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

[CapitalsCupReality]

Can't wait for everyone's excitement when we sign another physical third pairing defender to play with Carlson, a reclamation project in his mid 20s to play on the second line and take a cap dump for a pick who's lazy but can put up points to play with Ovi. Typical BMac summer of fulfilled promises! We added two top six players and a top four defender guyz!!! We did it! BMac!!! *chefkiss*

Are you and @Misery74 alter egos, a tag team, comedy relief act?

I guess we could all say I told you so now before they even have a chance to improve, just to make us look smart, when it again proves to be hard to make significant moves.

That said, I’ll at least wait until they have a chance at bat…..why should I live the day to day of a Caps fan in such a negative mindset?

I think we’ll see at least one significant UFA add, and hopefully a surprise move or two beyond that.

 

[Vivaldi]

With how much everyone loves Oshie and thinks he's a GOAT acquisition that vaults GMBM into an upper eschelon of GMs almost all on its own I'm surprised how little people care for Reinhart. He's essentially a more offensively capable version of Oshie playstyle wise, down to the bumper PP abilities, defensive awareness, cerebral hustle style vs being a speed demon, faceoff ability/ability to play center in a pinch and emerging clutch reputation.

 

[Vivaldi]

Maybe we should give Sandin more than 87 games before we decide definitively if it was a good move or not?

Also, Sandin has played consistently 20+ minutes a night since being traded here. He is not a 'third pairing d' by any definition.

Eh, his (lack of) size or Kronwall type no-size-no-problem physicality, (lack of) speed or any notable skating ability, (lack of) high end offensive awareness or high end defensive IQ has been on display for much more than 87 games. You can play him higher up in the lineup than he warrants and wing it as we did with Jeff Schultz for years, but that will be very much due to the 4 other players and goalie on the ice. It's as clear a case of falling in love with a player everything be damned as you'll see since BB and Tomas Fleischmann.

 

[Misery74]

Are you and @Misery74 alter egos, a tag team, comedy relief act?

I guess we could all say I told you so now before they even have a chance to improve, just to make us look smart, when it again proves to be hard to make significant moves.

That said, I’ll at least wait until they have a chance at bat…..why should I live the day to day of a Caps fan in such a negative mindset?

I think we’ll see at least one significant UFA add, and hopefully a surprise move or two beyond that.

Not sure why any of this has to do with me.

I said I want the kids to play, and shop in bargain bin.

Which, by the way, is the only correct approach.

 

[hb13xchamps]

With how much everyone loves Oshie and thinks he's a GOAT acquisition that vaults GMBM into an upper eschelon of GMs almost all on its own I'm surprised how little people care for Reinhart. He's essentially a more offensively capable version of Oshie playstyle wise, down to the bumper PP abilities, defensive awareness, cerebral hustle style vs being a speed demon, faceoff ability/ability to play center in a pinch and emerging clutch reputation.

I dont think it’s that people don’t like Reinhart. We don’t like him at the price he is going to command. He’s going to make $10 million or more a year and he’s having a career year on a stacked team. It’s extremely risky to pay him for his production this year when this season is an abnormality

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

With how much everyone loves Oshie and thinks he's a GOAT acquisition that vaults GMBM into an upper eschelon of GMs almost all on its own I'm surprised how little people care for Reinhart. He's essentially a more offensively capable version of Oshie playstyle wise, down to the bumper PP abilities, defensive awareness, cerebral hustle style vs being a speed demon, faceoff ability/ability to play center in a pinch and emerging clutch reputation.

@hb12xchamps said it well but the other component is they’re paying Tom $7M and Leonard will be on the team this year or next. I guess it’s fine if Tom makes that much to sit on the third line since Leonard will be cheap for a few years but not an ideal situation.

Reinhart has a few more risks to consider than other players but no question he’s a terrific player, especially if they get this version of him. I’m just weary of committing $75M to him which is what it’s going to take to get him.

 

[Ridley Simon]

With how much everyone loves Oshie and thinks he's a GOAT acquisition that vaults GMBM into an upper eschelon of GMs almost all on its own I'm surprised how little people care for Reinhart. He's essentially a more offensively capable version of Oshie playstyle wise, down to the bumper PP abilities, defensive awareness, cerebral hustle style vs being a speed demon, faceoff ability/ability to play center in a pinch and emerging clutch reputation.

Because many of us don’t want to spend that much money, for that long, on another winger.

Is that hard to fathom?

Teams get like 4 or 5 “big salaries” each year. Caps have Ovy, Backstrom, and Carlson. Backs will get LTIR’d. Oshie and Wilson use a slot. Strome and Kuz/Patches leftovers uses another slot.

That leaves like 1 slot, right now. Why use that on yet another winger? Of the actual active Caps I mentioned above, 3 of the 5 names are wingers. We want another one?

No thank you. Would rather a C or a D, if it’s going to be a long term high cost deal.

I suppose Marner could possibly break that thought process, due to his age and offensive prowess. That wouldn’t kill me. But I’d rather not. Reinhart is a good player. I like him. But he’s right at the top of his game, and I think he has nowhere to go, but down. Depends how quickly.

 

[DWGie26]

I don’t think I want another C this year. We need to see what Lapierre and McMichal can do this year. Dowd is a great 4C. But i think i would go for a LW (left stick) who can play both sides. We have a lot of right shots right now between Caps and Bears.

Agree on a defenseman. But we need to move out a RD. I suspect that will be TVR and Jensen will stay. But we need a legit 2RD and move Jensen to 3RD.

 

[Calicaps]

With how much everyone loves Oshie and thinks he's a GOAT acquisition that vaults GMBM into an upper eschelon of GMs almost all on its own I'm surprised how little people care for Reinhart. He's essentially a more offensively capable version of Oshie playstyle wise, down to the bumper PP abilities, defensive awareness, cerebral hustle style vs being a speed demon, faceoff ability/ability to play center in a pinch and emerging clutch reputation.

To pile on what @hb12xchamps and @AlexBrovechkin8 already said, part of what made the Oshie deal so good was that Mac bought low. Oshie was perceived as talented but underachieving overall and a playoff ghost. He's talked about it himself. Reinhart would be the opposite of that.

 

[SnapVirus]

Might Leonard signs of he is going back ?

 

[hb13xchamps]

Might Leonard signs of he is going back ?

He announced in April he was going back to BC. Will Smith signing with San Jose could change those plans. The Caps should be talking to his representation to try to convince him to change his mind

 

[Rayquaza64]

He announced in April he was going back to BC. Will Smith signing with San Jose could change those plans. The Caps should be talking to his representation to try to convince him to change his mind

Pretty sure its been reported by BC writers they were going to pursue him anyways so id imagine they’re trying

 

[Ridley Simon]

I don’t think I want another C this year. We need to see what Lapierre and McMichal can do this year. Dowd is a great 4C. But i think i would go for a LW (left stick) who can play both sides. We have a lot of right shots right now between Caps and Bears.

Agree on a defenseman. But we need to move out a RD. I suspect that will be TVR and Jensen will stay. But we need a legit 2RD and move Jensen to 3RD.

Sorry. You misunderstand me. I’m not advocating for a reach for C or D or what have you, this year.

I simply don’t want the “next big contract” to be to a winger (unless someone like Marner or above). Like at all.

I think we can turn one of our current C’s into a true top flight C. Obv we will need to add a lot, but that’s the start. Whichever of the C’s are wanted.

 

[Roshi]

I mentioned it earlier, but I like Hronek as a fit. And i dont get scared of his 8m ask thats rumoured. He is 26, so a 7 year contract takes him to 33-34 which is still effective age for D and if/when the cap goes up year to year the next few ones, its not gonna be paralyzing amount of cap even if Hronek gets stuck as a 2RD.

We need someone to replace JC eventually, getting that guy now helps us short and long term. Makes us a better team and gives insurance for JC injury + gives us a lot of time to work around that for the coming years.

I dont like what it would cost for us, but gotta give to get.. Maybe Canucks could get interested in Jensen+2nd+? if they really dont want to pay up, but even if they do its very possible another team will top that offer. I dont mind trading this years 1st either, but I think we should need that one for a top6 winger.

 

[Todd Lazarchick]

Can't wait for everyone's excitement when we sign another physical third pairing defender to play with Carlson, a reclamation project in his mid 20s to play on the second line and take a cap dump for a pick who's lazy but can put up points to play with Ovi. Typical BMac summer of fulfilled promises! We added two top six players and a top four defender guyz!!! We did it! BMac!!! *chefkiss*

Oh boy. I guess no one told you that you’re not allowed to criticize GMBM around these parts lol

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Oh boy. I guess no one told you that you’re not allowed to criticize GMBM around these parts lol

He’s a founding member of that club…..you didn’t get your membership card?

 

[Todd Lazarchick]

With how much everyone loves Oshie and thinks he's a GOAT acquisition that vaults GMBM into an upper eschelon of GMs almost all on its own I'm surprised how little people care for Reinhart. He's essentially a more offensively capable version of Oshie playstyle wise, down to the bumper PP abilities, defensive awareness, cerebral hustle style vs being a speed demon, faceoff ability/ability to play center in a pinch and emerging clutch reputation.

Because they’re all obsessed with not spending money lol

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

JC74 game might age well. Hes never been very fast or a good skater so when that declines with age he might stay the same lol. I do remember how bad we looked last season when he was hurt and I agree we need to hit on one of these draft picks for the next #1 D.

 

[Vivaldi]

To pile on what @hb12xchamps and @AlexBrovechkin8 already said, part of what made the Oshie deal so good was that Mac bought low. Oshie was perceived as talented but underachieving overall and a playoff ghost. He's talked about it himself. Reinhart would be the opposite of that.

The deal that Oshie was signed to after we bought low on him is basically in line with what Reinhart will make when you take both cap expansion and Reinhart developing into a better offensive player into account though. And it was a major reason we had to shed numerous players in the 2017 offseason even though that worked out that year. Here at least Reinhart wouldn't require any crippling cap moves and seamlessly slides into and improves the Oshie role (at least on offense).

If they commit to Strome/Lapierre/McMichael as their top 3 Cs they probably need a winger or two to shoulder a lot of the load defensive and faceoff load anyway, or someone to absolutely blow the doors offensively.

Not sure why any of this has to do with me.

I said I want the kids to play, and shop in bargain bin.

Which, by the way, is the only correct approach.

Buffalo Sabres agree.

The problem with the Caps is, they're not looking like a tanking/bottom 5 team during the Ovechkin/Carbury years, and after Ovechkin they have enough young guys hitting their primes where they're still probably no worse than 10th in the league unless they intentionally tank by sabotaging defense or goaltending. And they haven't shown anything close to the Dallas or Washington of old star drafting acumen in a while. Its nice when you get a buy low Oshie and he works out perfectly once a decade but they will probably have to go out of their comfort zone to get top talent and take the lumps that come with it like so many other teams.

 

[Vivaldi]

I mentioned it earlier, but I like Hronek as a fit. And i dont get scared of his 8m ask thats rumoured. He is 26, so a 7 year contract takes him to 33-34 which is still effective age for D and if/when the cap goes up year to year the next few ones, its not gonna be paralyzing amount of cap even if Hronek gets stuck as a 2RD.

We need someone to replace JC eventually, getting that guy now helps us short and long term. Makes us a better team and gives insurance for JC injury + gives us a lot of time to work around that for the coming years.

I dont like what it would cost for us, but gotta give to get.. Maybe Canucks could get interested in Jensen+2nd+? if they really dont want to pay up, but even if they do its very possible another team will top that offer. I dont mind trading this years 1st either, but I think we should need that one for a top6 winger.

No idea what you see in him but he's not all that great (though that's a terrible offer even for what he is let alone the player you think he is). He's the guy you staple to a LH version of a prime Carlson not a guy to replace Carlson. There's a reason Vancouver is looking to move on from him despite having no one available to take his spot next to Hughes. Give the 7.5 to Skjei or Montour if you want to take a swing at a Carlson replacement down the line (or ideally something like 5.25 to Matt Roy or 4.25 to Sean Walker if the shine wore off, he's one of the few guys that looks like he'd work really well with Sandin on a 2nd pairing) and keep the picks and prospects

 

[Misery74]

The deal that Oshie was signed to after we bought low on him is basically in line with what Reinhart will make when you take both cap expansion and Reinhart developing into a better offensive player into account though. And it was a major reason we had to shed numerous players in the 2017 offseason even though that worked out that year. Here at least Reinhart wouldn't require any crippling cap moves and seamlessly slides into and improves the Oshie role (at least on offense).

If they commit to Strome/Lapierre/McMichael as their top 3 Cs they probably need a winger or two to shoulder a lot of the load defensive and faceoff load anyway, or someone to absolutely blow the doors offensively.



Buffalo Sabres agree.

The problem with the Caps is, they're not looking like a tanking/bottom 5 team during the Ovechkin/Carbury years, and after Ovechkin they have enough young guys hitting their primes where they're still probably no worse than 10th in the league unless they intentionally tank by sabotaging defense or goaltending. And they haven't shown anything close to the Dallas or Washington of old star drafting acumen in a while. Its nice when you get a buy low Oshie and he works out perfectly once a decade but they will probably have to go out of their comfort zone to get top talent and take the lumps that come with it like so many other teams.

My stance is only until next year, after we dump the $10m we owe Oshie and the rest of the Kuzy contract.

I think we hold tight until 2025, keep shedding salary.

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

My stance is only until next year, after we dump the $10m we owe Oshie and the rest of the Kuzy contract.

I think we hold tight until 2025, keep shedding salary.

Here's some spitballin' if that is the case. I honestly don't know how Strome would react to a shift to LW - he may be OK with it and may shine. This would give Protas the chance to become the C I believe he should be. Assuming Leonard jumps...

Strome - CMM - Leonard
Ovi - Lappy - Miroschnichenko
Milano - Protas - Wilson
Beck - Dowd -Sgarbossa/Trineyev/Other

May still have enough to grab a Montour or other D (moving out Jensen). Would be interesting to see how some of these guys might gel.

IF this actually worked and we see a few of the youth progress further, could Cristall then be a Milano replacement. Bedard says he is a 'really special player'.

Again, just spitballin '

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

No way can CMM play 1c (well enough) nor should Strome not get the 1C spot in favor of him….come on. Dude is coming off back to back career years at 27, and we want to screw that up and move him to wing? I want to see him hit 30g and 70 points next year with a nice talented winger addition.


Strome 1
Lappy 2
CMM 3

Lappy/CMM interchangeable, that’s just how I see it playing out.

Bring in one top-6 wing and let the others fight it out on wing….

Ovi - Strome - Incoming
Protas - Lappy - Wilson
Milano - CMM - Miro
Beck - Dowd - incoming

This is assuming no Leonard and a UFA or trade add to the top line.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

My stance is only until next year, after we dump the $10m we owe Oshie and the rest of the Kuzy contract.

I think we hold tight until 2025, keep shedding salary.

Agree and think using the cap space to get more draft picks is the play right now.

Here's some spitballin' if that is the case. I honestly don't know how Strome would react to a shift to LW - he may be OK with it and may shine. This would give Protas the chance to become the C I believe he should be. Assuming Leonard jumps...

Strome - CMM - Leonard
Ovi - Lappy - Miroschnichenko
Milano - Protas - Wilson
Beck - Dowd -Sgarbossa/Trineyev/Other

May still have enough to grab a Montour or other D (moving out Jensen). Would be interesting to see how some of these guys might gel.

IF this actually worked and we see a few of the youth progress further, could Cristall then be a Milano replacement. Bedard says he is a 'really special player'.

Again, just spitballin '

I think all of our centers can play wing. Its nice we developed them this way. So I would not be worried about adding more centers.

 

[hb13xchamps]

The deal that Oshie was signed to after we bought low on him is basically in line with what Reinhart will make when you take both cap expansion and Reinhart developing into a better offensive player into account though. And it was a major reason we had to shed numerous players in the 2017 offseason even though that worked out that year. Here at least Reinhart wouldn't require any crippling cap moves and seamlessly slides into and improves the Oshie role (at least on offense).

If they commit to Strome/Lapierre/McMichael as their top 3 Cs they probably need a winger or two to shoulder a lot of the load defensive and faceoff load anyway, or someone to absolutely blow the doors offensively.



Buffalo Sabres agree.

The problem with the Caps is, they're not looking like a tanking/bottom 5 team during the Ovechkin/Carbury years, and after Ovechkin they have enough young guys hitting their primes where they're still probably no worse than 10th in the league unless they intentionally tank by sabotaging defense or goaltending. And they haven't shown anything close to the Dallas or Washington of old star drafting acumen in a while. Its nice when you get a buy low Oshie and he works out perfectly once a decade but they will probably have to go out of their comfort zone to get top talent and take the lumps that come with it like so many other teams.

That just isn’t true at all. Oshie’s St. Louis contract was 6.96% of the cap. His extension in Washington was 7.67% of the cap. Both are according to CapFriendly.

If Reinhart makes $10 million plus like anticipated he’s going to be at around 11% of the anticipated salary cap of $87.7 million.