same agent as Garland has now.

Just puzzling from our point of view. Our D absolutely sucks and they want to move one of the few guys that can actually defend? Well, it makes sense if the tank is on and the goal is to score as many goals as possible but... Geez. Already?

 

[HecticGlow]

Vancouver fans on X think they cracked the Garland -rumour about a team that asked the Canucks to retain 1.9 million on Garland.

They think it was the Capitals. TvR's deal expires at the same time as Garland's deal and his cap hit is... 1.9m less than Garland's. TvR also has the same agent as Garland has now.

Just puzzling from our point of view. Our D absolutely sucks and they want to move one of the few guys that can actually defend? Well, it makes sense if the tank is on and the goal is to score as many goals as possible but... Geez. Already?

Yeah I’m not sure that would make much sense at all - and therefore probably isn’t true. Not only did we only recently resign him - he’s 3 games into his new deal - but we have no RHD in our system who could fill that spot, this year or next. It’s clear Johansen and Alexeyev aren’t ready to be a number 6.

If anything we potentially need to upgrade our D-corps, not undermine it.

 

[zappa4ever]

I'm curious how things start going when:
- OV gets his 1st goal
- same with Osh/Willie/Strome/Milano's 1st g
- D starts gelling/learning/not crumbling under a forecheck/winning a board battle/exiting the zone
- we have our 1st outburst and a 4+ G game
- actual PPG's


I'll start believing the trends if they haven't improved when we hit 8-10 gms

 

[bacchist]

Ovi may stand there like a turret or a wall for others to bounce the puck off of but there really isnt an option to replace his shot there

We don't have to worry about replacing something that isn't working in the first place. Having him out of the play on the perimeter is counterproductive. He can't score from there like he used to, and he isn't very good at keeping the puck in the zone.

 

[shtorm2005]

Caps right now

 

[pman25]

I think I’d rather move Jensen than TVR honestly. As for a replacement it would likely mean elevating Iorio

 

[HecticGlow]

I think I’d rather move Jensen than TVR honestly. As for a replacement it would likely mean elevating Iorio

I didn’t get the sense Iorio was especially close to cracking the roster this training camp? I’d rather let him develop in the AHL than rush him into the NHL simply because we traded away our NHL RHD.

 

[twabby]

So i dont think the powerplay is the problem, it was exactly average last year at 16th best/worst. Better than the team as a whole. But a formation where Willy and Protas just stand in front of the goalie whilst Ovi shoots could be worth a try.

It's a problem in that it's an area where some of their physical limitations and age could be mitigated. If this team has any chance of being successful their special teams need to be top notch because they don't seem like they can keep up at 5v5.

 

[itsjustsurvival]

I’d like to see different guys out there. The current 1st unit hasn’t been dominant for years now.

Even if the team isn't capable of making the playoffs, they have the players needed to make an above average powerplay. I get the feeling we will see changes soon if they continue to struggle.

 

[Raikkonen]

To my eyes TVR is looking more like a solution for D problems. Jensen looks MIA. If this continues they can't afford to sent out TVR.

They should be thinking how to send out slow/lazy players first. TVR is absolutely ok for his role.

PS: I (and some of you apparently) think HHA could help. But what if he isnt ready and wont help yet?! By the time Edmundson is back they could be in deep shit.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[Brian23]

While I feel like Carbery and company must be seeing the same issues as everyone and thinking that the defense seems like a systemic figuring things out problem while offense has been a more individual problem, I'm still not sure why he continues to insist on Sandin and Carlson together. I can understand loading up sometimes, but if you see them both as great offensive defensemen then why not spread that out and hope you can have two pairings that can transition the play quickly.

Maybe he thinks they'll have an easier time figuring the systemic stuff out if they are comfortable with their pairs.

 

[Todd Lazarchick]

Who exactly are they upgrading? That chance passed with the Edmundson trade. They aren’t sitting him after just trading for him/not playing yet. They aren’t sitting 74 or 38. Marty needs to play and not sit. Jensen was arguably our best D last year. TvR just signed a brand new deal. There’s no room for an upgrade. The logic thing is your top 6. They need an injection of someone who hasn’t been around here before. Whether Garland is that guy or no remains to be seen but that’s why GMBM is paid to be right about such moves. Regardless I don’t see it happening anyway.

 

[Langway]

Not great, Bob.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

The PP is my biggest disappointment so far.

The PP hasn’t been bad. They’ve been unlucky. The goals will come. They’ve 6 or 7 posts/crossbars in the first three games across the PP and at ES. If half of those go in we may have a different outlook on how they look.

One thing that is glaringly obvious to me thus far is they have a razor thin margin for error. They aren’t good enough to be consistently on the wrong side of puck luck… they have to bury the chances they get. They don’t have a lot of capacity to absorb goalies having an off nights. When things go wrong they don’t have the horses to chase the game so they will have to out-execute most teams on a nightly basis. Not having elite talent makes everything harder. Not impossible, but harder for sure.

The other thing that sucks is this schedule. Too much in between games which doesn’t help them get into a rhythm.

 

[StrikingDistance]

With a HAK-TvR pairing...could we shorten it to HA-TR?