ESPN: Utah-Pitt (speculation/proposal)

[Dipsy Doodle]

And the reason those orgs. took so long to have any positive signs is because they shoved their heads into the septic tank and ignored reality for years. Which is what Dubas will be doing if prioritizing getting back roster players instead of futures. Re-tooling around a 38 year old Crosby is the most illogical strategic objective in the league. Guaranteed to fail miserably and prolong org. irrelevance.

How did the Caps manage to get to where they are this year retooling around a 39 year old Ovechkin, without a prolonged stay at the bottom of the league that guaranteed lotto picks?

 

[Unbiased Fan]

You realize Rakell only has 19 points in 48 playoff games, right?

Intangibles go a long way. He’s no Tom Wilson but he does play with a snarl and can throw around the body. I’d expect him this year to play above his average in playoffs statistically.

Difference maker doesn’t necessarily=star

If he’s on your 3rd line in playoffs your team is in great shape.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

How did the Caps manage to get to where they are this year retooling around a 39 year old Ovechkin, without a prolonged stay at the bottom of the league that guaranteed lotto picks?

Washington has done a decent job drafting and developing depth players, whereas Pittsburgh is the absolute shits at both.

PIT also sold early picks and prospects a little more than Washington, though you can't fault them. They have the hardware to show for it.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Washington has done a decent job drafting and developing depth players, whereas Pittsburgh is the absolute shits at both.

PIT also sold early picks and prospects a little more than Washington, though you can't fault them. They have the hardware to show for it.

What Washington did was have a couple young players break through (Protas and McMichael) and acquired 4 major pieces for pennies on the dollar (Dubois, Strome, Chychrun, Thompson), none of which is out of the question by the time Crosby's the age Ovechkin is now in 2027, particularly since the Pens are well on their way to a top 5 pick this year

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

What Washington did was have a couple young players break through (Protas and McMichael) and acquired 4 major pieces for pennies on the dollar (Dubois, Strome, Chychrun, Thompson), none of which is out of the question by the time Crosby's the age Ovechkin is now in 2027, particularly since the Pens are well on their way to a top 5 pick this year

You right. They're on their way back to being Cup contenders.

 

[Jay Gray]

How did the Caps manage to get to where they are this year retooling around a 39 year old Ovechkin, without a prolonged stay at the bottom of the league that guaranteed lotto picks?

Three bad contracts in Backstrom and Oshie came off the books for LTIRetirement and Kuznetsov agreed to termination. If even two of those three are still playing they're a lottery team. That alone is an incredibly fortunate circumstance. Also the Caps started re-tooling in 2023 around a 37 year old Ovechkin, 33 year old Carlson, and 28 year old Wilson. The PIT core four are 37 average age this year with way more injuries issues in their careers. Washington front office has made excellent decisions and deserve to be relevant again, but expecting their circumstances to be replicable- particularly broadly across the NHL- is unrealistic. The league is designed to have ebbs and flows in team competitiveness. Moreover, we haven't even seen a large enough sample to know if re-tooling like Washington is sustainable or just a flavor of the month that will be memory holed once it doesn't yield long term benefits.

 

[Heldig]

I would take a 1st and a 2nd for Rakell and you keep Macelli.

Utah is not trading a 1st. Certainly not for Rackell.

 

[Vitto79]

Hmmmm not crazy but I’d bet Crouse in the mix

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

You right. They're on their way back to being Cup contenders.

Nobody said that. You just went out of your way to suggest there's only one path back to contention for a team with an aging core - to bottom out for years and collect high picks - and that's obviously not the case.

Teams have to be shrewd and willing to take risks with their cap space, but it can work. It clearly has worked.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Nobody said that. You just went out of your way to suggest there's only one path back to contention for a team with an aging core - to bottom out for years and collect high picks - and that's obviously not the case.

Teams have to be shrewd and willing to take risks with their cap space, but it can work. It clearly has worked.

If PIT can go back and erase 10 years of shit drafting and development, maybe.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Three bad contracts in Backstrom and Oshie came off the books for LTIRetirement and Kuznetsov agreed to termination. If even two of those three are still playing they're a lottery team. That alone is an incredibly fortunate circumstance. Also the Caps started re-tooling in 2023 around a 37 year old Ovechkin, 33 year old Carlson, and 28 year old Wilson. The PIT core four are 37 average age this year with way more injuries issues in their careers. Washington front office has made excellent decisions and deserve to be relevant again, but expecting their circumstances to be replicable- particularly broadly across the NHL- is unrealistic. The league is designed to have ebbs and flows in team competitiveness. Moreover, we haven't even seen a large enough sample to know if re-tooling like Washington is sustainable or just a flavor of the month that will be memory holed once it doesn't yield long term benefits.

And the Pens will have a tremendous amount of cap space in 2027, when they aim to seriously compete again.

They also have a number of prospects doing well in the AHL who project to play roles on the big team next year, a likely top 5 pick this year, and whatever futures they get from the Rakell deal.

The devil's in the details, but the Caps are showing that the path to contention for a team with an older core doesn't always mean stripping a team down to the studs and being a bottom feeder for half a decade.

If PIT can go back and erase 10 years of shit drafting and development, maybe.

The Caps made 3 good trades, one good FA signing, and 2 breakout young players. So...not a consequence of 10 years of good drafting and development.

 

[Jay Gray]

And the Pens will have a tremendous amount of cap space in 2027, when they aim to seriously compete again.

They also have a number of prospects doing well in the AHL who project to play roles on the big team next year, a likely top 5 pick this year, and whatever futures they get from the Rakell deal.

The devil's in the details, but the Caps are showing that the path to contention for a team with an older core doesn't always mean stripping a team down to the studs and being a bottom feeder for half a decade.


The Caps made 3 good trades, one good FA signing, and 2 breakout young players. So...not a consequence of 10 years of good drafting and development.

Sure, if Crosby stays this productive, Dubas painlessly gets out of the Letang, Jarry, Graves contracts, a statistically higher percentage of their current prospects and future picks succeed, and Bettman gifts them McKenna and Dupont they might be able to contend in 2027. But again, the probability is more likely they end up like Chicago in 2021 or Nashville in this season where the re-tool explodes in their face and just prolongs a rebuild.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Sure, if Crosby stays this productive, Dubas painlessly gets out of the Letang, Jarry, Graves contracts, a statistically higher percentage of their current prospects and future picks succeed, and Bettman gifts them McKenna and Dupont they might be able to contend in 2027. But again, the probability is more likely they end up like Chicago in 2021 or Nashville in this season where the re-tool explodes in their face and just prolongs a rebuild.

Complete tear down rebuilds aren't a guarantee of anything either. Ask any Buffalo fan.

I'd rather push my chips in with the best player and leader of his generation while he's still playing high level hockey than bet on whatever comes afterward.

Letang also isn't a deal the Pens need to "get out of". They just need to not play him 23+ minutes a night like he's 5 years younger than he is.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

And the Pens will have a tremendous amount of cap space in 2027, when they aim to seriously compete again.

They also have a number of prospects doing well in the AHL who project to play roles on the big team next year, a likely top 5 pick this year, and whatever futures they get from the Rakell deal.

The devil's in the details, but the Caps are showing that the path to contention for a team with an older core doesn't always mean stripping a team down to the studs and being a bottom feeder for half a decade.


The Caps made 3 good trades, one good FA signing, and 2 breakout young players. So...not a consequence of 10 years of good drafting and development.

What part of depth players didn't you get about Washington's drafting? Hint: There are more than two.

In contrast, PIT's draftees have a combined 83 points over the last NINE DRAFTS.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Utah needs to add

 

[Turin]

Whoever gives up a ransom for Rackell is going to be severely disappointed to learn that they will not also be getting Crosby in the deal too ...

Rakell has been very good this season regardless. He's played with Sid before and never had this much success, he looks like he's in much better shape.

 

[Phil68]

We can't do better than Maccelli ?Sheesh

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

What part of depth players didn't you get about Washington's drafting? Hint: There are more than two.

In contrast, PIT's draftees have a combined 83 points over the last NINE DRAFTS.

Enlighten me. Who, other than McMichael and Protas, are the essential homegrown depth players that the Capitals drafted that Pittsburgh couldn't possibly hope to match.

I'll help. Here's the line-up:

Washington Capitals Line Combinations

Check out the latest Washington Capitals lines for tonight. Complete Capitals line combination, game stats, and season stats updated daily.

www.dailyfaceoff.com

 

[SEALBound]

What part of depth players didn't you get about Washington's drafting? Hint: There are more than two.

In contrast, PIT's draftees have a combined 83 points over the last NINE DRAFTS.

Yeah, I mean when you look at the younger guys contributing in Washington right now and see where they were draft and then look at the Penguins, there were just a ton of misses - Lauzon (injured), Hall, Bjorkvist, Hallander (though he's coming back), Poulin, Kapanen didn't pan out after giving up 15th ov for him. There's an impressive list of draft misses for the Penguins.

 

[qc14]

Rakell has been very good this season regardless. He's played with Sid before and never had this much success, he looks like he's in much better shape.

He's also shooting 17% and is 31 with 3 more years left on his deal. He's been great this season, but there should be some massive warning lights going off to anyone thinking about paying top line winger prices for him

 

[Turin]

He's also shooting 17% and is 31 with 3 more years left on his deal. He's been great this season, but there should be some massive warning lights going off to anyone thinking about paying top line winger prices for him

His season this year is more in line with what he did in Pittsburgh before last year, where his finishing was in the toilet and the powerplay was being completely sabotaged by Reirden. He's been closer to a 60-70 point player for the majority of his time in Pittsburgh than not.