The ‘23-‘24 boredom thread.. no square poop allowed

[Mickstix]

They'll gain a few roster spots in the next week. 

[Beaglefan2]

Sgarbosa has played great. I was suprised to learn he is actually 31 - I thought he was a lot younger.

[alta]

Just looking at the current lineup. It appears the Caps can send Miro and Dubι back to Hershey as necessary without waivers. I assume Lapierre would be the 3rd guy, pretty sure he’s still waiver exempt as well. That makes room for Dowd, Fever and Oshie to come off IR. If Kuzy comes back this season, which I really don’t expect, the Caps may have to waive someone, assuming no one else is hurt.

I didn’t realize Sgarbossa was that old either. But this team needs depth at center, can’t afford to lose him yet.

[Mickstix]

The fork is this about?    Nothing serious I hope.


https://twitter.com/sammisilber/status/1763218634732642327

[alta]

Word is Jensen and Milano are ready to go against Pilly. Management doesn’t need to send anyone to Hershey until tomorrow.

Jensen did practice in a knee brace today, will be a game time decision tomorrow.

[Mickstix]

And Osie and Fever are making progress and Wilson is questionable for tomorrow.

[Mickstix]

Would love to beat the Flyers. Just hope management doesn't get any stupid ideas if we do. We've gained like 1 point on the teams we're chasing in the last 10 games (and we've played about as well as we have all year in that stretch) With 24 games to go, there's no chance we gain the 6+ points needed catch anyone for a playoff spot. The law of averages and the loser point makes it practically impossible, imo.

And Chucky gets the start! 


https://twitter.com/TomGulittiNHL/status/1763597389649072222

[waynerivers]

I wonder what the over/under is on Ovie getting 10 even strength goals.  By my count, he has 6 for the season.

[alta]

https://twitter.com/eliteprospects/status/1763625946471387410

[alta]

Miro and Dubι skated as extras this morning. I expect these two are gonna get sent to Hershey to make room for Jensen and Milano. Nothing official yet.


Lindy in net tonight.

[Mickstix]

Hmmm..


https://twitter.com/sammisilber/status/1763946142943920151

[Beaglefan2]

Looks like they put Kuzy on waivers so they could send him to Hershey.  I don't really read much into that as they want him to get some games in and nobody is going to claim that contract.

[Beaglefan2]

So Mantha scores again and I have to say that he is playing so well, that he would be a really good pickup for somebody at the deadline. I'm even dreaming that they could get a first rounder for him, if they retained enough salary.


This whole thing about them owing Ovi to keep the team in playoff contention really ticks me off.  Ovi has been the heart and soul of the franchise, but he has won his Cup, he has been paid a ton of money and he has been idolized by the fans. They don't "owe" him anything at this point.  Honestly, he has fallen off a cliff this year in terms of his skating, his energy level and he has not played that well - to the point that he probably would have been benched if he was not Ovi.


Don't get me wrong, I love Ovi, and I wish he would fire up the engine again and score a ton of goals, but I don't want the franchise to continue putting off a rebuild and have a miserable 10 year stretch.

[Mickstix]

I don't think I'd do a deal for Mantha if they DIDN'T offer a 1st round pick. We need to replace that position and output anyway and I don't think there's any RW's of that caliber available at the deadline? I'd think about resigning him at around 4m x 3, if he'd take it. He's 29 and we (should) have lots of cap space and roster spots for youngsters to fill into next year.


I don't think they needed to put Kuzy on waivers to send him to Hershey. Least not for a "conditioning" stint. This feels more like a severing of ties to me. See if someone takes him and probably try and trade or buy him out in the offseason if not.

[alta]

There is no need to put an established player on waivers to be sent to the AHL as long as it is for conditioning, getting back in shape after an injury/absence. There is a maximum number of games allowed for such. Not as many as you’d think either, 2 or 3 if I remember correctly.

Interesting how this is not on the Caps or the Caps PR feed, it’s not at Caps dot com either, as of 6:45pm Saturday. The team is just ignoring it. There is a story at NHL dot com about it..

https://twitter.com/NoVa_Caps/status/1764026722381394300

[waynerivers]

Good riddance to Kuz.  They need to make this the first step in a serious rebuild.  Speaking of which, that Wilson deal doesn't look good at all.  He's lost most of his physicality, has 13 goals in 58 games, is a -19 and 4th in the league in PIM.  I'm not sure he's even tradeable at this point.  Signing him to a 7 year deal after the injury sounds like a huge mistake.  3 years, maybe, but that's it.

[Beaglefan2]

Good to know about Kuzy not needing to go through waivers.  I thought it was kind of surprising that he wasn't in the program longer and it makes me wonder if he wasn't cooperating with the program and the Caps had just had enough. Usually, teams try and be as supportive as possible, to the point that they give guys multiple chances - which the Caps have done, but I guess they just hit their limit and maybe they are positioning to not have to pay out his contract - just a guess.  I bet there will be some discussion about that.

[alta]

Idon’t expect anyone to claim him at his current contract. If he’s not claimed he’s supposed to report to Hershey, if he wants to remain in the NHL system. He is of course free to return home and play in the KHL, which I’d bet on at this point.


20 hours after waiving Kuzy there is still no statement in print by the management. Nothing at the Caps or Caps PR twitter feeds and nothing on the website. I don’t recall seeing them ignore the news when a player gets waived, especially someone like Kuzy. They did post a video yesterday, apparently they think no one is capable of reading anymore as there is still nothing in print from management.

https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1764018434734514252

[Mickstix]

If he declines the Hershey trip, what's the situation with his contract? I wish him well, either way. He didn't pan out as a Capital icon or anything, but he provided many happy moments and one hell of a season and ot gwg vs the Penguins, on the way to the Cup!

[alta]

I think the Caps retain control of his contract until the current one expires. If he declines to play in Hershey the Caps have to release the contract for him to play under the NHL system. That’s only for one more season, he’s a UFA after ‘24-‘25. If the Caps don’t release him he pretty much has to go Europe to play to stay in shape, assuming he wants to continue to play hockey in North America.