Speculation: Who should be the new GM of the Washington Capitals?

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

I have a (likely irrational) good feeling about this process.

It's probably because I didn't think Ted would finally go through with canning his GM of near 20 years and he did it. I don't think he'd want to replace that guy without performing due diligence.

 

[Calicaps]

I voted Benning. I'd be ok with Shero or Fenton too.

 

[fedfed]

Ray Shero, ex-Pittsburgh 22 50.00%

 

[Bennett Brauer]

Pens fan voting Shero.

I understand the firing, our organization needs some changes but what everyone says is true, he IS one of the best in the business. If he is hired by the Caps, you guys should be ecstatic, he'll definitely build them into a competitor, a major upgrade over McPhee.

 

[Langway]

Is it the Trotz inside edge angle? Dunno. I wouldn't exactly mind Shero but I would be mindful of whether or not he's capable of truly building up an organization. He's not exactly coming into a barebones operation here but whoever it is will need to augment what's in place at the very least (I'm talking about staff not players). He seems like a bit of a shortcut operator and I'm not sure that's fruitful. I suppose if ownership's patience is thin he may be able to persuade them to overlook those questions. I'd be a bit skeptical.

I went with Maciver. Benning seems like a distant possibility and I sort of consider Will a Sharks lifer. Howson, Fenton & Benning are all interesting options otherwise. Maciver seems the most realistic possibility with the know-how to build and the experience of being part of a winner. Sweeney would be my second choice. Both men have diverse amateur/pro scouting backgrounds to suggest they'd get the nuts and bolts right. Beyond that I'd hope their relationships and experience as part of CHI/BOS would help them surround themselves with the right people and approach as needed.

 

[caps4cup]

Didn't some guy post here that he heard somewhere that the caps would announce they hired Shero and Trotz on Monday? Anything else he could add?

 

[EroCaps]

Shero and Trotz? Yes, please.

Shero has done an extraordinary job in Pittsburgh. I'm fairly surprised at their recent lack of success.

Trotz obviously. If Ovy doesn't want to play the entire ice sheet I'm done with him anyways.

 

[um]

Pens fan voting Shero.

I understand the firing, our organization needs some changes but what everyone says is true, he IS one of the best in the business. If he is hired by the Caps, you guys should be ecstatic, he'll definitely build them into a competitor, a major upgrade over McPhee.

the only thing shero did poorly was drafting and our scouting staff is fantastic, unless GMGM had more influence than i thought. im all for hiring shero.

 

[RandyHolt]

Our scouting staff may be fantastic but I want proof before throwing around such a high compliment in the midst of a failed build from the draft approach.

I know its widely accepted to have improved but I think we are likely middle of the pack. We seem to have focused more on college players / USHL, maybe Sweden / Russia fwiw.

I don't think our drafting has been fantastic, when it and scouting should go hand in hand.

I think we saw with the forsberg pick that all the scouting in the world, or a draft plan can be completely overlooked at a moments notice.

 

[Sam Spade]

Will would be my choice.

Agreed.

I would rather try a new guy than Shero. I give him very little credit for 2009, he did get Guerin, but he had very little to do with the composition of that team. Every team from then on has been worse and butter soft to play against.

Benning is gone, so Will or some young up and comer would be fine by me (sort of like what Columbus did).

p.s. Either the Pens scouting sucks or Shero ok'd lousy picks, because you can not sugar coat his lousy drafts and there lack of organizational talent or direction in drafting. Having all those good young D is great but they all can't play at the same time, so having Maata, Depres, Puoiliot, Harrington, Samuelson is such a waste. All they have up front are grinders, you don't need to draft them. If they are pinning all their hope on Bennett (has been injured at every level of hockey) and the dwarf Gibbons they are dumber than I thought.

 

[ForzaItalia]

Didn't some guy post here that he heard somewhere that the caps would announce they hired Shero and Trotz on Monday? Anything else he could add?

I find this hard to believe so soon after Shero got fired.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

If a Pens fan is voting Shero, that is a pretty good indication that Caps fans shouldn't want him.

 

[Raikkonen]

If a Pens fan is voting Shero, that is a pretty good indication that Caps fans shouldn't want him.

What do the fans know?

Shero needs to make a couple of trades (of the kind McPhee didn't like to execute) and a couple of signings. Caps aren't in ruins yet. I think Shero is capable of that.

The Cup is the different anymal anyway. But getting a pair of D should be doable for him.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

What do the fans know?

Shero needs to make a couple of trades (of the kind McPhee didn't like to execute) and a couple of signings. Caps aren't in ruins yet. I think Shero is capable of that.

The Cup is the different anymal anyway. But getting a pair of D should be doable for him.

Shero's done a fantastic job constructing a dominant defense in Pittsburgh. It's not like he failed miserably in doing that and constructed one that's soft as tissue paper.

 

[ChibiPooky]

If analytics are an important piece of the puzzle for you, note that the Blackhawks are widely considered to be one of the forerunners in NHL analytics. They even commented for a journal earlier this year (obviously no specifics) but they made it clear that analytics are a huge driver for them. So if that's up your alley, MacIver is probably your guy, since it seems likely he'll carry that philosophy to his next team.

 

[FloridaCap]

Shero's done a fantastic job constructing a dominant defense in Pittsburgh. It's not like he failed miserably in doing that and constructed one that's soft as tissue paper.

Still better than ours.

 

[fedfed]

Shero's done a fantastic job constructing a dominant defense in Pittsburgh. It's not like he failed miserably in doing that and constructed one that's soft as tissue paper.

10th in GA in the league. Wouldn't call that domination. Their defense is decent.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Still better than ours.

So that's the standard we should be looking for?

 

[caps4cup]

10th in GA in the league. Wouldn't call that domination. Their defense is decent.

With such a bad goalie and their #1 Dman hurt so much it's pretty good...

 

[PuckBuddy]

I like the fact that Shero's a trade wizard and the development relationship between WB-S and PGH is enviable, but the Pens D corps has sort of languished or been treading water for the past few years and that's really the #1 area of improvement needed for the Caps.

 

[FloridaCap]

So that's the standard we should be looking for?

How would you know what standard guys will bring if they've never been a GM before?

At least with Shero, while not perfect, you know he's better than what we had. I don't think it's time to take risks when Ovechkin will be 29.

 

[strungout]

So that's the standard we should be looking for?

its a start.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

its a start.

Meh, at times this season, there were 29 GMs that would have met that qualification.

 

[artilector]

If Caps could somehow get Shero while maintaining good drafting, I'd be A-OK with hiring him. He's made good trades, good UFA signings, has shown he knows to cash out on players he can't re-sign.

He's not perfect, but I'd definitely consider him an upgrade. Don't know many names on the candidates list, so don't really have an opinion where Shero stacks up compared to the others, especially assistants from successful orgs. But Shero is the first name I've heard that instills reasonable confidence that things will improve, and complete confidence that it won't be a disaster.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

How would you know what standard guys will bring if they've never been a GM before?

At least with Shero, while not perfect, you know he's better than what we had. I don't think it's time to take risks when Ovechkin will be 29.

Well, we know what standard of defense Shero will bring in.

And no, I do not know that Shero is better than what we had. He's just a different kind of mediocre.

I fully expect someone to post a picture of him with the Cup now, so I'll leave this here: