Author Topic: R1G6 Caps vs Panthers @ 7:30pm  (Read 16693 times)

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Offline BlackIce

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Re: R1G6 Caps vs Panthers @ 7:30pm
« Reply #100 on: Friday May 20, 2022, 07:43:35 AM Eastern »
What they need is for Alexeyev to become Karl Alzner.  So far, apparently, it hasn't happened.


As for Backstrom, his situation is a real puzzle.  He is injured; the question is, is it fixable/rehabbable (a word?), or is this a Brooks Laich situation, where he can never be even remotely like he was before?  I think he came back this  year when he was "playable" but not really right, because, well, this franchise treats every year as a contending year as long as Ovechkin is on the roster.  And who else were they going to put out there at 2C, anyway?  McMichael wasn't yet ready, and there's nobody else in the organization who could fill the role long-term.  Yeah, we can fake it with Eller in the role for a few games, but it doesn't work longer than that.


I think the consensus opinion is right here:  The Caps are stuck, salary-cap wise.  They've spent up to the cap to try to give themselves the best roster they can GOING INTO THE SEASON, but they have no in-season flexibility and very little during the off-season trading days.  The only way to break the logjam is to get rid of big, franchise-weighing salary.  That screams Carlson/Backstrom/Oshie, REGARDLESS of what you think of them.  You just aren't going to consistently get franchise-altering players when you consistently pick in the 20's.

Offline richkrt99

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Re: R1G6 Caps vs Panthers @ 7:30pm
« Reply #101 on: Friday May 20, 2022, 02:38:44 PM Eastern »

Yeah, what he said   :pointdown:


I think the consensus opinion is right here:  The Caps are stuck, salary-cap wise.  They've spent up to the cap to try to give themselves the best roster they can GOING INTO THE SEASON, but they have no in-season flexibility and very little during the off-season trading days.  The only way to break the logjam is to get rid of big, franchise-weighing salary.  That screams Carlson/Backstrom/Oshie, REGARDLESS of what you think of them.  You just aren't going to consistently get franchise-altering players when you consistently pick in the 20's.


Further exacerbated by several long term injuries to key (if not aging) players.  Backstrom, Oshie, Mantha out for large portions of the season and then Backstrom obviously playing at 80?% and Wilson going down 90 seconds into the playoffs.  It was already a stretch, but this team at 85% wasn't going far in the playoffs - especially with Jeckyl and Hyde and Polar and Bi-polar manning the net.
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