Is there a narrative that the Capitals are sacrificing everything to get Ovechkin the Goal Record? Is there a double standard with regards to Crosby?

[BallardEra]

Still don't think he gets the record. He'll be 20 or so short heading into his final year in the NHL as a 40 year old just hanging on.

Only if he gets hurt this season for a good amount of games.

He’ll be inside of 10 goals by the end of this season if he plays his usual amount of games.

 

[PattyLafontaine]

Basically the question is in the title.

Do you believe (a) there is a narrative that Washington has sacrificed all team building for the sake of Ovechkin's legacy/pursuit of goal scoring record, (b) that this narrative has any merit, (c) that Pittsburgh has somehow escaped the same level of scrutiny with regards to the late stages of Crosby's career, (d) if there is a double standard, that this is somewhat warranted?

As someone who is quite familiar with the ownership group of the Caps. The goal record is their focus before the rebuild happens. They know that they'll need to tear down.

Pittsburgh should also be rebuilding, but they are kind of stuck on the treadmill. The Karlsson trade did not help them and they are hanging on in the hopes that someonehow they can make one more run this year.

They'll need to turn over soon and Crosby is in a similar situation as Steph Curry where the team is hamstrung with contracts and cannot make the necessary moves because the roster isn't good enough.

The question is whether Crosby wants to retire as a Penguin or if he request a move to a contender to go for a final cup.

Pittsburgh cannot move forward until they move on from Crosby one way or another.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I don’t mean to comment negatively on the state of the Penguins, but the Caps are clearly the more competitive of the two teams at this point.

They stayed true to their word and could not only retool the team quickly to push for the playoffs but also put Ovi in a position where he can succeed and break the record people thought was unbreakable.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Still waiting for someone to explain to me how tearing the team down and putting bad players around Ovi helps him get the record more so than the Caps trying to retool and compete.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

Fans are not going to show up if they suck, even if OV record is on the line. They need to be at least competitive which is what they have been. Ownership has been playing it right from a business perspective.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Still waiting for someone to explain to me how tearing the team down and putting bad players around Ovi helps him get the record more so than the Caps trying to retool and compete.

Exactly. People are rebuild happy. Rebuilds are risky to begin with, take a lot of time, and can hemorrhage money in terms of decreased fan support.

The Caps have played things smart and as people are now beginning to see it is a very good team. There's a reason certain teams make the playoffs more years than not over a long period. Good management is avoiding lengthy rebuilds. Crap management leads to the need for a lengthy rebuild. Washington has had very competent management.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yes of course they’re doing that, and it’s a horrible look. Getting the goal record because your team sacrificed their own well-being is not an opportunity Gretzky had and a really bad look for the “greatest goal scorer” ever. It will put a stain on his legacy if he limps into the record like that.

Gretzky’s last few years weren’t always a great look either. People will forget the details, what matters is the final score.

 

[MacMacandBarbie]

This comment is defied by the preponderance of Stanley Cup wins for teams led by players that those teams drafted in the top three picks. Staal, Crosby & Malkin, Ovechkin, Toews & Kane, Doughty, Hedman & Stamkos, Mackinnon (& Makar, if I extended the criteria out to top four picks), Barkov-- their teams nearly run the championships table in the salary cap era.

Only a couple of those teams actually tanked. Most of those examples are exaggerated, like saying Stamkos led the Bolts to their dominance instead of Kucherov, or Doughty being the key to the Kings when it was clearly a mixture of him and Quick/Kopitar, mostly the latter.

Teams tank because it's the best chance to get elite talent, which is the most important factor for future success.

Teams tank and have varying levels of success with it. Edmonton had to do it a few times before it worked out, and it really delayed their window. Buffalo tanked in the McDavid year for Eichel, and that hasn't worked out very well for them. There are a lot more teams that tank and it doesn't work out than teams that tank and it does work out.

 

[Oneiro]

Exactly. People are rebuild happy. Rebuilds are risky to begin with, take a lot of time, and can hemorrhage money in terms of decreased fan support.

The Caps have played things smart and as people are now beginning to see it is a very good team. There's a reason certain teams make the playoffs more years than not over a long period. Good management is avoiding lengthy rebuilds. Crap management leads to the need for a lengthy rebuild. Washington has had very competent management.

Crap management is not seeing reality. And as with the Pens and Caps, when you have legacies to preserve instead of doing the rational thing, your future rebuild will be very long and those buildings will be very empty at the end of this decade. By then, management will have been turned over and the franchise probably sold - it'll be someone else's problem.

But this is a league that is won by the talent at the top of the draft. You know this first hand. And this Caps team is not winning anything any time soon. They're retooling for a record and not much else.

 

[um]

Crap management is not seeing reality. And as with the Pens and Caps, when you have legacies to preserve instead of doing the rational thing, your future rebuild will be very long and those buildings will be very empty at the end of this decade. By then, management will have been turned over and the franchise probably sold - it'll be someone else's problem.

But this is a league that is won by the talent at the top of the draft. You know this first hand. And this Caps team is not winning anything any time soon. They're retooling for a record and not much else.

At least the haters call it a retooling now.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Crap management is not seeing reality. And as with the Pens and Caps, when you have legacies to preserve instead of doing the rational thing, your future rebuild will be very long and those buildings will be very empty at the end of this decade. By then, management will have been turned over and the franchise probably sold - it'll be someone else's problem.

But this is a league that is won by the talent at the top of the draft. You know this first hand. And this Caps team is not winning anything any time soon. They're retooling for a record and not much else.

Worst comes to worst they have a bunch of assets they can turn into futures if they decide to tear it down to the studs when ovi retires? I fail to see how waiting another 2 years before rebuilding is causing any long term damage to the franchise.

Are you under the impression they’re trading away a bunch of high picks at the TDL? They’ve been sellers the last two years.

 

[pezpunk]

Crosby is a better and far more complete player at this point. He's good enough that his play stops his team from tanking. So you either trade him or build some kind of team around him.

Ovechkin is extremely one dimensional at this point. The Caps aren't really doing what's in the best of interest of winning either. Honestly, I were the Caps, I'd kill two birds with one stone. Go full tank except for an Ovy led powerplay with a bunch of PP specialists. Ovy gets his record. The Caps get the rebuild.

i mean yeah that's the NARRATIVE.

the utterly false completely untrue narrative.

the caps are a very good team this year, and Ovi is still great. but keep parroting the ignorant canadian media storylines, nobody can stop you.

They should likely be rebuilding as they really have no shot at winning for starters. Even if you don’t think they should rebuild, Ovi should not be on the top line and should not be double shifting on the PP as he’s just not that player anymore.

Look, I don’t blame the Caps at all for doing this. But as a competitor and one of the best all time, I think it’s a bad look for Ovi. He should be getting the record because he deserves it, not because he’s afforded opportunities other players have not gotten.

This is just so insanely out of touch with reality. The caps haven't been trading away ddraft picks the last two years. they've been aquiring them.

and yes of course their top goal scorer should be on their top line. what a goofy post.

 

[Blue and Green]

Only a couple of those teams actually tanked. Most of those examples are exaggerated, like saying Stamkos led the Bolts to their dominance instead of Kucherov, or Doughty being the key to the Kings when it was clearly a mixture of him and Quick/Kopitar, mostly the latter.

Teams tank and have varying levels of success with it. Edmonton had to do it a few times before it worked out, and it really delayed their window. Buffalo tanked in the McDavid year for Eichel, and that hasn't worked out very well for them. There are a lot more teams that tank and it doesn't work out than teams that tank and it does work out.

Nothing works perfectly, but tanking works better than sitting in the mediocre range. Nobody can deny the fact that teams who drafted one or two excellent players with a very early pick have absolutely dominated the Stanley Cup champions list.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Except that the caps are a far superior team currently and their prospect pipeline is superior. These two are not alike currently.