League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) | 2024-25 Summer Edition

[um]

That's not the entirety of what it takes to win a Cup. There are other important factors like chemistry, health, timing, luck, and coaching which are actually as important if not more so than building the best roster on paper. There also the question as to how a player fits within our system.

At this point, I'm not sure any one person is going to change our underlying fundamentals, which aren't great even though we're literally leading the NHL in pts.

I don't think the Caps are that far away from being cup-worthy.

We've got a very strong defence from 1-6, no elite dman but a very strong group.

We've got two good goalies with our starter playing very very well.

We've got a good and deep offence, but it lacks in high-end talent. I think we can either add to our middle 6 forwards to make our offence very deep, or we can bring in a first-line talent to give us an actual first line, instead of a 2A 2B situation.

The holes on this team are minimal, it'd be a shame to do nothing and falter. Even 2018 had us adding Kempny to the first pairing. That is no small add, even though the price was a bargain.

 

[qc14]

I don't think the Caps are that far away from being cup-worthy.

We've got a very strong defence from 1-6, no elite dman but a very strong group.

We've got two good goalies with our starter playing very very well.

We've got a good and deep offence, but it lacks in high-end talent. I think we can either add to our middle 6 forwards to make our offence very deep, or we can bring in a first-line talent to give us an actual first line, instead of a 2A 2B situation.

The holes on this team are minimal, it'd be a shame to do nothing and falter. Even 2018 had us adding Kempny to the first pairing. That is no small add, even though the price was a bargain.

While I agree with you the Caps have the room to add a significant rental without moving on from a roster player. Sending Bear and Milano back puts us at ~$4.5M in space to add, any seller would be willing to retain 50% and you could probably even get the double retention if you really wanted to. The other option to me isn't doing nothing, it's getting a different top 6 forward (Nelson or Boeser) and being able to keep Mangiapane. Obviously a rental isn't signed long term, but I'd rather have Mangiapane and someone else for this year for both the pure amount of on-ice talent and the off-ice fit.

It's just bad vibes to trade for someone in the offseason, have them work out and fit in, then trade them out at the deadline when you're good! Doubly so to bring in a guy who has had issues in the locker room. To counteract the bad vibes it would have to be a deal for a perfect fit, and I think Millers age/contract/skill level/baggage are not perfect.

If you can give me Rantanen or Marner then let's talk

 

[um]

While I agree with you the Caps have the room to add a significant rental without moving on from a roster player. Sending Bear and Milano back puts us at ~$4.5M in space to add, any seller would be willing to retain 50% and you could probably even get the double retention if you really wanted to. The other option to me isn't doing nothing, it's getting a different top 6 forward (Nelson or Boeser) and being able to keep Mangiapane. Obviously a rental isn't signed long term, but I'd rather have Mangiapane and someone else for this year for both the pure amount of on-ice talent and the off-ice fit.

It's just bad vibes to trade for someone in the offseason, have them work out and fit in, then trade them out at the deadline when you're good! Doubly so to bring in a guy who has had issues in the locker room. To counteract the bad vibes it would have to be a deal for a perfect fit, and I think Millers age/contract/skill level/baggage are not perfect.

If you can give me Rantanen or Marner then let's talk

I don't think Bear's full cap hit would count. I think around 1.25 is buried, or something like that.

I wouldn't say Mangiapane has worked out well at all. He started the year on the 1st line, now he's on the 4th. I like the player and all, but he is overpaid by a lot.

I get why someone would want to avoid Miller, but the Caps employ his former coach, so we'd have a very good read on him.

And yes Miller is not the only option, but he's the best player available right now. And he's on a good deal right now with term. I hate trading for a few months of hockey, especially when it costs a 1st +.

 

[Marshall]

Adam Fantili is fun to watch these days.