Free Agency Episode 2 - The Attack Of The Plugs

[Dream Big]

Everyone cross your fingers that this is the year that someone will tell Johansson to hit the weights!

Does Sweden have trainers like Canada and USA have? Just wondering what the education and expertise level is of their trainers.

 

[amjay13]

Laich, C, not really a surprise after how hard we were sold that after his contract was signed. Sucks for me I prefer Laich at W and MJ at C but imagine it will take care of itself given enough time. I wonder who George would compare MJ to.

With the Sarge drama played out and 2C done, the last item is 2LD. The Erskine love is there for years now and see Orlov in Hershey to start the year, he will not sit as a 7.

I see George's comments on Wilson as an ice breaker to send him back later on. Why ink Fehr to sit him next year. Latta is stuck behind Fehr/Beagle as well.

If he says Laich is our 2C I will go opposite and say he will not be our 2C 1Dec13

Agree on Wilson, he's not making the team out of camp.

As someone said earlier, an injury to a major player or two and this team could be one of the worst in the NHL.

Still disgusted with the first round pick this year with Hartman on the board still.

 

[Calicaps]

So we are penciling in the 30 year old who is coming off of two groin injuries in one year as our 2C? Brilliant!!!

It's not pencilled; it's carved in stone.

 

[usiel]

Agree on Wilson, he's not making the team out of camp.

As someone said earlier, an injury to a major player or two and this team could be one of the worst in the NHL.

Still disgusted with the first round pick this year with Hartman on the board still.

They went with upside/potential with their 1st round pick. Pretty obvious that Mahoney & Co. were ready to trade the 1st round pick if the last player left on the board rated by the team as a 1st round pick was the one made. That said I like Hartman and if they had picked him I would not have had a problem..but I'm an internet armchair director of amateur scouting and paid zero dollars for my picks. Not even bitcoinage.

 

[KenAF]

Didn't we try this experiment 2 years ago?

You know what they say...repeat the same mistake over and over again and eventually it will yield a different result...

Ohh, wait.

 

[BobRouse]

Not too thrilled with Laich at center like everyone else. We all know he is a responsible defender but he can't make plays like a center should and he is better served as a winger.

Like someone else said tho..15 games into the season it will be 2C by committee. I was hoping for MP or MJ to get the reigns

Either way we are going to make the playoffs. Tougher division doesn't matter as historically the Caps have been prone to play to the level of their competition. Last year we had a horrendous first half with lots of injuries that skewed that stat but the years before we fared darn well outside the SE if I recall.

We'll be a solid team if we stay healthy. We will be better than expected if some young players take a step and Ovechkin maintains his 2nd half form from last year.

 

[Roughing]

I would rather have Brooks Laich than Grabovski if they are close to the same cap hit.

We can afford both.

Didn't we try this experiment 2 years ago?

If healthy, he'll probably lead all NHL Cs in... shots. So we have that going for us, which is nice.

They're full of ****. Free agents don't come here because GMGM and TL don't want to pay them.

This. Or because GM naps a lot during FA. Hard for FAs to sign here when we never call an agent.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Not too thrilled with Laich at center like everyone else. We all know he is a responsible defender but he can't make plays like a center should and he is better served as a winger.

Like someone else said tho..15 games into the season it will be 2C by committee. I was hoping for MP or MJ to get the reigns

Either way we are going to make the playoffs. Tougher division doesn't matter as historically the Caps have been prone to play to the level of their competition. Last year we had a horrendous first half with lots of injuries that skewed that stat but the years before we fared darn well outside the SE if I recall.

We'll be a solid team if we stay healthy. We will be better than expected if some young players take a step and Ovechkin maintains his 2nd half form from last year.

Even if this is true, and I would beg to differ....why is this acceptable to anyone? And if you replace "Ovechkin" with any number of players around the league, you could make this exact same statement for almost any team.

"If we stay healthy, and our young guys improve, then..."

And you are fooling yourself if you think the new division wont matter. Sure, I agree that Caps have played to their competition, but talent always wins out in a tie. And with the SE, over the years, we won a lot more games than we lost...due to talent levels. That will simply not hold true now. 50/50, at best.

Add to the fact that playing in barns like Phil, Pitt, Rags, Devs etc (heck, even the Isles) is a far cry from Atl, Fla, and TB.

With 16 teams in the East now, its not going to be as easy to make top 8. And we sure as hell wont have that #3 seed carrot in front of us anymore. The days of having 6th-8th best record and getting a #3 are long gone.

Slice it any way you want, this team is now running uphill against the league...where it was downhill there for a few years. We are now "everybody else", and we have no one to blame but ourselves (no longterm injuries, bad luck, etc etc).

Fire George!!!!

 

[ChibiPooky]

More quotes (some already being discussed):

[FIELDSET="Garrett Haar"]It was a back issue that made him miss 8 weeks last season, says it's academics that suspended him 1st sem. this season #WMU

He can practice with @WMUHockey but can't play or go on the road until Great Lakes Invitational late December[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Adam Oates"]On Laich "I think no question in my mind he can do that job... for me I just want to see him healthy, get some games in."

There's more stuff behind the scenes than people realize. We're a good hockey team. We feel we're a good hockey team.

We played well down the stretch. We lost two guys, that's an opportunity for two guys to step in and there's obviously guys we expect to grow. To become better hockey players for us. It's part of the job It's the way the league evolves every year.

On Vinny "He got a good deal and he chose Philly. We wish that guy well until we play him."

On Hendy "Kind of a heart and soul guy. Very well liked on the team. Great guy and we're all happy for him as well. He's a very good man."[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Andre Burakovsky"]He trained with MJ90 three days ago, talked with him a bit[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Tom Wilson"]"We're going to miss Hendy a lot. The organization is going to miss him. Great teammate, great guy, great locker room guy. Nashville's got a good one in him. I'm wishing the best of luck to him and if I can do anything to fill that role then I'm going to do it."[/FIELDSET]

 

[RandyHolt]

We will not have a problem making the playoffs next year, if our players give a full effort.

Problem is, our top tier players see little reason to give their all for far too much of the regular season. Much of the team seems to detest physical contact, so I do not have injury concerns, but admit our farm is bare. We can callup Latta and endless bottom tier D but are thin at scoring depth. George will do some diving this summer though.

I miss the old NHL where effort levels were never in question and games were much more exciting as a result. We prefer to go the Spicoli route and try to squeak by.

Moving into a tougher division is exactly what this team needs to stop playing like a bunch of pansies.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

We'll be a solid team if we stay healthy. We will be better than expected if some young players take a step and Ovechkin maintains his 2nd half form from last year.

This is largely a veteran team. Maybe Johansson/Carlson improve. But I wouldn't count on our "young" players carrying the day with their ongoing development.

 

[BobRouse]

RH I agree we are a playoff team but beyond that its not looking great unless we go on a magical run.

Even if this is true, and I would beg to differ....why is this acceptable to anyone? And if you replace "Ovechkin" with any number of players around the league, you could make this exact same statement for almost any team.

"If we stay healthy, and our young guys improve, then..."

And you are fooling yourself if you think the new division wont matter. Sure, I agree that Caps have played to their competition, but talent always wins out in a tie. And with the SE, over the years, we won a lot more games than we lost...due to talent levels. That will simply not hold true now. 50/50, at best.

Add to the fact that playing in barns like Phil, Pitt, Rags, Devs etc (heck, even the Isles) is a far cry from Atl, Fla, and TB.

With 16 teams in the East now, its not going to be as easy to make top 8. And we sure as hell wont have that #3 seed carrot in front of us anymore. The days of having 6th-8th best record and getting a #3 are long gone.

Slice it any way you want, this team is now running uphill against the league...where it was downhill there for a few years. We are now "everybody else", and we have no one to blame but ourselves (no longterm injuries, bad luck, etc etc).

Fire George!!!!

We've had #1 seeds before and it really didn't help nor did #3. We did better as an underdog #7 seed and took the #1 seed to 7 games in a series where we really did outplay them.

But ask me why I should find it unacceptable? All it will do is bring undue heartache and put me in a bad mood b/c its something completely out of my control. We've had this discussion.

I have decided to be positive about it. Being positive puts me in a good mood. Taking the half empty approach just serves to make me bitter. I'm not a season ticket holder. I don't have time to start a grass roots campaign to oust GMGM and Ted. I am not about to boycott watching the team on TV b/c it brings me joy to watch my team play whether they are great or suck.

Is being mad on the internet really accomplishing anything other than putting you in a foul mood? Because I've been there and that is all it ever did for me...

This is largely a veteran team. Maybe Johansson/Carlson improve. But I wouldn't count on our "young" players carrying the day with their ongoing development.

I'd put Holtby, Alzner, Neuvirth, Orlov perhaps MP in there too. The latter is older but its only over the last 2 years that he has truly gotten a regular spot. Maybe Fehr too now that his injuries are past him. If Wilson makes the team clearly he'd be on there and also Kuznetsov on the outside chance he comes over after Olympics if even possible....

 

[ChibiPooky]

Why would GMGM buy out Schultz unless he planned to use the cap space? Surely he doesn't think Alzner and Johansson will require Schultz's cap space... right? Is he just protecting against offer sheets?

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Why would GMGM buy out Schultz unless he planned to use the cap space? Surely he doesn't think Alzner and Johansson will require Schultz's cap space... right? Is he just protecting against offer sheets?

If we add Wilson and Johansson/Alzner come in around $6 million, we'll be right against the cap.

McPhee and Fishman have been overpaying homegrown talent for years and it's caught up with us.

Marcus Johansson ($2.500m) / Nicklas Backstrom ($6.700m) / Alex Ovechkin ($9.538m)
Martin Erat ($4.500m) / Brooks Laich ($4.500m) / Troy Brouwer ($3.667m)
Jason Chimera ($1.750m) / Jay Beagle ($0.900m) / Joel Ward ($3.000m)
Eric Fehr ($1.500m) / Mathieu Perreault ($1.050m) / Tom Wilson ($1.294m)
Aaron Volpatti ($0.575m) /

Karl Alzner ($3.500m) / Mike Green ($6.083m)
John Erskine ($1.963m) / John Carlson ($3.967m)
Jack Hillen ($0.700m) / Steven Oleksy ($0.542m)
Tomas Kundratek ($0.550m) /

Michal Neuvirth ($2.500m)
Braden Holtby ($1.850m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $63,128,462; BONUSES: $200,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $1,371,538

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

I'd put Holtby, Alzner, Neuvirth, Orlov perhaps MP in there too. The latter is older but its only over the last 2 years that he has truly gotten a regular spot. Maybe Fehr too now that his injuries are past him. If Wilson makes the team clearly he'd be on there and also Kuznetsov on the outside chance he comes over after Olympics if even possible....

Have fun with those expectations.

 

[Raikkonen]

Why would GMGM buy out Schultz unless he planned to use the cap space? Surely he doesn't think Alzner and Johansson will require Schultz's cap space... right? Is he just protecting against offer sheets?

That is easy. GMGM will have some flexibility at trade deadline, and if you remember Hannan trade George done all the preparation work in the summer.

I would think he's already talked with PHO about Klesla. Or smth like that.

Also Kuznetsov's contract needs some space. While in the spring it's the very small part prorated still you need to accumulate some.

And! Buying out Schultz gives you 1/3 of his contract $ in actual money savings! In 15 minutes.

While we are giving Orlov a chance we still can trade for more experienced D later. Pretty reasonable in that aspect, I would say.

 

[Raikkonen]

It sounds to me like Oates has a plan, also.



PS: He better use Erat exclusively either with Backstrom or with Perreault. No BL/MJ. Let them be the problem line (glorified 3rd liners ftw).

 

[Raikkonen]

If Oates can manage 2nd line to be neutral at ES (GF-GA) and Perreault line to be net positive (which is possible with Fehr and Ward, right?), everything will be OK.

3rd line being good at ES is kinda reasonable expectation, what you think?

We need better ?-B-O play, better PK, better (stable) goaltending and some magic to maintain good PP.

In this scheme it doesn't matter who will be 2C - Laich or Johansson. They just shouldn't suck at ES and be good at PP/PK. It's what they are paid for.

EDIT: ****, who am I kidding?!

 

[BobRouse]

Have fun with those expectations.

I feel much better when I have hope. And the hope is not entirely unfounded here.

You know in the movies when the good guys go against impossible odds? You can either be like Hudson in Aliens "GAME OVER MAN! GAME OVER!" or...you can be like Aargorn in Lord of the Rings. Hope puts everyone in a better mood. You may want to try it...you will like what you find

 

[The Consiglieri]

you guys are hilarious. I have to give you credit!!!

no point in trying to have a hockey conversation, I guess. or ask a straight forward question. I give up.

down the road when Forsberg is a decent nhl player and erat gives the caps two better seasons and latta becomes a solid bottom of the lineup player this deal will look like a win and all this thrashing over it will just be more stupid to forget.

Nope, never, even if the trade worked out, it would be an idiotic, half-witted, dumber than expletive trade because philosophically, making trades like that is what ruins franchises. Its what moronic teams run by idiots do. It's a grunfeldian trade, it's a dumb and dumber redskin trade circa '00-'09, it's not an intelligent utilizing of resources at the draft, or at the trade deadline. It's a quick fix, half-witted act of short sighted grand mal stupidity.

We can have hockey conversations about all manner of things, but when your original premise is to ignore, and ridicule the well known, and well worn historical consequences of deals like this, what teams make deals like this, what teams don't, then you're also throwing reasoned conversation under the bus.

I've been watching drafts, and the asset allocations of squads in all manner of sports for decades, and teams that make decisions like this come out on the losing end 9 times out of 10 before you even hear the freaking names involved.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

What was it Einstein said about insanity?

 

[Roughing]

What was it Einstein said about insanity?

Pffffft. If Albert knew the game he'd be in it.

 

[tycoonheart]

Not too thrilled with Laich at center like everyone else. We all know he is a responsible defender but he can't make plays like a center should and he is better served as a winger.

Like someone else said tho..15 games into the season it will be 2C by committee. I was hoping for MP or MJ to get the reigns

Either way we are going to make the playoffs. Tougher division doesn't matter as historically the Caps have been prone to play to the level of their competition. Last year we had a horrendous first half with lots of injuries that skewed that stat but the years before we fared darn well outside the SE if I recall.

We'll be a solid team if we stay healthy. We will be better than expected if some young players take a step and Ovechkin maintains his 2nd half form from last year.

Yep, Brooks isn't a center. At least not a top 6 C. He doesn't not have the vision to be one. He can protect the puck well, he can play physical, he can play defense... but the guy just does not have the vision to be an *** center.

I would've liked to see what MJ can do at that position. He got better as the season progressed last year. Maybe he can finally put it together.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

The problem I have with the Laich at center thing is that they've tried it for 1 season of his 7-season career.

If you view the guy as a natural center, why haven't you played him there? It's not like this team has been stacked down the middle during his career. I mean, Flash got an extending run at center FFS.

 

[PRicci09]

Meh. I would rather see Perreault or Mojo centering the second line with Laich as 3C.

I think Perry and Mojo's game better suits what you want out of a 2C.