League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - COVID Post-Season Edition

[txpd]

It's one thing to have doubt and another going about planning to restructure the roster to account for a $3M+ goaltender.

"I seem to have stepped on a land mine...of some sort."

 

[txpd]

I didn't think you were saying get rid of him. I'm saying that while he hasn't proven anything good, he still should be given this last chance to handle the workload, be a pro, and not f*** up. But I guess we'll see... Of course, it does also depend who they can afford to back him up.

Oh, yea. I get it. They have a plan A and then they have.....well.....they have plan A. Samsonov is the hill they are willing to or have to chance dying on.

Edit: This threatens to be MacLellan's big blunder. He clearly decided to structure his salary cap taking advantage of the young contract of Samsonov. If he blows up in his face, its hard to recover.

 

[g00n]

Oh, yea. I get it. They have a plan A and then they have.....well.....they have plan A. Samsonov is the hill they are willing to or have to chance dying on.

Edit: This threatens to be MacLellan's big blunder. He clearly decided to structure his salary cap taking advantage of the young contract of Samsonov. If he blows up in his face, its hard to recover.

Exactly the problem. Sammy has already tanked one season, more or less, with some help from Kuzy and a few other variables. Not all the blame goes there but enough does. He didn't pull his weight and clearly made things worse.

Ovechkin is winding down his career and it would be a catastrophic mistake to bank those years on a coin flip goaltender situation. That's all I'm saying. If Sammy comes through, great. If we can get a 3-5M veteran who's solid and at least gives you a chance in the playoffs without imploding on or off the ice, that maybe necessary just in case. It might cost some other roster spot but there is no position more important than Goalie.

 

[Calicaps]

Oh, yea. I get it. They have a plan A and then they have.....well.....they have plan A. Samsonov is the hill they are willing to or have to chance dying on.

Edit: This threatens to be MacLellan's big blunder. He clearly decided to structure his salary cap taking advantage of the young contract of Samsonov. If he blows up in his face, its hard to recover.

That's true, though I suspect a lot of GMs will get some rope given the pandemic-related flat cap that is an unforeseen disaster.

 

[g00n]

I disagree in that I think you have to give Sammy one more chance. He's a young guy. Some of the stupid was his own, but I think Kuzy also led him astray. That's part of why Kuzy is in such deep shit. He didn't just f*** himself and his team, he was a shitty influence on a key young player. Sammy will for sure be held accountable for himself, but he's too young to give up on. You get a proper vet backup and you give him this last chance to prove himself. What choice do they have really?

I'm wondering if we know it was Kuzy being the pied piper for Sammy, or the other way around, or just a "folie a deux". It's possible Kuzy has been trying to get his act together following the cocaine video and Sammy came in blazing guns. IIRC he had his own character questions, particularly with the hidden injury and other risky behavior.

/the world may never know

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Exactly the problem. Sammy has already tanked one season, more or less, with some help from Kuzy and a few other variables. Not all the blame goes there but enough does. He didn't pull his weight and clearly made things worse.

Ovechkin is winding down his career and it would be a catastrophic mistake to bank those years on a coin flip goaltender situation. That's all I'm saying. If Sammy comes through, great. If we can get a 3-5M veteran who's solid and at least gives you a chance in the playoffs without imploding on or off the ice, that maybe necessary just in case. It might cost some other roster spot but there is no position more important than Goalie.

If you’re going to make a move for a goaltender then go for it. Maybe something like a deal with Seattle to take Dillon to free up salary, then they can flip Samsonov+ for John Gibson. Anaheim isn’t going to compete soon and Gibson is 28 so he fits the Caps’ window better than Anaheim’s. It would require another contract moved out (maybe Hagelin) to make the cap work but if they ship out Dillon or Schultz to Seattle then you can see at least have a framework for a possible deal.

 

[txpd]

That's true, though I suspect a lot of GMs will get some rope given the pandemic-related flat cap that is an unforeseen disaster.

This was MacLellan's plan pre pandemic. If Samsonov poops the bed and tanks the season, I dont think that results in him getting fired.

 

[Corby78]

I don't really want to think about it, but if VV is taken and Sammy craps the bed, you can kiss the last years of Ovie goodbye. No way we find a decent 1A on the FA market and not crater the rest of the team with this cap.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

if the FA market is flooded with goalies we might be able to get a good vet on a deal like Lundys last season.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Please, Rangers, sign Goodrow to a six year deal and trade your 1st for Nic Deslauriers.

But, just to clarify, this podcast doesn't say that the Rangers have offered their first for him or even connect him to the Rangers at all; it says that Anaheim protected Deslauriers for a reason and people around the league think he could fetch a 1st round pick and they think someone in the East may pay up to solve their "Tom Wilson problem."

 

[Calicaps]

Please, Rangers, sign Goodrow to a six year deal and trade your 1st for Nic Deslauriers.

But, just to clarify, this podcast doesn't say that the Rangers have offered their first for him or even connect him to the Rangers at all; it says that Anaheim protected Deslauriers for a reason and people around the league think he could fetch a 1st round pick and they think someone in the East may pay up to solve their "Tom Wilson problem."

The hilarity of teams' Tom Wilson problem is a gift that just keeps giving.

 

[tenken00]

Do they have a Tom Wilson problem? It was one incident.

 

[txpd]

I'm wondering if we know it was Kuzy being the pied piper for Sammy, or the other way around, or just a "folie a deux". It's possible Kuzy has been trying to get his act together following the cocaine video and Sammy came in blazing guns. IIRC he had his own character questions, particularly with the hidden injury and other risky behavior.

/the world may never know

My initial guess had been that the missed team function was a matter of Samsonov wanting to do something and dragging Kuzy along to translate. But, it got worse after that and for one reason or another Sammy was forgiven to a degree that Kuzy was not.

 

[txpd]

The hilarity of teams' Tom Wilson problem is a gift that just keeps giving.

Tom Wilson's perceived value.

 

[twabby]

The Capitals skaters were completely outmatched by Boston. Same with the Islanders in the bubble. I don’t think it’s wise to use whatever cap space they have or can create on getting a goalie. It doesn’t address their biggest need in Ovechkin’s final years which is a 1C. Probably a better 1D as well.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Oh, yea. I get it. They have a plan A and then they have.....well.....they have plan A. Samsonov is the hill they are willing to or have to chance dying on.

Edit: This threatens to be MacLellan's big blunder. He clearly decided to structure his salary cap taking advantage of the young contract of Samsonov. If he blows up in his face, its hard to recover.

totally agree…..I don’t expect him to make this mistake 2 playoffs in a row. If Sammy or VV haven’t taken the reigns firmly late next season, I expect a move of some sort to remedy the issue at least short term.

It already blew up, it’s a matter of how long you stick your nose into the blast at this point.

 

[txpd]

totally agree…..I don’t expect him to make this mistake 2 playoffs in a row. If Sammy or VV haven’t taken the reigns firmly late next season, I expect a move of some sort to remedy the issue at least short term.

Remedy? I am not confident that a quality cup level goalie is going to be available on the rejects pile or in the bargain bin.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Remedy? I am not confident that a quality cup level goalie is going to be available on the rejects pile or in the bargain bin. If I remember your position correctly, you are in the it doesnt matter catagory

If you’re saying there won’t be options in the trade market, I disagree. What’s “Cup Quality” lately? Could be a hot middle tier vet or simply an upgrade of stability.

Where’s there to go but up from the goaltending they got at key times last playoffs?

 

[txpd]

If you’re saying there won’t be options in the trade market, I disagree. What’s “Cup Quality” lately? Could be a hot middle tier vet or simply an upgrade of stability.

Where’s there to go but up from the goaltending they got at key times last playoffs?

At key times they didnt get any goaltending from their #1 goalie and unprepared goaltending from their expected #1 and got the best you could ask for from a practice goalie that didnt play actual games. I suppose you could expect Mike Smith or James Reimer to be better than what they had last season in the playoffs, but would that be good enough to do anything?

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Fucale? I've never seen him play. Drafted by the Habs in the second round in 2013. His GAA at Hershey this past season was 1.80. Would he be an adequate back up to Samsonov?

Also what's Lundqvist's status? I had seen video of him working out in the Spring. Have not heard if he was planning to hang it up or perhaps give it another go. He'd be an ideal person to mentor Samsonov.

 

[Calicaps]

I'm wondering if we know it was Kuzy being the pied piper for Sammy, or the other way around, or just a "folie a deux". It's possible Kuzy has been trying to get his act together following the cocaine video and Sammy came in blazing guns. IIRC he had his own character questions, particularly with the hidden injury and other risky behavior.

/the world may never know

While I take your point, I think it's Kuzy's fault regardless. He's older. He's got way more North American experience. He's supposed to be an emerging leader. He's the one who should have put the kibosh on some bad idea of Sammy's, not enabled it. With great power comes great responsibility...

He's shown he can't carry the load. Sammy can still turn it around.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

The Capitals skaters were completely outmatched by Boston. Same with the Islanders in the bubble. I don’t think it’s wise to use whatever cap space they have or can create on getting a goalie. It doesn’t address their biggest need in Ovechkin’s final years which is a 1C. Probably a better 1D as well.

The Capitals were injured against Boston. Their entire top six and their top defenseman missed time with injuries at the end of the season. It was clear they were skating at 60-70%. Making declarative statements about either series as a justification either for or not doing something isn’t wise, in my opinion.

 

[twabby]

The Capitals were injured against Boston. Their entire top six and their top defenseman missed time with injuries at the end of the season. It was clear they were skating at 60-70%. Making declarative statements about either series as a justification either for or not doing something isn’t wise, in my opinion.

It’s a fair point to not just rely on a few postseason results when making big decisions. But Backstrom’s numbers all season trended downward and after hearing quotes about his hip is anyone really confident he’s going to have a bounceback season? Are we really expecting his hip injury not to flare up again at age 34, even if the off-season rest does him some good? It’s going to be an 82 game grind next season with the Olympics that he will probably be a part of. That concerns me quite a bit.

And Carlson’s defensive play has been in the toilet for years, even ignoring the postseason series I mentioned. The production is usually there but he’s never been a good playdriver and that really hurts in the postseason where it’s relentless waves of attack. Are we really trusting him to suddenly flip a switch and start becoming a good two-way defenseman? I know I’m not.

These are two of the most impactful positions in hockey and these types of question marks need to be addressed IMO, hopefully with legitimate upgrades to at least one of them. The division is going to be too competitive next year to go into the season with these deficiencies.

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

It’s a fair point to not just rely on a few postseason results when making big decisions. But Backstrom’s numbers all season trended downward and after hearing quotes about his hip is anyone really confident he’s going to have a bounceback season? Are we really expecting his hip injury not to flare up again at age 34, even if the off-season rest does him some good? It’s going to be an 82 game grind next season with the Olympics that he will probably be a part of. That concerns me quite a bit.

And Carlson’s defensive play has been in the toilet for years, even ignoring the postseason series I mentioned. The production is usually there but he’s never been a good playdriver and that really hurts in the postseason where it’s relentless waves of attack. Are we really trusting him to suddenly flip a switch and start becoming a good two-way defenseman? I know I’m not.

These are two of the most impactful positions in hockey and these types of question marks need to be addressed IMO, hopefully with legitimate upgrades to at least one of them. The division is going to be too competitive next year to go into the season with these deficiencies.

All fair points. It certainly feels they’re being held together with spit and duct tape and you have to wonder how long this wagon had until the wheels fall off. And without a guy like Kuz to lighten Backstrom’s pack the task becomes more difficult.

What sucks is that we don’t know what they could have done at full strength. I think the team from last year could have made a deep run if they weren’t the walking wounded. But, as has been mentioned here, we can’t count on them getting healthier as they age, so what do you do? Ride the horses that got you here one more time or make potentially franchise altering roster decisions?

 

[Hivemind]

It’s not like the Capitals’ opponents are immune to injury. Tuuka Rask needed surgery after the playoffs, Ondrej Kase was only able to appear in one playoff game, Steve Kampfer needed hand surgery, Curtis Lazar barely dodged post-season surgery, and Charlie Coyle has some undisclosed injury that has him listed as probable for the start of training camp. And that’s just what Boston made public, not the other nagging types of injuries that Caps fans are pinning on out top 6’a woes. If the Caps really are consistently more banged up than their opponents, that’s a risk rather than a good sign for the future.

The Caps are getting older. Their existing injuries are adding up, and their risk of new ones is only increasing. The playoffs rarely provide long layoffs to recover. Next year won’t have a bye week, and any Olympians won’t get an all star break.