Defensive depth? Yes. The Kings certainly felt like that when they re-signed Alec Martinez who is a very similar player as Dmitri Orlov.
I'm not following the logic here. Was Orlov somehow bad in games 1-4? Most of the goals the Caps have conceded have been on Brooks Orpik, and they've given up 4 goals in 4 games. People wanted him to take less risks, and it was obvious he's done that in the Playoffs as anticipated. He's generating chances, so it's tough to pin that on him. Lots of guys on the team that aren't matching their regular season numbers. I've liked what i've seen from him so far, and would definitely sign him for ~3-4m AAV. Defensive depth is absolutely crucial for good teams. I don't disagree with you that they couldn't replace him though. There are always weaker bottom-pairing defenders available for half the price, i'd just prefer being able to run 3 pairings through whole games, because we don't have Keith or Doughty to eat up 30+ minutes in a game.
Can't see my logic? But I can see his P/60 is
zero.
If we are talking about 3-4M - it's not Mike Weber already. It's a player capable of playing 2nd pair. I forgot, what kind of salary Alzner has?
Orlov showed nothing indicating he's worth it in playoffs. We dumped Green for that same reason - he didn't bring the same value he was paid for. Making the same mistake again is silly.
Yep, his numbers are interesting, his skills are attractive. But we need bigger sample size before we give him 4M.
I can tell you 3 names of players who should go this summer to make space for Mojo, Wilson and Orlov if we need that.
Chimera
Richards
Winnik
I'm perfectly fine with the situation. Orlov has time to learn from current top-4. Different things from each one of them. He could play for a moderate salary one more year. Like a 2M+. Not more than 3M. And he will be still RFA then.
When he's learned enough and can show it in crucial time - then sign him for big $$$.