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

[g00n]

Definitely not. I blocked him on Twitter years ago. Hassett is a less-talented, more-annoying version of Grant Paulsen. The only stuff I read on RMNB are the Morning After numbers they post if I'm too lazy to look them up myself or the occasional fun, human interest piece that made them interesting in the first place.

Their analysis is, for lack of a better term, ass. And biased; once they form an opinion, they will use any numbers they can to back them up. They love to misuse statisitics to fit a narrative instead of letting the data show them a conclusion. If you recall, RMNB were the leaders in drumming up opinion against Orpik and Wilson and they are incapable of understanding anything about the sport that isn't fed to them on Twitter or through an aggregated stats site. They strike as your typical internet warriors who never played the sport at any level, found a cool niche that made them fun and interesting, got hypnotized by the smell of their own farts, and think they're a lot wittier and smarter than they actually are. Between most of the writers and the posters on that site, it's a never-ending cycle of douchebagery and terrible takes.

I'm mainly in awe of the screaming irony behind a site called Russian Machine Never Breaks taking a shit on the team when the machine finally does break.

Like, how can you not see how important 8 is to the franchise when your site is named after him. He's your meal ticket. Then when he's hurt you just rub the rest of the team's nose in shit as if they're also not dependent on him. Over a 2-1 loss. To a winning team that will probably make the playoffs, again.

I googled the guy and your analysis is probably spot on. I'm guessing he's never played a sport in his life that wasn't a co-ed half-drunk grope-ass version. And I'm not even sure he could pull that off.

 

[Gordon112358]

I'm mainly in awe of the screaming irony behind a site called Russian Machine Never Breaks taking a shit on the team when the machine finally does break.

Like, how can you not see how important 8 is to the franchise when your site is named after him. He's your meal ticket. Then when he's hurt you just rub the rest of the team's nose in shit as if they're also not dependent on him. Over a 2-1 loss. To a winning team that will probably make the playoffs, again.

I googled the guy and your analysis is probably spot on. I'm guessing he's never played a sport in his life that wasn't a co-ed half-drunk grope-ass version. And I'm not even sure he could pull that off.

I come in peace and a long time Winnipeg Jets fan. We of course had the distinction of having Pierre Luc Dubois on our team for 3 seasons. He gave us at times incredible play and at times he seemed disinterested. He has bounced around the league a lot.

I am just curious how fans are viewing his play so far? I see he has just the 1 goal but 11 assists through 18 games.

We certainly don't miss him in Winnipeg but I always felt he had potential to be a top 10 center in this league. He has all the physical attributes but I often questioned his heart.

Any comments on his play would be appreciated.

I see the Capitals are off to an amazing start. It seems both the Caps and the Jets have exceeded expectations.

 

[Brian23]

He's been great, and been the center for one of the best lines in the league this year. All the while also being incredibly unlucky.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

RMNB will fold once Ovi retires…

Hopefully.

 

[qc14]

I come in peace and a long time Winnipeg Jets fan. We of course had the distinction of having Pierre Luc Dubois on our team for 3 seasons. He gave us at times incredible play and at times he seemed disinterested. He has bounced around the league a lot.

I am just curious how fans are viewing his play so far? I see he has just the 1 goal but 11 assists through 18 games.

We certainly don't miss him in Winnipeg but I always felt he had potential to be a top 10 center in this league. He has all the physical attributes but I often questioned his heart.

Any comments on his play would be appreciated.

I see the Capitals are off to an amazing start. It seems both the Caps and the Jets have exceeded expectations.

He's been great. Amazing chemistry with McMichael and Wilson and putting up very strong numbers in matchup minutes. You'd like him to score a few more of his chances but he's mostly been unlucky and getting in good spots and even if he did continue this pace (with a 6.5% shooting percentage!), ~55 points while putting up very good underlying numbers is still more than enough for what the Caps have needed.

I think this has been the perfect mix for him. He's nowhere near the center of attention since the team has been good and there are so many other stories (Ovi chasing the record, McMichael and Protas breakouts, Strome going nuclear, Wilson being a magnet for everything) that capture all of the national and most of the local attention. At the same time he's still playing a ton and being trusted against top assignments in a way he never was last year.

 

[wickedwitch]

I'm not entirely sure where this would go, but someone on the Sharks board said something along the lines that inevitably, not all top prospects will turn out. And I was thinking of what percentage of our summer of 2010 prospects list turned out. The answer? 100% of the top 10. And the Caps arguably had the top prospect pool in the league.

Who has the best OVERALL prospect pool in the NHL?

Last year 1 Nashville 2 Los Angeles 3 St Louis 4 Washington I don't think any of these 4 had any players graduate to the big club last year. Edmonton < 9 > and Boston < 10 > could move into the top 4 on the backs of Hall and Seguin and Florida < 11 > as well .

forums.hfboards.com

1. John Carlson (D) - Drafted 1st Round, 27th Overall in 2008 Draft
2. Karl Alzner (D) - Drafted 1st Round, 5th Overall in 2007 Draft
3. Semyon Varlamov (G) - Drafted 1st Round, 23rd Overall in 2006 Draft
4. Michal Neuvirth (G) - Drafted 2nd Round, 34th Overall in 2006 Draft
5. Marcus Johansson (C) - Drafted 1st Round, 24th Overall in 2009 Draft
6. Evgeny Kuznetsov (C) - Drafted 1st Round, 26th Overall in 2010 Draft
7. Dmitri Orlov (D) - Drafted 2nd Round, 55th Overall in 2009 Draft
8. Braden Holtby (G) - Drafted 4th Round, 93rd Overall in 2008 Draft
9. Mathieu Perreault (C) - Drafted 6th Round, 177th Overall in 2006 Draft
10. Cody Eakin (C) - Drafted 3rd Round, 85th Overall in 2009 Draft
11. Stanislav Galiev (C) - Drafted 3rd Round, 86th Overall in 2010 Draft
12. Andrew Gordon (RW) - Drafted 7th Round, 197th Overall in 2004 Draft
13. Dmitry Kugryshev (RW) - Drafted 2nd Round, 58th Overall in 2008 Draft

Neuvy is the only one who is even a borderline case.

That's utterly insane. And the Caps had won the President's Trophy that year.

Obviously, there's a non-zero amount of luck going into that, but that's such an incredible reflection of their player development.

 

[stephenball]

I think if you’re making a list of players that have more positively impacted the team than PLD so far this year it honestly probably wouldn’t be a very long one.

 

[Jags]

Definitely not. I blocked him on Twitter years ago. Hassett is a less-talented, more-annoying version of Grant Paulsen. The only stuff I read on RMNB are the Morning After numbers they post if I'm too lazy to look them up myself or the occasional fun, human interest piece that made them interesting in the first place.

Their analysis is, for lack of a better term, ass. And biased; once they form an opinion, they will use any numbers they can to back them up. They love to misuse statisitics to fit a narrative instead of letting the data show them a conclusion. If you recall, RMNB were the leaders in drumming up opinion against Orpik and Wilson and they are incapable of understanding anything about the sport that isn't fed to them on Twitter or through an aggregated stats site. They strike as your typical internet warriors who never played the sport at any level, found a cool niche that made them fun and interesting, got hypnotized by the smell of their own farts, and think they're a lot wittier and smarter than they actually are. Between most of the writers and the posters on that site, it's a never-ending cycle of douchebagery and terrible takes.

I have never agreed with a forum post more in my life.

The problem I have is that DC not *really* being a hockey market means that you get uneducated fans hopping on the bandwagon all the time. They search around for a site, and even if they find NoVa and Japers, they gravitate to RMNB because Ovi Syndrome is the reason they became fans in the first place. And thus RMNB becomes their hockey school.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has a friend on social media who jumped on the Caps bandwagon during the Ovi Era -- especially during/after the Cup -- that regurgitates hot takes from shit sites like RMNB, demonstrating clearly how shitty hockey coverage shapes new hockey fans. It's a f***ing tragedy, the dopey shit you see vomited all over your socials that's basically paraphrasing RMNB. Spreads like a goddamn fungus. Not like a virus, because you can see it and smell it and get dry heaves thinking about it...

 

[MW6]

Would people be willing to downgrade the 3rd pair to upgrade the 3rd line?

 

[trick9]

Would people be willing to downgrade the 3rd pair to upgrade the 3rd line?

No.

Leonard is the 3rd line upgrade later on internally. If they wish to shake up the 3rd line before that it'd propably be worth moving on from Mangiapane who hasn't out. I'd give him time still though but if he doesn't improve while 8 remains out then what's the point to keep him as an UFA?

If it still doesn't pan out, trade him for what you get, give Milano a shot when healthy and pick up another rental forward at the deadline to replace him.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Would people be willing to downgrade the 3rd pair to upgrade the 3rd line?

Hell no.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

With such a strong 4th line, it'll be easier to shelter a weak 3rd line than it would be a weak 3rd pair.

Plus, they have better wing prospects coming than they do on defense.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I have never agreed with a forum post more in my life.

The problem I have is that DC not *really* being a hockey market means that you get uneducated fans hopping on the bandwagon all the time. They search around for a site, and even if they find NoVa and Japers, they gravitate to RMNB because Ovi Syndrome is the reason they became fans in the first place. And thus RMNB becomes their hockey school.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has a friend on social media who jumped on the Caps bandwagon during the Ovi Era -- especially during/after the Cup -- that regurgitates hot takes from shit sites like RMNB, demonstrating clearly how shitty hockey coverage shapes new hockey fans. It's a f***ing tragedy, the dopey shit you see vomited all over your socials that's basically paraphrasing RMNB. Spreads like a goddamn fungus. Not like a virus, because you can see it and smell it and get dry heaves thinking about it...

Bro, I have one for you. I met a guy who asked if Bondra still played and he grew up in the DC area. I just did my best poker face trying desperately not to rofl. The 98 run brought a few fans in, however the Ovy era was crazy with traditional Commander fans who didn’t know the Caps existed jumping on board. It’s great for business and shows precisely what a franchise, crazy talent does to a team. It truly is amazing how the past 30 years evolved for the Caps.

 

[Brian23]

Quite a blender, huh?

I'm not a huge fan of top 6 Raddysh.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

That 4th line …is it April fools?

Carbs must be pissed with this massive shuffle.

 

[wickedwitch]

Quite a blender, huh?

I'm not a huge fan of top 6 Raddysh.

I don't love it, but I get it. They want line 1 to be a scoring line and line 2 to be the shutdown line. They also don't want to mess with line 3 given it looked relatively good last night. They'll bury the 4th line with easy assignments 5v5, but Dowd will get extra playing time during the PK. I'd might try Vrana on line 1 first, but I'm not sure this configuration is really any worse.

 

[wickedwitch]

That 4th line …is it April fools?

Carbs must be pissed with this massive shuffle.

Based on last night's press conference, I actually don't think he is. He was pretty neutral. I think this is a response to Duhaime being unable to play.

If Duhaime is injured -- and I assume he is given the lines -- the 4th line can't be a shutdown line because Vrana, Miro, or Lapierre obviously can't play that role. So once the 4th line has to change its identity, then things have to be mixed up.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Based on last night's press conference, I actually don't think he is. He was pretty neutral. I think this is a response to Duhaime being unable to play.

If Duhaime is injured -- and I assume he is given the lines -- the 4th line can't be a shutdown line because Vrana, Miro, or Lapierre obviously can't play that role. So once the 4th line has to change its identity, then things have to be mixed up.

A top to bottom shuffle minus one line is pretty dramatic. He’s trying to jumpstart the offense.

 

[Holtbyisms]

I hate to say it but we kind of went off the rails a little when the corps of Lars Eller came back to save the third line. Sgarbossa looked better there to me to be honest. Eller looks the same as when we traded him, washed and unable to bury opportunities. Yikes.

 

[Holtbyisms]

I don't love it, but I get it. They want line 1 to be a scoring line and line 2 to be the shutdown line. They also don't want to mess with line 3 given it looked relatively good last night. They'll bury the 4th line with easy assignments 5v5, but Dowd will get extra playing time during the PK. I'd might try Vrana on line 1 first, but I'm not sure this configuration is really any worse.

Breaking up the DDR 4th line makes it worse. Now we only have one line that can play tough minutes.

 

[Jags]

A top to bottom shuffle minus one line is pretty dramatic. He’s trying to jumpstart the offense.

Yeah, he's trying to get one dimensional on purpose; back to basics approach. If these lines make it to game time, I'd bet he'll be doing some tinkering during the game, too. It's extreme, but getting on top of this early to help avoid it becoming a 4-to-6 week funk isn't a bad idea.

(The Shoresy "Who's more 4-to-6?" debate from this season just invaded my mind.) (Love that show.)

 

[DWGie26]

No way Carbs goes with those line tomorrow night. He even said he wasn’t committed to those lines. Hope Duhaime is ok though, because the 4th line is important.

 

[Lou Sassole]

Definitely not. I blocked him on Twitter years ago. Hassett is a less-talented, more-annoying version of Grant Paulsen. The only stuff I read on RMNB are the Morning After numbers they post if I'm too lazy to look them up myself or the occasional fun, human interest piece that made them interesting in the first place.

Their analysis is, for lack of a better term, ass. And biased; once they form an opinion, they will use any numbers they can to back them up. They love to misuse statisitics to fit a narrative instead of letting the data show them a conclusion. If you recall, RMNB were the leaders in drumming up opinion against Orpik and Wilson and they are incapable of understanding anything about the sport that isn't fed to them on Twitter or through an aggregated stats site. They strike as your typical internet warriors who never played the sport at any level, found a cool niche that made them fun and interesting, got hypnotized by the smell of their own farts, and think they're a lot wittier and smarter than they actually are. Between most of the writers and the posters on that site, it's a never-ending cycle of douchebagery and terrible takes.

They loved Jeff Schultz too.

 

[EXTRAS]

Crosby being 708th AKA last in the NHL in high-danger chances against 5-on-5 is wild to me. It's literally the narrative that's been said about Ovechkin for years, that he's completely fine giving up goals against to get to goal record, apart from the fact that with Ovechkin it's never been true. Now that it actually is true but it's Crosby who seem completely fine to see Penguins give up 400 goals this season just to keep up his own PPG streak going.

But i mean... what a fall from grace. Crosby, like Malkin still play in as coddled offensive role as possible and somehow that stat line is still possible. They both get as many offensive-zone starts (Crosby 60%, Malkin close to 70%) as possible and Sullivan tries to get them away from other teams top match-up's as much as possible, with Eller taking the garbage minutes and still Crosby is somehow bleeding chances against more than guys like Cody Ceci and Connor Murphy who are both not only terrible players but they play for terrible teams and get the garbage minutes to boot.

It's pretty interesting that he's re-signing there. The team doesn't seem to be heading to better direction and he's clearly not that motivated keeping them afloat. I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up with the Avalanche at some point to find his love for the game again.

The guy is 37. Who cares. Everything out of ovi and Crosby is just bonus at this point.