Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines/etc) | 2024-25 Summer Edition

[Hivemind]

Any reason to be concerned that this McGroarty situation is a red flag on the player?

Meh. No more of a red flag than Adam Fox or Blake Wheeler, and I think the upside with picking up those guys after they walked away from the teams that drafted them is obvious.

 

[hockeykicker]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807580410995777669

 

[Calicaps]

Friedman talked about his situation in their podcast last week. McGoraty wanted to sign with the Jets at the end of the year and be given playing time so he could burn a year off his ELC. Winnipeg was not in the position to do that as their playoff spot wasn’t set in stone and they could leapfrog some teams for home ice. That is what apparently pissed him off.

Next CBA and NCAA player rights should get interesting. Especially as we see the increase in NIL money and “amateur” players getting paid to play college hockey.

he did say all of that, but he went on to say that Winnipeg went further and declined to promise him a roster spot to start this season and suggested he might not be ready. sounded like that was kinda the final straw. either way tho, kid wants out.

 

[DWGie26]

he did say all of that, but he went on to say that Winnipeg went further and declined to promise him a roster spot to start this season and suggested he might not be ready. sounded like that was kinda the final straw. either way tho, kid wants out.

More importantly, he wants to play in the NHL. I can’t speak to if he is or isn’t, but clearly WNP leverages ELC guys and waiver wire. Sounds like shitty culture all around.

Caps like to cook prospects as well, but there just seems to be a better culture around it. the Caps do progress a lot of players even though some end up elsewhere like Stephenson, AJF, Leason. But at least they get pathed. The reflects well on the org.

 

[usiel]

More importantly, he wants to play in the NHL. I can’t speak to if he is or isn’t, but clearly WNP leverages ELC guys and waiver wire. Sounds like shitty culture all around.

Caps like to cook prospects as well, but there just seems to be a better culture around it. the Caps do progress a lot of players even though some end up elsewhere like Stephenson, AJF, Leason. But at least they get pathed. The reflects well on the org.

Tha caps last several years in developing NHL defensemen is really suspect in my book. You have Fever, Siegs, and maybe Alexyev. Just let them get in half a season in the third pairing and then if you are pushing for the playoffs then look for veteran depth at the deadline.

 

[trick9]

They have got to trade Shep. There's just no way they can go into next season with Shep as the main guy in Hershey again. Like...it's time to either graduate him or move on.

Why? At the training camp there is a real shot at Shepard and/or Stevenson to grab a spot. If they don't they'll likely share 50-50 in the AHL again, so both get plenty of action. There will be injuries like there always is with the goalies so one of them is going to get a chance at some point up here too. If they impress, they can take that chance and run.

Then again at the TDL, there is another chance to grab your spot. If they have impressed this season, Capitals can move one of the goalies as a rental, creating a spot for one of them. Then again next summer there is yet another decision to be made regarding goalies, with both Lindgren and Thompson being UFA's. Lindgren turns 31 this december so if he was to get extended, that contract would only have just started when he's 32 already. This isn't really a situation where he's likely locked in as the starter for 5+ years.

I'd guess they want to run with several goalies because solid goaltending is still by far their greatest chance to make the Playoffs next season.

Any reason to be concerned that this McGroarty situation is a red flag on the player?

No.

To me it sounds like some promises were broken.

 

[Hivemind]

Caps like to cook prospects as well, but there just seems to be a better culture around it. the Caps do progress a lot of players even though some end up elsewhere like Stephenson, AJF, Leason. But at least they get pathed. The reflects well on the org.

Not sure I agree with this. The "end up elsewhere" part is the really evocative part of that statement. There wasn't a path for AJF or Leason, they were waived. Guys like Stephenson and Siegenthaler proved they belonged in the NHL ranks, and then the Capitals acquired guys that took their roster spots (Hagelin, Chara) and ended up getting them traded. It's taken years for Alexeyev and Johansen to get opportunities in the NHL, and it's unclear if they are going to have future spots. They just plugged up the opportunities for Shepard and Stevenson with the Thompson acquisition, and now GMBM is talking about using 4 different goalies next year. It took Malenstyn until he was 26 to get a serious crack at the NHL, and then they traded him. Sutter is 24 and hasn't made his NHL debut yet. Even 1st round talents like McMichael and Lapierre have been subjected to the yo-yo approach of bouncing between the NHL and AHL multiple times (McMichael spent a full season in the NHL in 2021-22 before getting demoted the next year).

To be clear, I'm not saying the Capitals are doing anything wrong (although I do think they fumbled things with both Stephenson and Siegenthaler). A lot of these guys simply aren't good enough. But the Capitals aren't a team that seems particularly friendly to prospects or young players over the past 5-10 years. Swapping from Laviolette to Carbery should help that in the near future, but it's not an organizational trend overall.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Not sure I agree with this. The "end up elsewhere" part is the really evocative part of that statement. There wasn't a path for AJF or Leason, they were waived. Guys like Stephenson and Siegenthaler proved they belonged in the NHL ranks, and then the Capitals acquired guys that took their roster spots (Hagelin, Chara) and ended up getting them traded. It's taken years for Alexeyev and Johansen to get opportunities in the NHL, and it's unclear if they are going to have future spots. They just plugged up the opportunities for Shepard and Stevenson with the Thompson acquisition, and now GMBM is talking about using 4 different goalies next year. It took Malenstyn until he was 26 to get a serious crack at the NHL, and then they traded him. Sutter is 24 and hasn't made his NHL debut yet. Even 1st round talents like McMichael and Lapierre have been subjected to the yo-yo approach of bouncing between the NHL and AHL multiple times (McMichael spent a full season in the NHL in 2021-22 before getting demoted the next year).

To be clear, I'm not saying the Capitals are doing anything wrong (although I do think they fumbled things with both Stephenson and Siegenthaler). A lot of these guys simply aren't good enough. But the Capitals aren't a team that seems particularly friendly to prospects or young players over the past 5-10 years. Swapping from Laviolette to Carbery should help that in the near future, but it's not an organizational trend overall.

I think how the open roster spots are handled this year will be telling. Does BMac plug them with UFAs or does Carbs who spent plenty of time in Hershey watching the past two calder cup runs have his guys lined up to graduate. I think with a coach like Carbery that culture of slow cooking and never trusting could change, but it'll take a few seasons to build that reputation by consistently graduating and playing young guys. Last year we started to show the first signs of it, let's hope it continues cause pretty soon we won't have a choice!

 

[Brian23]

Why? At the training camp there is a real shot at Shepard and/or Stevenson to grab a spot.

I don't see any world where either of those guys is grabbing a spot of Lindgren or Thompson. So you're already banking on Shep and Stephenson in the AHL again. They need to unload Sheppard, I don't think he's an NHL level net-minder and his ceiling is at best the #3 guy in a rotation. We've got 2 or 3 Goalies all held up because Sheppard isn't good enough to properly graduate, and they all need to get played. Stephenson needs to be the guy in Hershey, Gibson needs to finally graduate to the AHL and start getting time. Those two finally get to fill their rightful spots and then the lower/newer guys like Keller and Bjorklund start getting opportunities.

They're basically holding up the entire program for a AAAA guy.

 

[bacchist]

$12 too much haha. Pay to use models don’t work well on the internet.

It will be like when I was younger and seen people still posting on ESPN message boards and wondered what they were thinking as it was a terrible interface. We will be the ESPN message boards users eventually.

If you're not willing to pay $1 a month, you shouldn't complain about ads or anything else. It costs time and money to keep this site running.

 

[DWGie26]

Not sure I agree with this. The "end up elsewhere" part is the really evocative part of that statement. There wasn't a path for AJF or Leason, they were waived. Guys like Stephenson and Siegenthaler proved they belonged in the NHL ranks, and then the Capitals acquired guys that took their roster spots (Hagelin, Chara) and ended up getting them traded. It's taken years for Alexeyev and Johansen to get opportunities in the NHL, and it's unclear if they are going to have future spots. They just plugged up the opportunities for Shepard and Stevenson with the Thompson acquisition, and now GMBM is talking about using 4 different goalies next year. It took Malenstyn until he was 26 to get a serious crack at the NHL, and then they traded him. Sutter is 24 and hasn't made his NHL debut yet. Even 1st round talents like McMichael and Lapierre have been subjected to the yo-yo approach of bouncing between the NHL and AHL multiple times (McMichael spent a full season in the NHL in 2021-22 before getting demoted the next year).

To be clear, I'm not saying the Capitals are doing anything wrong (although I do think they fumbled things with both Stephenson and Siegenthaler). A lot of these guys simply aren't good enough. But the Capitals aren't a team that seems particularly friendly to prospects or young players over the past 5-10 years. Swapping from Laviolette to Carbery should help that in the near future, but it's not an organizational trend overall

I do think they fumbled Siegs. Stephenson there just wasn’t room so to me they did the right thing and pathed him for what they could. Still not convinced he would have had the same success in Washington.

the same is going to happen here again now that we have a fair bit of bottom 6 talent and have graduated a bunch of talent. But all of Frank, Dube, Rybinski, Sutter, and Trineyev are not going to make the NHL with the Caps. But pathing them is healthy for the org. Shepherd is the same thing. He is just going to be odd man out. It happens. So hopefully we trade him and because we have a good reputation we can get something for him.

 

[Brian23]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807791612417712387

Feel like this puts a hamper on him being traded.

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

Good deal on CMM. He now has additional incentive to further ascend. All on him now to prove all the Groupthink on here that has him at a low ceiling very wrong.

If I am correct about a higher ceiling for him (a bunch of 20 - 30 goal years with a few of those over 30 goals) he will be more expensive in two years. But we will have space them.

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

Feel like this puts a hamper on him being traded.

Good

 

[Calicaps]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807791612417712387

Feel like this puts a hamper on him being traded.

I personally don't want him traded, but I also disagree. That's a good bridge deal that should be attractive to other teams.

 

[Hivemind]

Assuming that they're pretty much done with the NHL adds (obviously still room for 1 or 2 guys on two-way deals for Hershey and depth)

Ovechkin - PLD - Wilson
Milano - Strome - Mangiapane
Lapierre - McMichael - Protas
Duhaime - Dowd - Raddysh
x - TBD (Rybisnki? Sutter? Sgarbossa?)

Chychrun - Roy
Fehervary - Carlson
Sandin - TvR
x - Alexeyev, Bear

Lindgren
Thompson
(Shepard?)

After the talk of using 4 goalies next year, given how cheap their netminders are, and given the lack of obvious options for extra forwards, I do wonder if they're considering carrying 3 goalies.

Positives:
*Defensive Depth - Three real solid pairings worth of regulars, and good call-up options from Hershey in HHA and Iorio.
*Cheap Goaltending - Has to be the cheapest tandem (triad?) in the league
*Revamped PK - Duhaime, Roy, & Chychrun should help improve the unit
*Shutdown Pairing Potential - The hope is that Chychrun & Roy can be the new Orlov & Niskanen on the back-end
*Size - On whole, this is a pretty darn big hockey team.

Question Marks:
*Scoring Depth - Did they do enough to generate offense from the forwards?
*Center Match-Ups - They have lots of centers, but which of them do they trust to match-up against top lines?
*Chychrun - I have high hopes for Chychrun, but he needs to improve from a lackluster season with Ottawa.
*PPQB - Part of Chychrun's value is running a PP. Carlson does that here. Can they find a way to maximize that skillset? Are they willing to make a bigger change after a dreadful run on the PP in 2023?
*PLD - Can he return to being a 50-60 point player given that prime opportunities again? Can he stop being a liability away from the puck?
*Cheap Goaltending - As much as I like not spending $$ on goaltending, it wouldn't be the first time in Caps history that going cheap at this position came back to bite the team
*Kid Line - I know they might not all be together, but the young guns are going to need to steps forward in their development and carry some real offensive load and help drive the pace of this team. We've seen flashes, but flashes aren't enough.

 

[Silky mitts]

I think you've got to let Lapierre stay at center, his prorated #s in 26 games after his callup would put him 4th on this team in goals, assists, and points after Ovy, Strome, and Carlson despite averaging 13:14 per game.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

I would add Wilson as a question mark. I can't remember which NBA player said it - I think Porzingis - but it was said that a return from a major injury takes an additional full year after initially coming back from it before you're totally in shape again. So, if that holds true, what Wilson looks like in 24-25 is probably what he looks like going forward.

 

[Hivemind]

I would add Wilson as a question mark. I can't remember which NBA player said it - I think Porzingis - but it was said that a return from a major injury takes an additional full year after initially coming back from it before you're totally in shape again. So, if that holds true, what Wilson looks like in 24-25 is probably what he looks like going forward.

I had a question mark written about team pace, and that was part of it. But I got rid of it, figuring that if I mention Wilson, the usual suspects will come out and start jumping at me for having some perceived anti-Wilson bias. For as much youth as this team is hopefully injecting, the pace of the team is largely going to come down to Ovechkin, Strome, Wilson, and Carlson. And if Wilson isn't 100%, it could be an issue.

 

[philip]

Crikey me we are stacked in defence,

 

[Misery74]

Any chance, with a good camp, we try Andrew Cristall out for 9 games?

I think you've got to let Lapierre stay at center, his prorated #s in 26 games after his callup would put him 4th on this team in goals, assists, and points after Ovy, Strome, and Carlson despite averaging 13:14 per game.

Not to mention, coming off AHL playoff MVP.

Lapierre absolutely needs top 6 minutes.

 

[philip]

Chychrun takes Carlson spot as the D on PP I take it?

 

[Hivemind]

Not to mention, coming off AHL playoff MVP.

Lapierre absolutely needs top 6 minutes.

If you want Lapierre to both get Top 6 minutes and play center, you don't go out and trade for PLD. Between PLD and Strome, the top 6 center spots are spoken for.

Lapierre will be fine at 3rd line wing to start.

 

[Calicaps]

If you want Lapierre to both get Top 6 minutes and play center, you don't go out and trade for PLD. Between PLD and Strome, the top 6 center spots are spoken for.

Lapierre will be fine at 3rd line wing to start.

I suspect he'll have every opportunity to steal a center or wing slot in the top 6 out of camp. If he shows he's ready, I don't see Carbery or Mac holding him back. Hell, you could trade Strome for a pretty damn nice haul if both Jimi and CMM make strides.

 

[Misery74]

If you want Lapierre to both get Top 6 minutes and play center, you don't go out and trade for PLD. Between PLD and Strome, the top 6 center spots are spoken for.

Lapierre will be fine at 3rd line wing to start.

At the end of last year, Lapierre was the best player on the team.

Third line wing is absurd. If you want him to be a wing, fine, but he would then be the best wing we have on the team. He needs to be playing more minutes.