Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2023 Off-season

[hockeykicker]

 

[Kalopsia]

Anyone else just have a mini heart attack because they got an ESPN alert with the headline "Kuznetsov to Carolina," but was actually just a "trades we'd like to see" article? Here's the trade they proposed.

Carolina Hurricanes get: C Evgeny Kuznetsov (25% retained), D Nick Jensen
Washington Capitals get: D Brett Pesce, LW/RW Teuvo Teravainen, 2024 second-round pick

Why it works: I'll never forget Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour giving effusive praise to Evgeny Kuznetsov at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game and the feeling being mutual. Kuznetsov has reportedly asked the Capitals for a trade in multiple seasons. The 31-year-old has two years left on his contract with a $7.8 million AAV.

Acknowledging his off-ice issues in the past, I think Raleigh is a good market for him, Brind'Amour is a good coach for him and the Hurricanes are a good team for him, with Russian countrymen Andrei Svechnikov and Pyotr Kochetkov there already. He's also the kind of dynamic offensive player they need, particularly at center.

Pesce, 28, recently changed agents and is one year away from UFA status. If it becomes clear their financial asks aren't aligned, I could see the Hurricanes trading him now, but not to the detriment of their defense. That's where Jensen comes in -- a great defender signed at $4.050 million annually for the next three seasons. Teravainen helps make the money work -- he makes $5.4 million against the cap and is a UFA next summer -- and fills some of the Capitals' offensive need.

Washington retains 25% to move Kuznetsov's contract, earns a second-rounder and gets a chance to ink Pesce long-term as a younger upgrade of Jensen. Two division rivals, going to back to the Southeast days, helping each other out. -- Wyshynski

The fact that they have them trading Jensen just months after giving him an extension kind of invalidates the whole trade, since that basically never happens. I guess it's nice to see an offer for Kuzy that doesn't assume he's a pure cap dump though.

 

[The Instigator]

Anyone else just have a mini heart attack because they got an ESPN alert with the headline "Kuznetsov to Carolina," but was actually just a "trades we'd like to see" article? Here's the trade they proposed.



The fact that they have them trading Jensen just months after giving him an extension kind of invalidates the whole trade, since that basically never happens. I guess it's nice to see an offer for Kuzy that doesn't assume he's a pure cap dump though.

ESPN showing their hockey knowledge once again.

 

[HTFN]

Anyone else just have a mini heart attack because they got an ESPN alert with the headline "Kuznetsov to Carolina," but was actually just a "trades we'd like to see" article? Here's the trade they proposed.



The fact that they have them trading Jensen just months after giving him an extension kind of invalidates the whole trade, since that basically never happens. I guess it's nice to see an offer for Kuzy that doesn't assume he's a pure cap dump though.

Wow, we get to trade a guy we like for a chance to maybe sign a replacement for him and a guy who can't play center, where do I sign?

 

[Kalopsia]

ESPN showing their hockey knowledge once again.

I've basically come to accept that the only things non-Caps fans think they know about the Caps are Ovie=goals, Wilson=goon, and Kuzy=coke fiend. Every other guy on the Caps may as well be a randomly generated player from NHL 23 and has minimal to negative value.

 

[OV Rocks]

I've basically come to accept that the only things non-Caps fans think they know about the Caps are Ovie=goals, Wilson=goon, and Kuzy=coke fiend. Every other guy on the Caps may as well be a randomly generated player from NHL 23 and has minimal to negative value.

Kuzy=coke haha.

You go through the main boards and you'd think Kuznetsov is a damn crack head when the real story is he is just the one that got caught. Everyone else in the NHL is squeaky clean!

 

[StrikingDistance]

If/when Kuzy gets traded, if the headline does not read something like:

'End of the Line for Kuznetsov in Washington'

I will be very disappointed.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Kuzy=coke haha.

You go through the main boards and you'd think Kuznetsov is a damn crack head when the real story is he is just the one that got caught. Everyone else in the NHL is squeaky clean!

Well, getting caught IS a different level of stupid lol…if many others are doing it and just not getting caught.

 

[YippieKaey]

No Wilson on the roster? He'll just be hitting his prime in 4 years.

He got a lifetime suspension for blowing softly on the neck of young offensive superstar X

Anyone else just have a mini heart attack because they got an ESPN alert with the headline "Kuznetsov to Carolina," but was actually just a "trades we'd like to see" article? Here's the trade they proposed.



The fact that they have them trading Jensen just months after giving him an extension kind of invalidates the whole trade, since that basically never happens. I guess it's nice to see an offer for Kuzy that doesn't assume he's a pure cap dump though.

If we get Pesce and Teravainen for Kuzy + Jensen that's a huge win.

 

[HTFN]

If/when Kuzy gets traded, if the headline does not read something like:

'End of the Line for Kuznetsov in Washington'

I will be very disappointed.

"White at the End of the Tunnel" also has some great tongue in cheek applications

 

[trick9]

List of NHL players among Washington Capitals draft picks (2002-2015) and what # they were picked: (players with below 10 games not listed)

2002:
#12: Steve Eminger - 412 games
#13: Alexander Semin - 650 games
#17: Boyd Gordon - 706 games

2003:
#18: Eric Fehr - 652 games

2004:
#1: Alexander Ovechkin - 1347 so far
#27: Jeff Schultz - 409 games
#29: Mike Green - 880 games
#33: Chris Bourque - 51 games
#66: Sami Lepisto - 176 games
#197: Andrew Gordon - 55 games

2005:
#27: Joe Finley - 21 games
#181: Tim Kennedy - 162 games

2006:
#4: Nicklas Backstrom - 1097 games so far
#23: Semyon Varlamov - 583 games so far
#34: Michal Neuvirth - 257 games
#177: Mathieu Perreault - 708 games

2007:
#5: Karl Alzner - 686 games

2008:
#27: John Carlson - 927 games so far
#93: Braden Holtby - 513 games

2009:
#24: Marcus Johansson - 833 games so far
#55: Dmitri Orlov - 709 games so far
#85: Cody Eakin - 701 games so far

2010:
#26: Evgeny Kuznetsov - 680 games so far
#86: Stanislav Galiev - 26 games
#112: Philipp Grubauer - 308 games so far

2011:
#177: Travis Boyd - 280 games so far

2012:
#11: Filip Forsberg - 616 games so far
#16: Tom Wilson - 680 games so far
#77: Chandler Stephenson - 420 games so far
#137: Connor Carrick - 242 games so far
#167: Riley Barber - 16 games so far
#195: Christian Djoos - 155 games so far

2013:
#23: Andre Burakovsky - 568 games so far
#53: Madison Bowey - 158 games so far
#61: Zach Sanford - 305 games so far
#204: Tyler Lewington - 12 games so far

2014:
#13: Jakub Vrana - 346 games so far
#39: Vitek Vanecek - 131 games so far
#89: Nathan Walker - 111 games so far

2015:
#22: Ilya Samsonov - 131 games so far
#57: Jonas Siegenthaler - 255 games so far

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

2016:
#145: Beck Malenstyn - 24 games so far
#147: Axel Jonsson-Fjallby - 73 games so far

2017:
-

2018:
#31: Alexander Alexeyev - 33 games so far
#46: Martin Fehervary - 152 games so far

2019:
#25: Connor McMichael - 75 games so far
#56: Brett Leason - 90 games so far
#91: Aliaksei Protas - 91 games so far

2020-2022:
No players yet over 10 games threshold.


I didn't list them to bash anyone. Just curious if someone has put the time in to see how many amateur scouts did George McPhee take with him? Our scouting, drafting and developing seem to have taken a huge hit since those days, and while in my opinion it was all well worth it because GMBM finally got us the Cup, part of me has been wondering for a while that what happened to our drafting during that timeframe? We went from being basically the best drafting team (with Tampa) to a team that rarely drafts anyone that even makes the NHL.

Or is it on player development? You see players on that latter list who are still young and are likely to have more games in the future. But are we taking too long with our players? Those drafts have been really long ago still. 2018 draft was 5 years ago. Part of that is because we were a contender (except we basically haven't been a realistic one for few years now), but we still seem to follow the old Detroit -model where basically nobody makes the NHL until they are atleast 22. I think it's a bit silly these days because it seems to be a younger man's game these days and you see lots of stars making huge impacts as 19, 20 or 21-year olds. You don't think those players had any growing pain along the road? Perhaps with Carberry they start to be a little less harsh on those growing pains and let players grow more in the NHL-level too, rather than go dumpster diving for older vets.

It's a really curious case. Was just listening to the latest 32 thoughts -podcast and there were some discussion about scouts and Chuck Fletcher made a point that he hates trading high draft picks because your scouting staff absolutely hates it. After all they work the entire year to prepare you for it. I'm not saying it was wrong to go for it, it absolutely wasn't but i'd wager that there were some great amateur scouts that we lost along the way because well... we rarely had even half decent picks. Scouts don't really get to build their name and reputation much if your first pick in the draft is in the 4th round.​

 

[g00n]

IMO the focus changed from "young guns" to "win now" and that meant more veteran contracts and fewer spots for developing players as well as fewer picks retained. There's not a lot to work with from Oates onward. Few picks and almost none of them high enough to be impact. Even Vrana fell to us, iirc.

Were there obvious studs available after AA at 31 and CMM at 25?

 

[Langway]

It's still the same chief scout and player development head. I don't believe they've lost many of their more tenured amateur scouts under MacLellan so it's largely the same group. If I had to speculate it's a combination of review process slippage, fewer picks and luck. MacLellan may not be quite as active as McPhee was during the final review process to better crystalize and stress-test decisions. That's my speculation but Mac seems to have largely let Mahoney run the show and it may not totally be for the best. Or it could just be the luck of the draw and how drafts have fallen.

A lot is probably just the cycle of things and how difficult it is to consistently hit later on. The developmental system also lacks some polish and their ongoing lack of prospect depth also limits how they can realistically play to be competitive. Hershey's success offers some hope but a lot was Todd Nelson and a fairly experienced roster. Also, they've not been completely desperate for youth and fully focused on the draft. It's become more of an afterthought as they try to juggle a lot of priorities trying to remain competitive.

That they've also let a number of players that they drafted go for very little only for them to cement NHL roles goes to show it's likely also a question of self-assessment and failing to put full confidence in more unknown, inexperienced players. Hopefully under Carbery going forward they will be much more bold and open-minded in that regard.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[Langway]

Love is the back-to-back AHL coach of the year from the CGY system.

 

[Marshall]

Feels like a win.

 

[Langway]

Love also being bald should make him a shoe-in for the PP role. Add Nelson to coach the D and that seems like a knock-out staff.

 

[Brian23]

A long post​

I think the issue with looking at it simply in a vaccume is you need context for this. I actually still think our drafting has been pretty solid, its still the graduation they have issues with. The other thing is you need to look probably 2+ years after a draft too give the prospect the chance to make it. So let's go through it.

2014: Probably our best time to graduate someone, and the Filip Forsberg trade looms heavy on this year. They had openings at center (Burakovksy started the year as 2C, Brooks Laich was our 3C, and Kuzya started the season as the 4C) but there only center prospect (2012 draftee Chandler Stephenson) didn't even hit the AHL yet and they were finally graduating Kuzya. No one too could graduate.

2015 - 2017 the roster was basically locked down. They were able to graduate Vrana during this period, but there was no room on the defense for Bowey (who was a bust) and Sanford. No one could graduate.

2018. Honestly, this team was more solidified then I thought they'd be too. They had an opening top 6 spot, but they hadn't drafted a forward prospect since 2014 with Vrana. They just had no one to fill that role, so they swapped Connolly and Burakvosky back and fourth. Stephenson finally graduated. On defense they graduated Bowey, had Djoos at 2LD (and could probably have a need to fill there) but Siegenthaler only had one year in the AHL at this point. I think he also got hurt this year, but I could be wrong. No one else could graduate.

2019. Heavy veteran forward line, no real holes beyond the 4th line but that was a dominant line at the time. Defensively they could have used a body. Siegenthaler should probably have gotten time, but they had Kempny, Orlov, and Djoos. The right side had Gudas at bottom pair. It's still a good defensive group.

2020. Heavy veteran forward line, still. This was a big loss on defense where Siegenthaler should have graduated and we should have been working in one of AA or Fehervary, but we had Dillon and CHara holding up the left side. Right side had Carlson, Schultz, Jensen, and TVR. We graduated Samsonov and Vanecek at Goalie.

2021. Opening night had 4 rookies. Lapierre, mcMichael, Malenstyn, and Fehervary. We all know how that went.

I think judging the prospects based on a team's issue to graduate is kinda ridiculous. I think we've had plenty of guys who should have a few hundred games played. They just haven't been given the opportunity due to team building and coaching decision on lineups.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

I give them a 9/10 for the off-season so far. Got the best coaching candidate on the market and now just added the reigning two-time AHL Coach of the Year. Punted Forsythe. Only blemish so far is retaining Scott Murray.

If they can be as successful in the player market as they’ve been rebuilding their coaching staff we could be in for a fun season.

 

[Langway]

Calgary also looks poised to blow it up.

 

[Brian23]

Could see them trying for Strome, Backstrom, Dowd, Sutter as their starting C's next year. Play McMichael at the wing till he can prove he can play center?

 

[HeyMattyB]

That line did look great during the playoffs (to my untrained eye), but it made me wonder if the center of a dominant fourth line in the AHL could even keep up with NHL talent?

That said, I guess the word is that we can expect Beck to make the Caps next year.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Really happy to hear Carbery is bringing much love to the Caps.

 

[Langway]

Sutter at 4RW seems like a better idea if anything but I'm not sure he's better than NAK. Certainly he's got less skill. Decent PKer and checker but his skating still isn't a strength. Solid organizational guy but likely it. He had a strong run in the playoffs defensively but I wouldn't count on it translating up a level as much as Malenstyn.

 

[Rayquaza64]

Could see them trying for Strome, Backstrom, Dowd, Sutter as their starting C's next year. Play McMichael at the wing till he can prove he can play center?

having 2 4Cs as your bottom six centers seems kinda redundant