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

[Chokingdogs]

Ah, the Bayou. I recall seeing Egypt there a lot, and Scatterbrain, and the rest is a blur.

Egypt, wow, blast from the past. I went to school with the drummer…elementary up thru HS, Glenn Walton. Never got a chance to see them, other than a battle of the bands show in HS. They came to my college 92/94, can’t remember, and were doing something with 24/7 spyz, not sure if one off collab show or what.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

I hate most gambling apps don’t even have Protas on them. He would be easy money

 

[g00n]

I hate most gambling apps don’t even have Protas on them. He would be easy money

I see him on DK all the time

 

[BallardEra]

Chychrun looks to be back in for tonight's game.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I see him on DK all the time

+2500 first goal on BetMGM for tonight!

 

[DWGie26]

Nope…..I don’t think the Caps see him as a Center.

He’ll cool off but he’s breaking out yes….

I think they told McMichael he had to go all in at wing because Lapierre was higher ceiling 3C. It’s worked out well for McMichael and he certainly is skating a lot faster which probably influenced by playing wing.

I could easily see McMichael get playing time at C but his line right now is so good, can’t break it up. But it will happen at some point this year.

 

[RedRocking]

I was trying to remember when writing that post let me look at the tracks....Ah it was track one Cowboys in Hell.

Bass player. Was a fun metal band back then but a little behind the curve on the thrash genre and its life span. We definitely were the best metal band in the DC/Baltimore area for a few years. Got to record a three demo of at Pyramid Studios in Ithaca NY with Alex Perialas (he was instrumental in coming up that the thrash metal guitar sound especially with Anthrax/Stormtroopers of Death.

My last band/project was the most successful was more heavy rock. Signed to an indie label, recorded a real pro album and even filmed a video (both ended up never getting released due to the label farsically not able to come to an agreement with a distributor for a few years. Got to play at CBGBs a couple of times before it went away. About the only venue we didn't get in in the DC/Baltimore area with the new 9:30 club.

One of the tracks from that unreleased album:




Man trying to remember if I ever saw Egypt or not. My first foray to the Bayou was in '87 to see Megadeth (Peace Sells album tour) and Overkill (taking over). Was underage so my dad, who worked in DC, went down during the day and talked to the club manager and managed to make a deal with her that we could get in for the show (my dad had to come also). Definitely one of the peak cool dad moments. Still have ticket stub. And the show was bad ass. Tbh my bro and I were more into Overkill than Megadeth.

Ran into the main guitar player of Overkill in '91 Foundations Forum in LA (was the biggest metal/rock thing like SXSW is now) and totally fangirled on Bengt Gustafson (believe that was his name). Also talked with Alice and Chains drummers for like an hour completely wasted I have no recollection of the conversation at an invite label thing. Best thing was seeing Pearl Jam play like acoustic version of tracks from the album Ten before it came out in a label booth. Both my singer and I after a couple of songs looked at each other and said these guys SUCK, hah.

Sorry for another OT post.

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. You and @g00n are def much cooler than I am, lol.

The best I got, is staying with the guitarist from Bad Religion (Greg Hetson) in LA for a week, recording in his studio. This was with one of my SF bands. We had this producer, Frenchie Smith out of Austin. He produced some cool bands from the Bay Area and TX. (like …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead). Also, randomly, Santana - the tech gave me some insights into recording his tone (I mainly play PRS, nice to rep MD).

You guys also sound like a decade+ older than me. I hit high school right as grunge killed metal. I was def a metalhead as a kid, but liked all the new stuff at the time too. It was a strange time, when trying to actually be a good musician was frowned upon. That annoyed me, lol. I ended up as this hired gun, bouncing around Rockville in some weird situations - a rap/funk/rock band at that place in Wheaton….Phantasmagoria; or doing this punk surf project cause they needed someone who could cop some Dick Dale. Just random shit, ha.

I got really into jazz in college and studied it for a while in my early 20s. When I moved out west, I spent a number of years doing the club/bar circuit around SF/OAK with a couple different rock bands. Because of career and other life stuff, I usually have to step aside when guys want to push it and go on the road. So, I was never was able to really go all in. But, it was a lot of fun, and I got a lot of memorable experiences. Now, as an old, I haven’t quite figured out what I want to do, just to have fun and play with other guys occasionally.

 

[Lou Sassole]

Auston Matthews has missed 59 career games, and played in 575

Connor McDavid has missed 59 career games, and played in 656

Alex Ovechkin has missed 59 career games, and played in 1,439

I think only around 35 of those are due to injury. He's got suspensions and personal reasons for the others. Dude is remarkably durable, I remember when Kadri took out his knee and he came back the next period.

 

[Calicaps]

Auston Matthews has missed 59 career games, and played in 575

Connor McDavid has missed 59 career games, and played in 656

Alex Ovechkin has missed 59 career games, and played in 1,439

that is a truly astonishing post. bravo

 

[RedRocking]

Strome is averaging 1.57 PPG, with 22 total. His career high last year was 67. He really might top 100 this year - which is crazy, in that we haven’t had a 100 pt guy since Backy/Ovi in ‘09-‘10.

Not bad for a guy the Hawks just discarded, and we’re only paying 5M/yr. That might be BMac’s most impressive piece of business ever, lol.

 

[DWGie26]

Strome is averaging 1.57 PPG, with 22 total. His career high last year was 67. He really might top 100 this year - which is crazy, in that we haven’t had a 100 pt guy since Backy/Ovi in ‘09-‘10.

Not bad for a guy the Hawks just discarded, and we’re only paying 5M/yr. That might be BMac’s most impressive piece of business ever, lol.

He also seems like a strong leader from interviews i have heard. He wants to win and contribute. And oh, the defensive liability that everyone cited has not been an issue since day one and he has significantly improved from there. He is a Cap lifer now and definitely a core piece of transition leadership team.

 

[Langway]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855658049634959594

They're real and they're spectacular.

 

[twabby]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855658049634959594

They're real and they're spectacular.

The offense is a revelation. I thought they had the personnel to play a solid defensive game with the additions of Roy and Chychrun, the subtraction of Kuznetsov, and Protas/McMichael making nice defensive strides last year. But in no way did I think they would be the best 5v5 offensive team that also has the underlying numbers to support that ranking.

Long season still, and credit to the players for executing, but Spencer Carbery has got to be the heavy Jack Adams favorite right now.

 

[MW6]

So to optimize the squad for a push this year and heading into next season (early, yes I know)..

Locks are:
Protas-Strome-Ovechkin
McMichael-Dubois-Wilson
X-X-X
Duhaime-X-X
X

Chychrun*-Carlson
Sandin-Roy
X-X
X

X-X

Lapierre, TVR, Fehervary, Alexeyev and Milano are under team control but could be used to upgrade somewhere.

Leonard and Mirosnichenko should be on the roster, so does Stevenson and possibly Iorio

Mangiapane is to expensive to re-sign for the 3rd line IMO and Lindgren are currently behind Thompson in the race for a new contract, both in age and performance so those two are probably on the outside looking in right now.
Vrana, Dowd, Raddysh and McIlrath needs to be re-signed and depending on demands probably have a good chance of happening

*Chychrun also needs to be re-signed but that should be a no-brainer.

It still unknown if Lapierre will find his footing this year, but a line with Miro-Lapierre-Leonard next year is going to need even more sheltering then the current “3rd-line” and I don’t think that’s ideal, neither for the team nor for the kids coming into the league.

How would people feel about a trade revolving around Lapierre and Ryan O’Reilly, if the Preds decide to blow it up? 2 more years at $4,5M, is it too much of a resemblance to Forsberg/Erat?

 

[DWGie26]

So to optimize the squad for a push this year and heading into next season (early, yes I know)..

Locks are:
Protas-Strome-Ovechkin
McMichael-Dubois-Wilson
X-X-X
Duhaime-X-X
X

Chychrun*-Carlson
Sandin-Roy
X-X
X

X-X

Lapierre, TVR, Fehervary, Alexeyev and Milano are under team control but could be used to upgrade somewhere.

Leonard and Mirosnichenko should be on the roster, so does Stevenson and possibly Iorio

Mangiapane is to expensive to re-sign for the 3rd line IMO and Lindgren are currently behind Thompson in the race for a new contract, both in age and performance so those two are probably on the outside looking in right now.
Vrana, Dowd, Raddysh and McIlrath needs to be re-signed and depending on demands probably have a good chance of happening

*Chychrun also needs to be re-signed but that should be a no-brainer.

It still unknown if Lapierre will find his footing this year, but a line with Miro-Lapierre-Leonard next year is going to need even more sheltering then the current “3rd-line” and I don’t think that’s ideal, neither for the team nor for the kids coming into the league.

How would people feel about a trade revolving around Lapierre and Ryan O’Reilly, if the Preds decide to blow it up? 2 more years at $4,5M, is it too much of a resemblance to Forsberg/Erat?

I don’t think we are taking on that kind of a cap for a third liner. have to think before trades:

OV-Strome-Protas
McMichael-PLD-Wilson
Miro-Lapierre-Leonard
Duhaime-Dowd-Raddish

I think we will resign Dowd as he still has gas in the tank and he is soooo valuable. Plus I don’t think Rybinski is a full-time center yet. 4th line has been so good we could resign Raddish unless we are sure Trineyev or Rybinski can stick all year and with a lot of youth, we probably want a veteran 4th line. And yes, I think Lapierre will be fine but seems as though he needs to work on his confidence and speed of game. But he has the skills, attitude, and work ethic to be a really good 3C.

 

[JayBeagleFanAccount]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855686098967773261

im gonna come dot gif

 

[Devil Dancer]

What does that mean though?

 

[MW6]

I don’t think we are taking on that kind of a cap for a third liner. have to think before trades:

OV-Strome-Protas
McMichael-PLD-Wilson
Miro-Lapierre-Leonard
Duhaime-Dowd-Raddish

I think we will resign Dowd as he still has gas in the tank and he is soooo valuable. Plus I don’t think Rybinski is a full-time center yet. 4th line has been so good we could resign Raddish unless we are sure Trineyev or Rybinski can stick all year and with a lot of youth, we probably want a veteran 4th line. And yes, I think Lapierre will be fine but seems as though he needs to work on his confidence and speed of game. But he has the skills, attitude, and work ethic to be a really good 3C.

I think Lapierre will get there as well, I just don’t think that line will be deployable next year, or in anyone’s best developmental interest. O’Reilly’s caphit shouldn’t be an issue, neither this year nor next.

I also hope they keep this 4th line together!

 

[qc14]

So to optimize the squad for a push this year and heading into next season (early, yes I know)..

This year:

Protas-Strome-Ovi
McM-PLD-Wilson
???-???-Mangiapane
Duhaime-Dowd-Raddysh

D and goalies all the same. For the third line, I think Milano may be done done since it seems like he has another concussion. I don't mind having one of Vrana, Lappy, Miro, or Sgarbossa in the lineup. I would like to see another vet come in (at either center or wing) so we do not have to play two of them at a time. I've been banging the Gourde drum for a couple of weeks now but O'Reilly would be an incredible add if he and Nashville were interested. Palmieri or Nelson from NYI, Hall would fit the bill as well as bigger names. Some cheaper options could be Zucker or Greenway from BUF, Armia from MTL. I wouldn't be opposed to an Eller or Mantha reunion either. If you want someone with term, Scott Laughton is a very BMac kind of player to me. I'm willing to move this year's first for a rental, but would really hesitate to move Lapierre even for a player of O'Reilly's caliber.

Next year predictions:

Protas-Strome-Ovi
McM-PLD-Wilson
Miro-Lappy/UFA-UFA
Duhaime-Dowd-Rybynski/Trineyev/UFA

Chychrun-Carlson
Fehervary-Roy
Sandin-TVR
Iorio

Thompson
UFA

I think they will have to choose one of Thompson and Lindgren to pay 1A money and that they'll choose Thompson. Wouldn't rule out Lindgren returning but I think he may be priced out. The 1B for next year is not on Hershey's roster IMO ...

They should and I think will bring Chychrun back. The D group is pretty locked in -- Iorio hasn't done enough IMO to justify purposefully trying to move on from TVR, although I also wouldn't be surprised/mad if they did.

Top 6 will stay the same unless they can land a real big fish (Marner, Rantanen, Ehlers).

I don't see a world where Dowd is not returning. I completely trust the FO for that other 4w slot -- internal promotion, raddysh re-signed, go out into the market again.

The big question is the third line. Miro should be ready to go next year if not sooner. I think the hope is Lappy will work through his struggles this year and come back better. I also think that if you're moving on from to make an upgrade elsewhere he's the guy you move. Cristall and Leonard might seem like they need NHL slots but I think they start in Hershey. Mangiapane will probably price himself out, but there needs to be one more serious vet option added as a safety blanket.

Obviously no one saw a lot of the moves this summer coming but I don't think there's the flexibility to do a whole lot next year.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1855686098967773261

Would u rayher have

A. $12.5M worth of Connor McDavid (1x McDavid)

Or

B. $12.5M worth of Connor McMichael (6x McMichael’s)

Pro’s and con’s:

Mcmichael: fathered a child (virile)
Mcdavid: no known progeny (shooting blanks)

Mcdavid: American psycho mansion
Mcmichael: presumably normal dwelling

Mcmichael: gives good hugs

Mcdavid: averse to human contact in any form

 

[Calicaps]

This year:

Protas-Strome-Ovi
McM-PLD-Wilson
???-???-Mangiapane
Duhaime-Dowd-Raddysh

D and goalies all the same. For the third line, I think Milano may be done done since it seems like he has another concussion. I don't mind having one of Vrana, Lappy, Miro, or Sgarbossa in the lineup. I would like to see another vet come in (at either center or wing) so we do not have to play two of them at a time. I've been banging the Gourde drum for a couple of weeks now but O'Reilly would be an incredible add if he and Nashville were interested. Palmieri or Nelson from NYI, Hall would fit the bill as well as bigger names. Some cheaper options could be Zucker or Greenway from BUF, Armia from MTL. I wouldn't be opposed to an Eller or Mantha reunion either. If you want someone with term, Scott Laughton is a very BMac kind of player to me. I'm willing to move this year's first for a rental, but would really hesitate to move Lapierre even for a player of O'Reilly's caliber.

Next year predictions:

Protas-Strome-Ovi
McM-PLD-Wilson
Miro-Lappy/UFA-UFA
Duhaime-Dowd-Rybynski/Trineyev/UFA

Chychrun-Carlson
Fehervary-Roy
Sandin-TVR
Iorio

Thompson
UFA

I think they will have to choose one of Thompson and Lindgren to pay 1A money and that they'll choose Thompson. Wouldn't rule out Lindgren returning but I think he may be priced out. The 1B for next year is not on Hershey's roster IMO ...

They should and I think will bring Chychrun back. The D group is pretty locked in -- Iorio hasn't done enough IMO to justify purposefully trying to move on from TVR, although I also wouldn't be surprised/mad if they did.

Top 6 will stay the same unless they can land a real big fish (Marner, Rantanen, Ehlers).

I don't see a world where Dowd is not returning. I completely trust the FO for that other 4w slot -- internal promotion, raddysh re-signed, go out into the market again.

The big question is the third line. Miro should be ready to go next year if not sooner. I think the hope is Lappy will work through his struggles this year and come back better. I also think that if you're moving on from to make an upgrade elsewhere he's the guy you move. Cristall and Leonard might seem like they need NHL slots but I think they start in Hershey. Mangiapane will probably price himself out, but there needs to be one more serious vet option added as a safety blanket.

Obviously no one saw a lot of the moves this summer coming but I don't think there's the flexibility to do a whole lot next year.

No chance they move their first unless they feel they’re in real contention at the TDL or if a ridiculous opportunity falls in their laps. And you seem to have forgotten about Leonard for later this year or next.

 

[max21]

Strome is averaging 1.57 PPG, with 22 total. His career high last year was 67. He really might top 100 this year - which is crazy, in that we haven’t had a 100 pt guy since Backy/Ovi in ‘09-‘10.

Not bad for a guy the Hawks just discarded, and we’re only paying 5M/yr. That might be BMac’s most impressive piece of business ever, lol.

You can see Strome get visibly pissed when the team isn’t playing well, he was not happy at all about that loss against Carolina, you could see him screaming on the bench. I love that

 

[895]

It will be really funny if Strome becomes a better player than Bedard ever does.

Also do we know CMM's son's name?

I really like the sound of David McMichael

 

[qc14]

No chance they move their first unless they feel they’re in real contention at the TDL or if a ridiculous opportunity falls in their laps. And you seem to have forgotten about Leonard for later this year or next.

I think with the way they are playing now, it would be malpractice to not move the first. Can't guarantee how long they'll be good and I think (once again as things stand right now) there is a clear path for them in the east this year.

I do not think Leonard will play in the NHL this year. They had a clear need for him last year in the regular season and playoffs that just isn't here right now. Who's spot is he taking? Vrana most likely -- but I would rather bring up Miro who has pro and NHL experience -- to fill that role. It's the same with next year.

 

[usiel]

I think with the way they are playing now, it would be malpractice to not move the first. Can't guarantee how long they'll be good and I think (once again as things stand right now) there is a clear path for them in the east this year.

I do not think Leonard will play in the NHL this year. They had a clear need for him last year in the regular season and playoffs that just isn't here right now. Who's spot is he taking? Vrana most likely -- but I would rather bring up Miro who has pro and NHL experience -- to fill that role. It's the same with next year.

Well we are a good 4 months plus before getting it answered if Leonard joins the Caps.

Future me though is still really intrigued by a Miro/McM/Leonard line.

Nice to see Miro is 10th in points in the AHL.