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

[stephenball]

I’d love to try McMichael-Strome-Wilson and Protas-Dubois-Ovechkin. Also wouldn’t hate at least temporarily putting Dubois on PP1 in Strome’s spot. I think with the PP more centered around the three shooters at the top with Ovechkin and the Dmen it makes Dubois a better fit to be down low, because he’s good around the net cycling into the front. Also would put someone who is good with zone entries on the first unit, with Mikey being good on the second.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Hope they let him ply

 

[pman25]

Confirms my viewings lately that we’ve been pretty Mid and trending downward

At least it hasn’t manifested in a losing streak yet and goalies are still pretty strong

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Hope they let him ply

Haven’t been impressed with Miro lately. He seems too deferential in the offensive zone and too afraid to make a mistake in the defensive zone. I want to see him look like a bull in a china shop again. Normal growing pains, being the man in Hershey for a bit should be helpful.

 

[Kazer]

Haven’t been impressed with Miro lately. He seems too deferential in the offensive zone and too afraid to make a mistake in the defensive zone. I want to see him look like a bull in a china shop again. Normal growing pains, being the man in Hershey for a bit should be helpful.

It's easy to forget because he's been around for a bit, but he's still really young (and even younger in terms of hockey age since he lost basically a full season to chemotherapy/recovery). Miro hasn't even turned 21 yet.

Outside the top 15 of the 2022 NHL draft (16-32), there were 17 players taken. Of those, 13 are forwards. And of those, only 4 have even played a single NHL game and none more than Miro's 39.

 

[hb13xchamps]

Hoping to see Frank given a shot with his call up. He’s earned the right to get a game or two with how much he’s consistently produced in Hershey the past few seasons.

 

[StrikingDistance]

Feel like our regression was not only due, but typical when you consider:

When you're one of the top teams in the league 1/2 way through the season, other teams study what you're doing, and play you harder.

The only players that have impressed the last 3-4 games are Captain Willy, PLD, LT, Pro, and Sandin. CMM, Chicksrun, and Mangy have been good too, but not consistent.

 

[Silky mitts]

Confirms my viewings lately that we’ve been pretty Mid and trending downward

At least it hasn’t manifested in a losing streak yet and goalies are still pretty strong

In October 7-2-0 ES GF 32 GA 21
Since 20-8-4 ES GF 87 GA 62

 

[895]

He should be forced to spell his name Ethan Frank or Ethen Frenk. Can’t have it both ways.

 

[twabby]

He should be forced to spell his name Ethan Frank or Ethen Frenk. Can’t have it both ways.

Can never trust a dude with two first names

 

[NoVaCapsFan]

Hoping to see Frank given a shot with his call up. He’s earned the right to get a game or two with how much he’s consistently produced in Hershey the past few seasons.

I did not see that coming. Can’t wait to witness him in action firsthand tonight. Caps can use some speed against the Habs.

 

[zappa4ever]

He should be forced to spell his name Ethan Frank or Ethen Frenk. Can’t have it both ways.

Pheonix egrees

 

[Melkor]

Call me crazy but I'd seriously consider trading Miroshnichenko...probably any prospect outside Hutson/Leonard if there's a star winger available. Regardless how much of a workhorse Mangiapane is - he's not moving the needle for me offensively, he's not much of a difference maker in terms of physical play, he's just your average Joe everywhere. He won't sell their chances to make it far but he won't impact them either way. As already been mentioned, this is a depth team that fights for goals. They need some star power up front, nobody wins big games without that. If someone thinks they're challenging for it all with their biggest offensive threat as a 40 year old Ovechkin I have some bad news for you.

 

[marcel snapshot]

At the start of this season, I think opponents were actually semi-shocked at the tempo, crispness, and connected-ness shown by the Caps - and the team's ability to do that while being responsible defensively. The had not played like that in several years - and we were doing it night in and night out no matter who the opponent.

Until this season, it had been a very long time (probably dating back to the Cup run and maybe the beginning of the 2018-19 season), since the Caps could be considered a hard team to play against. Starting with Lavy and even into Carbs 1st year, if we tried to lock it down -we couldn't generate offense. If we tried to generate offense - we gave up high danger chances galore. And we had goal-tending that could not be counted on.

It took probably until just before Thanksgiving for the league to decide, yeah, what the 24-25 Caps are doing is real - and to have to completely recalibrate their expectations with regard to how they play against us. That's happening now - the Caps top-level game is no longer an overwhelming surprise to their foes, it's something the opponents' are game-planning for. They've adjusted - and now the Caps have to counter-adjust.

It's another test for Carbs - he's passed most of them to date (I might have felt a smidge of disappointment that he couldn't get more out of the team in last year's Rangers' series), so hopefully he keeps that up.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I see no reason for Buffalo to trade Tuch this season. Why not try to re-sign him this summer first and then only if he doesn't re-sign, trade him?

Tuch is one of the top 3/4 players they are trying to build around. They won't trade him unless they have no other choice. Plus, they'll wanted established NHL-ers back, not futures, and it would be easier to get that over the summer.

Because they still suck ass and need more players that can change that? Tuch’s value grows less and less to an acquiring team, each day he gets close to UFA.

That’s why.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Make it make sense for the Sabres, then.

Why would they want Cristall? Their team is literally filled with small creative wingers that they are already struggling to fit in (Peterka, Benson, Quinn, Kulich, Ostlund). On the flip side they want more players like Tuch, not less. He was in consideration to be their captain. Whatever you think from our side for Cristall/Parascak + for Tuch, it makes zero sense for the Sabres. I'm sure they'd be equally as happy to trade player like Quinn/Kulich/Ostlund + for another Tuch.

Who would they actually want from the Caps? C to replace Cozens? So... Dylan Strome? God no. They also desperately need defensive RHD so... Matt Roy? Again hell no, and trade protection alone would block that trade.

So — I’ve learned in life it’s easy to find the “why not”, vs the “why”.

It depends on your intestinal fortitude for something like this. I think a guy like Tuch would truly love the needle towards another Ovy Cup (hey, their contract terms match…..imagine that!!). Perhaps others don’t see that.

What would I pay for 2yrs of that? I’d trade any prospect, not named Hutson or Leonard, immediately. Not all of them, mind you, but whatever combo works.

Off the roster? I’d trade CMM, Lappy, Fever, TVR, any bottom 6F (even Dowd), and D below TVR (Alexeyev, etc).

And then of course picks. I’m not worried about those too much either.

Would a Fever, Miro, and a first do it for Tuch? I dunno. But that’s not a bad offer

 

[895]

So — I’ve learned in life it’s easy to find the “why not”, vs the “why”.

It depends on your intestinal fortitude for something like this. I think a guy like Tuch would truly love the needle towards another Ovy Cup (hey, their contract terms match…..imagine that!!). Perhaps others don’t see that.

What would I pay for 2yrs of that? I’d trade any prospect, not named Hutson or Leonard, immediately. Not all of them, mind you, but whatever combo works.

Off the roster? I’d trade CMM, Lappy, Fever, TVR, any bottom 6F (even Dowd), and D below TVR (Alexeyev, etc).

And then of course picks. I’m not worried about those too much either.

Would a Fever, Miro, and a first do it for Tuch? I dunno. But that’s not a bad offer

Hold on how are you putting CMM on the same tier of Lappy, Fever, TVR, etc.

CMM himself holds more value than Tuch. The others sure. Trade them.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Because they still suck ass and need more players that can change that? Tuch’s value grows less and less to an acquiring team, each day he gets close to UFA.

That’s why.

If they suck ass and need more good players, why would they choose to trade one of their best players for assets that might become good players? It's like the boat / magic box scenario from Family Guy.

The only way Tuch is moved, in my opinion, is if he tells them he's not re-signing after next season. It's far more likely they try and do a reverse Bowem/Middlestadt and look to trade one of their many LHD for a top six forward.

If you look at Buffalo's roster, I think Tuch is probably top two or three of their least likely players to move along with Dahlin and Thompson.

I have been wrong before and will be wrong again, but there'd be added sting to trading Tuch because he was the centerpiece around the Eichel deal. Fans are already ready to mutiny, trading a fan favorite and saying we hope this will help us get better in year 14 of our rebuild isn't going to go over well in or out of the locker room.

 

[895]

I think Anaheim might move Mason MacTavish.

Parascak+Lapierre? Who says no?

 

[Kazer]

Contrary to the prior conclusion, if the team really does 'suck ass', then adding Tuch isn't going to change that so why bother mortgaging the future?

FWIW, I'd love to add Tuch but not at the cost of Cristall.

 

[Block]

Confirms my viewings lately that we’ve been pretty Mid and trending downward

At least it hasn’t manifested in a losing streak yet and goalies are still pretty strong

I have questions about the accuracy of these ratings given that the exactly in the middle of the pack offensively and bottom 3 in the league defensively Flyers are considered +offense and + defense.

 

[Agent37]

Just to make sure I'm reading this correctly: after finally succesfully retooling we are seriously in debate of giving up multiple great prospects for a player from Buffalo who is a UFA at the end of the season.

Just double checking to make sure we are somehow still not scarred from Forsberg for Erat. Personally I'm not trading Cristall, CMM, or Parascak for anybody. At the same time it's cool to see that the pipeline is deep enough for anybody in the fanbase to even seriously consider the merits of this.

I would think between

Elder Protas
Lil Protas
Leonard
Cristall
Parascak
Frank
McMichael
Lapierre
Miroschnichenko

Mateiko and Thomas are a big stretch to throw in that category but...

There's got to be at least 1 superstar and another first line talent in that group. I honestly feel like it will just be entertaining and delightful to see who it is and how many there end up being.

Sidenote at what point do we consider Protas and CMM potentially bonafide first line caliber players? (Both still pacing for 30+ goals

 

[wickedwitch]

So undoubtedly the Caps have not been playing well for about three weeks. But...

So xGF/xGA is a useful stat, but there is some variance to it. Different models will result in different values of XGF/xGA. Also, the measurements themselves inherently have uncertainty. So, all those values should have some uncertainty associated with them, but it isn't shown. And for January, it's also a fairly small sample size.

Also, if you have a good goalie/good finishers, you will play above your xGA/xGF. For example, Ovi scores a bunch of goals from an area that probably doesn't result in a large amount of xGF.

In summary, I am not yet worried that there is some inherent flaw to this team that we didn't see back in October. They were always going to cool off from the hot start.

If they a) get worse or b) still look like this after Four Nations, then I'll be concerned.

 

[Coldnwindy]

Just to make sure I'm reading this correctly: after finally succesfully retooling we are seriously in debate of giving up multiple great prospects for a player from Buffalo who is a UFA at the end of the season.

Just double checking to make sure we are somehow still not scarred from Forsberg for Erat. Personally I'm not trading Cristall, CMM, or Parascak for anybody. At the same time it's cool to see that the pipeline is deep enough for anybody in the fanbase to even seriously consider the merits of this.

I would think between

Elder Protas
Lil Protas
Leonard
Cristall
Parascak
Frank
McMichael
Lapierre
Miroschnichenko

Mateiko and Thomas are a big stretch to throw in that category but...

There's got to be at least 1 superstar and another first line talent in that group. I honestly feel like it will just be entertaining and delightful to see who it is and how many there end up being.

Sidenote at what point do we consider Protas and CMM potentially bonafide first line caliber players? (Both still pacing for 30+ goals

Protas has been the best overall player on our team this year, whatever line he's in is the first line IMO. If both him and Mike finish above 30 goals this year and show consistency with similar production next year, nobody can argue against them being top line players.

The top 6 is overall looks to be in a great spot for this season and the next. 3C and RD is the biggest concern going into the future. If Lapierre can't step up into the role next season it'll be difficult to fill.