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

[Langway]

In UFA it's just Guentzel and Reinhart that move the needle I think. That signal, buckle up, it's a new era. They could break moves down to multiple smaller additions. Perhaps they'll have no other choice but they should be trying to go big. You'd think it's also there where Carbery ought to be front and center helping close the deal when pitches are made.

On Daily Faceoff's Trade Targets list it's Marner, Necas and perhaps Buchnevich. Zegras falls a bit short I think. Ditto Ehlers. If they're going to play more of a value game then play it as cool as possible. Don't overpay for a DeBrusk or something just to get something done that checks off a box more minimally. You never know what might materialize a bit later on if they do happen to miss out on the initial UFA wave.

Edit: Buchnevich definitely stands out as a value target. Can play center in a pinch. Might find further motivation from the 895 chase. Underrated two-way player. Can kill penalties. Unless they can add someone like Ehlers for a song he may be the most reasonably easy to acquire.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Pipe dream is to get Brady out of Ottawa but fat chance of that happening, especially with the trade for Ullmark and them wanting to compete now. I would trade any roster player or prospect for him.

 

[Lindemann]

Pipe dream is to get Brady out of Ottawa but fat chance of that happening, especially with the trade for Ullmark and them wanting to compete now. I would trade any roster player or prospect for him.

I am with you on this. I would trade a good amount for him

I hope he doesn't want to be there like his bother

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

Pipe dream is to get Brady out of Ottawa but fat chance of that happening, especially with the trade for Ullmark and them wanting to compete now. I would trade any roster player or prospect for him.

Me too. This is someone I would be willing to move CMM for. Yes, I said that!

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Me too. This is someone I would be willing to move CMM for. Yes, I said that!

I would trade CMM + 17OA without thinking twice. Would probably throw in a top tier prospect as well if that’s what it took. He’d be perfect.

Ovi-PLD-Wilson
Tkachuk-Strome-Leonard
Milano-Lapierre-Miro
Malenstyn-Dowd-Protas

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

If Oshie hangs them up--and even if he's still on the fence--they're going to need impact character almost as much as impact talent. Maybe that sounds hokey but it's true. They need character that can play, that's very fluid and dogged but The Culture needs players that will drag guys into the fight. It's my biggest concern after the investment in PLD. They can't be so caught up in upgrading skill that it's more of the frustrating or inconsistent variety. If they instead continue to sort of stockpile somewhat promising but inconsistent younger talent still finding their way that can pay off over time.

This is why I want Montour. Especially after hearing his post game on-ice interviews on both SN and ABC. Not only can he generate offence, he has such deep passion and desire to win and how strongly that is tied to representing the Six Nations (that the same Reservation that Robbie Robertson of The Band was from, just S & SE of Brantford, Ontario).

That's what I want on our room. Throw money at him!

 

[Silky mitts]

I want to trade a conditional pick for Skinner and the 11th pick if Oshie can't go

 

[Hivemind]

Pipe dream is to get Brady out of Ottawa but fat chance of that happening, especially with the trade for Ullmark and them wanting to compete now. I would trade any roster player or prospect for him.

Pipe dream is, unfortunately, the correct term here.

Brady is their captain, is 24 years old, is signed until 2028, and is on a relatively affordable deal for someone with his production. For only $1.7M more than we're paying Tom Wilson, they get a version of him that is twice as productive and six years younger. There's no way he would be available for anything we could offer. McMichael + 17 doesn't even come close. Leonard + 17 doesn't even come close.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Pipe dream is, unfortunately, the correct term here.

Brady is their captain, is 24 years old, is signed until 2028, and is on a relatively affordable deal for someone with his production. For only $1.7M more than we're paying Tom Wilson, they get a version of him that is twice as productive and six years younger. There's no way he would be available for anything we could offer. McMichael + 17 doesn't even come close. Leonard + 17 doesn't even come close.

Unfortunately true, which is why I said I’d trade any roster player or prospect for him. Incredible player and great value. Only hope is to get him in a few years if he tells Ottawa he won’t re-sign.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

In UFA it's just Guentzel and Reinhart that move the needle I think. That signal, buckle up, it's a new era. They could break moves down to multiple smaller additions. Perhaps they'll have no other choice but they should be trying to go big. You'd think it's also there where Carbery ought to be front and center helping close the deal when pitches are made.

On Daily Faceoff's Trade Targets list it's Marner, Necas and perhaps Buchnevich. Zegras falls a bit short I think. Ditto Ehlers. If they're going to play more of a value game then play it as cool as possible. Don't overpay for a DeBrusk or something just to get something done that checks off a box more minimally. You never know what might materialize a bit later on if they do happen to miss out on the initial UFA wave.

Edit: Buchnevich definitely stands out as a value target. Can play center in a pinch. Might find further motivation from the 895 chase. Underrated two-way player. Can kill penalties. Unless they can add someone like Ehlers for a song he may be the most reasonably easy to acquire.

I wondered out loud here a month or so ago about Buchnevich….

 

[Kalopsia]

The Senator I really want is the guy who's actually available and the Caps have been rumored to be interested in in the past, Chychrun. He's 26 so he fits the age range MacLellan's been looking for. Assuming he's willing to sign here long term, offer the Sens McMichael + TVR (they need RHD badly) + picks as needed, then sign Pesce or Roy to replace TVR.

Chychrun-Pesce/Roy
Fehervary-Carlson
Sandin-Jensen

Chychrun-Pesce/Roy isn't an amazing 1st pairing, but with TVR moving out they only add around 7.5-8.5M against the cap, and bumping last year's 1st and 2nd pairing down to 2nd and 3rd makes for pretty ridiculous depth. If we're gonna roll with three defensively deficient centers in Strome, PLD, and Lapierre next year they need a big upgrade on the blueline.

 

[Misery74]

The Senator I really want is the guy who's actually available and the Caps have been rumored to be interested in in the past, Chychrun. He's 26 so he fits the age range MacLellan's been looking for. Assuming he's willing to sign here long term, offer the Sens McMichael + TVR (they need RHD badly) + picks as needed, then sign Pesce or Roy to replace TVR.

Chychrun-Pesce/Roy
Fehervary-Carlson
Sandin-Jensen

Chychrun-Pesce/Roy isn't an amazing 1st pairing, but with TVR moving out they only add around 7.5-8.5M against the cap, and bumping last year's 1st and 2nd pairing down to 2nd and 3rd makes for pretty ridiculous depth. If we're gonna roll with three defensively deficient centers in Strome, PLD, and Lapierre next year they need a big upgrade on the blueline.

They are going to have to trade him. He will never sign an extension there.

I also agree the D needs upgrading. Disagree on Lapierres defense.

 

[DWGie26]

The Senator I really want is the guy who's actually available and the Caps have been rumored to be interested in in the past, Chychrun. He's 26 so he fits the age range MacLellan's been looking for. Assuming he's willing to sign here long term, offer the Sens McMichael + TVR (they need RHD badly) + picks as needed, then sign Pesce or Roy to replace TVR.

Chychrun-Pesce/Roy
Fehervary-Carlson
Sandin-Jensen

Chychrun-Pesce/Roy isn't an amazing 1st pairing, but with TVR moving out they only add around 7.5-8.5M against the cap, and bumping last year's 1st and 2nd pairing down to 2nd and 3rd makes for pretty ridiculous depth. If we're gonna roll with three defensively deficient centers in Strome, PLD, and Lapierre next year they need a big upgrade on the blueline.

I don’t want to pick up Chychrun. He is a left Dee. We have good young players on the left. We also need to reshape our defense and that happens on the right. Montour would be great to sign. But we still would need to move TVR and/or Jensen.

 

[Kalopsia]

I don’t want to pick up Chychrun. He is a left Dee. We have good young players on the left. We also need to reshape our defense and that happens on the right. Montour would be great to sign. But we still would need to move TVR and/or Jensen.

The Caps need help on both sides. Fehervary-Sandin-Alexeyev as the left side of the defense is not nearly good enough to contend with, and they have absolutely no one coming up through the system to help. To compensate for the fact that Carlson's the only elite D on the roster (and even he's slowing down), they need to go for depth instead. Add a good LHD and RHD to push everyone down the depth chart, and build depth to load-manage 34 year old Carlson for a playoff run.

Montour doesn't seem realistic to me. If Florida doesn't re-sign him it'll be because he's asking for the moon. He's the only true all-situations top pairing D on the market, so there's gonna be a lot of competition for him and he's gonna get paid. He's also been getting almost 4 minutes a night on the PP for Florida, and if he's got his pick of teams to sign with I doubt he'll choose one that won't promise him the point on the PP. For the Caps to pay Montour enough to sign here he'd probably cost almost as much as Chychrun + Pesce/Roy.

 

[Holtbyisms]

I mentioned we've got one of the worst d cores in the NHL here the other day...looks like the Athletic agrees (#26). I'd rather not give up too much in terms of futures for a guy with an extensive injury history but Chychrun would easily become our #1. Not so sure he and Carlson would be much of a pair but apart we could have a couple halfway decent pairs I guess.

 

[DWGie26]

If you sign a LD you probably need to move one out. It would give you depth though with Alexyev and Aktell as 4 and 5 LD. I do have a soft spot for Alexyev and want him to be full time Dee. 6’4 220 lbs and only 24. He needs a chance to have a big year.

 

[Holtbyisms]

If you sign a LD you probably need to move one out. It would give you depth though with Alexyev and Aktell as 4 and 5 LD. I do have a soft spot for Alexyev and want him to be full time Dee. 6’4 220 lbs and only 24. He needs a chance to have a big year.

At some point you have to upgrade past a collection of third pairing guys though or you'll never be successful. Fever is a second pairing guy, Sandin and Alexeyev are third pairing guys. HHA is likely AHL depth, third pairing at best. Id prefer to spend assets at the draft to move up but if the idea is to do it now they need to make sure it's someone young and someone who can carry a power play unit.

 

[Lou Sassole]

They are going to have to trade him. He will never sign an extension there.

I also agree the D needs upgrading. Disagree on Lapierres defense.

Same, Lapierre is responsible defensively.

 

[DWGie26]

Same, Lapierre is responsible defensively.

Lappy definitely backchecks well. Better than McMichael. he also goes in harder on the forecheck. Great compete as well.

I’m coming around more on the Lappy at wing idea. He can still carry the puck from the wing and it shelters him from faceoffs. Also Give McMichael another year at center after his 18 goal campaign. I’d kinda hate to trade him after developing him for so long. But if the right package comes around I’m trading McMichael before Lappy.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I know it’s all we care about… but Ovies latest beach picture
Looking better than the fat Ovie pickle ball pic.

I take testosterone. My levels are low and I can get it prescribed to me medicinally. As I should. It’s a huge thing for men as we get older (all of you over 45-50, check your levels!).

Part of taking it is “new bloat city”, and massive water weight. It flattens out over time, but it isn’t quick.

So modern athletes (of which I am NOT) can bloat up fast to correct issues.

It’s nothing new.

 

[wickedwitch]

I mentioned we've got one of the worst d cores in the NHL here the other day...looks like the Athletic agrees (#26). I'd rather not give up too much in terms of futures for a guy with an extensive injury history but Chychrun would easily become our #1. Not so sure he and Carlson would be much of a pair but apart we could have a couple halfway decent pairs I guess.

View attachment 887351

Mostly fair, but I disagree with the assertion that Fehervary is "projected as fringe second-pair." He's already a very solid second pair defenseman. How could he be projected to be worse than he currently is? It's like they took his projection from his draft day and never looked at him again.

 

[Kalopsia]

If you sign a LD you probably need to move one out. It would give you depth though with Alexyev and Aktell as 4 and 5 LD. I do have a soft spot for Alexyev and want him to be full time Dee. 6’4 220 lbs and only 24. He needs a chance to have a big year.

24 really isn't *that* young. If a guy is only just starting to look like an NHL caliber defenseman at 24 and a half, chances are they aren't gonna end up being much more than that. Alexeyev's ceiling in particular is capped by his poor skating.

That reminds me, I made this a little while back and meant to post it. I dunno why the NHL EDGE page doesn't let you do tables like this on its own, it's such a pain in the ass to browse.

Same, Lapierre is responsible defensively.

He tries, so maybe he'll get better eventually, but Carbery definitely didn't trust him last year and his results weren't good. Lapi was extremely sheltered this past year (72.1% OZ Starts, which is 97th percentile for forwards) and still had the 4th highest expected goals against per 60 and scoring chances against per 60 of our regular forwards. There were only three NHL forwards last year who got more OZ starts and had higher xGA/60 - Michael Bunting, Alexis Lafreniere, and our dear Ovie. Lapi's not quite at Ovie/Kuzy levels of defensive black hole, but he's got a long way to go just to be mediocre.

If the plan is to go with PLD, Strome, and Lapierre as the top 9 centers, the Caps are gonna need Dowd to move mountains again and they're gonna need to make major improvements to the blueline to compensate.

 

[Hivemind]

Vincent Iorio charting as slower than Backstrom is, uhh.... not at all encouraging. The tiny TOI sample does cage against it a bit, but not having a single 20mph burst in 59 minutes of ice time is pretty brutal.

I thought Bear was faster than that, kind of a bummer that he's got no wheels.

 

[RedRocking]

I’m starting to think our FO sucks at drafting D-men. How many misses/lackluster picks in the past 7-ish years? All we’ve gotten so far is Fever. Even in a D rich draft, not sure I trust them with another 1st rounder.

I like Chychrun - wish we could have found a way to get him instead of Sandin. If healthy, he’d actually move the needle, and take over PP duties. I’d just like some upgrade at LD, so they can move Sandin down to 3rd pair, where he belongs.

 

[trick9]

I’m starting to think our FO sucks at drafting D-men. How many misses/lackluster picks in the past 7-ish years? All we’ve gotten so far is Fever. Even in a D rich draft, not sure I trust them with another 1st rounder.

I like Chychrun - wish we could have found a way to get him instead of Sandin. If healthy, he’d actually move the needle, and take over PP duties. I’d just like some upgrade at LD, so they can move Sandin down to 3rd pair, where he belongs.

2018 - #31: Alexander Alexeyev (NHL'er, albeit borderline so far)
2018 - #46: Martin Fehervary (hit)
2021 - #55: Vincent Iorio (2 D's taken after him have had 5+ NHL games)
2021 - #80: Brent Johnson (1 D taken after him has had 5+ NHL games)
2022 - #37: Ryan Chesley (2 players taken after him have had NHL games)

2018 - #161: Alex Kannok-Leipert
2019 - #153: Martin Has
2021 - #119: Joaquim Lemay
2023: #136: Cam Allen

Hard to suck at drafting D... when you don't draft them. Even D drafted in the 2nd round is under 50% chance at ever making the NHL. After that? It's basically a hail mary -pick. I'd say that with the picks they've used on D over these years, getting 300+ NHL games is fairly good, and any scout would look at it as a success. Especially given with Chesley and Johnson they were drafted as a long-term prospects, and Chesley i'd be pretty surprised if he didn't at some stage get NHL games.

We aren't the best at drafting D (Ducks and Canucks say hello), and it wouldn't even be possible with the lack of picks used on D's, but there are teams year after year that spend top-10 picks on D's and miss out. Even a team like Canucks who is right up there as one of the better teams in drafting D has missed out on top-5 pick like Olli Juolevi. They also got rid of another one of their D picks a little too soon in Gustav Forsling.