What should the Caps do before the trade deadline?

[BlackIce]

So here we are in President's Trophy position.  But the playoffs are another matter.


We made a move for Eller to try to solve the 3rd line problem.  It seems to have worked out Meh so far.


Now other clubs are starting to make moves - Carolina of course just made a huge trade. 


Do we do more, or do we stand pat?  Astoundingly, our defense is now occupying the league's top spot - I'd be surprised if anything is done there.  The goaltending has shown itself this year to be among the league's best.  I don't think anything could be done there without upsetting team chemistry, even if one wanted to do something.  That leaves the forwards, who have been somewhat erratic OFFENSIVELY, but not necessarily defensively.  The thing is, we have an abundance of players per se, but do we need upgrades, and if so, where?  Because we have plenty of players, it probably means we'd look to, and maybe almost have to, trade away roster players to get somebody.  When at least the teams out of contention are really looking to stock up on prospects and draft picks.


We face the annual conundrum:  Does standing pat show confidence in the team, or does it show that management doesn't care about giving the team the best chance to win?  The higher you are in the standings, the worse the conundrum gets, because you can get the blowback that you are messing with team chemistry.  Plus, the way the Caps are structured/playing, there aren't any glaring weaknesses, which is what deadline acquisitions are best designed to address (as opposed to marginal upgrades).  Heck, it might be argued that our #1 offensive issue right now is L1, with Ovie maybe dragging it down -- and we know nothing is going to be done there.


Now there could always be a significant injury somewhere, which would dictate a move.  But what do we do if things continue basically as they are, and we remain around the top of the standings?

[Surreylily]

The only person I'm concrned about is McMike.   He started off really well, then totally disappeared after the break, in spite of Carbs moving him around to try to get him going again.   I think there are enough people currently riding the pine that could replace him.   
Maybe hes just going through a slump.  It happens.
maybe trade him and Vrana for picks?


Apart from that, I cant see who we might get as an upgrade to what we already have.

I definitely want to see more of Frank.

[alta]

As things stand now, I wouldn’t change anything. The only thing that I see needing improvement is the faceoffs, which has slowly improved. The problem is this team can’t afford to do much without moving too many pieces.

[Mickstix]

Im always in the "stand pat" camp, when the team looks this good. Yet they never do.


Im still only worried about Ovi and the record. That's the 1st order of business. But they'll need a #1 LW and RW eventually. Strome has also cooled off as 1C, but all that could be due to Ovi, who knows.


I'd figure out how to sign LT and Chicky. That'd be plenty before the deadline, imo. We have plenty of depth guys in Hershey and riding pine, imo.

[Mickstix]

https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1883983464682447314

[alta]

The salary cap is supposed to get a good bump this off season, but the Caps are still going to have to dump some, somewhere.


https://capwages.com/teams/washington_capitals

[Mickstix]

Mange 5.8m, Roy 5.75m, Bear 2m. (if he's still on the books) Raddysh 1m.


I didn't realize we already pay Chicky 4.6m, so finding another million or three shouldn't be that hard?

[Surreylily]

https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1883983464682447314

 

[richkrt99]

I think this is good move for the Caps. Thompson's only 27 so this plays him to age 33 which is still decent prime for a goalie
Good for Thompson.  He's shown he's worth it.  Dude just went from $766k a year to 5.85mil next year.  Not a bad bump in pay. 

That's pretty big spend for a goalie.  Does this mean No more Lindy?  He's proven to be a reliable GT, although IMO not a top tier guy.  He's certainly do a pay raise.  Can the caps afford another $3m in GT salary?

[richkrt99]

Mange 5.8m, Roy 5.75m, Bear 2m. (if he's still on the books) Raddysh 1m.

I didn't realize we already pay Chicky 4.6m, so finding another million or three shouldn't be that hard?

I'd love to find a way to hang on to Chicklets - he really helps drive this team.  He is basically a (better) replacement for JC when he is done.
The top 20 NHL defensemen salaries in the league go from 11.5m down to 8.0m (our own Johnny C.) this season.  Chicklets certainly has argument to be in that group - at least in the bottom end of it.  I think he's gonna need 8m to stay.  That's tough pill to swallow with Ovi, PLD, JC taking up 30% of the cap hit with just the three of them.
Dowd, Eller, Raddysh are all FA next year, but they are budget guys.  You can have all three for <$5m a season.  I think they all have that value in this group, plus they are know entities
Vranna, Mangi, Bear you let go, Dowd I'm sure they will re-sign. I'm okay with Eller for 1 more year, and Raddysh at 1m is a bargain.

F'n internet been down at work for 3 hours.  Makes it hard to get anything done with no email, no phones, no work files to access, no quickbooks.

FU Comcast!

[alta]

I haven’t looked myself, but I’m curious if Starlink is cheaper than comcast, or at least competitive with what they offer.

[Beaglefan2]

On one hand, I like the LT signing, but long term goalie contracts make me nervous.  He has certainly played great for us and hopefully he will be solid for years to come. I think Chucky will not want to extend as a backup and will want to go to a team with a shot to start.


Regarding extending Chyckrun - we are unfortunately hamstrung for one more year with Carlsons and Ovis contracts.  Not sure how they get around that even with the cap going up.  I think the assumption that you could get Chyckrun done at $8M is low.  He is gonna end the season with 20 goals and somebody is going to break the bank for him - say 6 years a $9M or more. I think the only way we keep him is if he really likes the environment with the Caps and sees them as a Cup contender.


Regarding the trades, we usually pick up a veteran defenseman at the deadline and throw away a 2nd or 3rd round pick, but this time they should be comfortable with what they have with Alexyev and McIlrath on the bench.  The only guy I would like them to trade is Mangiopani.  I really liked him in the beginning, but he has faded and he is very small and not well suited for the physicality of the playoffs. His contract though will make him hard to move.

[Mickstix]

McMike 2.1m  Wonder what we could get for him? Was hoping it was a slump, but think it's time to admit his early season was the fluke. 

[Beaglefan2]

One other factor to consider is that they will definitely sign Leonard at the end of his season and he could be eligible for the playoffs.  Maybe he won't be ready for that yet, but maybe he will. I'd be surprised if they counted on that so it may not impact their trade plans.


On another note, that highlight they showed of little Protas was awesome!  That kid could be on the fast track.

[BlackIce]

One other factor to consider is that they will definitely sign Leonard at the end of his season and he could be eligible for the playoffs.  Maybe he won't be ready for that yet, but maybe he will. I'd be surprised if they counted on that so it may not impact their trade plans.


On another note, that highlight they showed of little Protas was awesome!  That kid could be on the fast track.

Interestingly, Leonard is not being quite as productive this year as he was last year.  He is goals-wise, but not assists-wise.  Of course, that could be because of the players surrounding him; we don't know about that.  But you are right, all indications are that they are going to sign him and bring him on board in DC rather than Hershey after his college season is over.  The organization is talking as if they see him as a bonafide addition to the roster, but how well could he blend in, coming in at the very end of the season? 


I've been keeping an eye on the stats for "little" Protas all season.  He is having a fabulous age 18 season at Windsor.  I fully expect that he will return to juniors for his age 19 season, though one never knows.  He is as tall as his brother, but doesn't weigh as much - probably just a matter of a few years of maturity.  I think the consensus is that he has more skill than his older brother had at the same age, which, given his brother's progression, is a scary thought.  THANK GOODNESS the Caps got the chance to draft him before his emergence, AND his brother's emergence in the NHL this season.  Given all that, he'd probably go near the beginning of the first round were he to be in the draft this summer.  We'd have never had a prayer of getting him.  We can dream on the "twin towers" in the lineup in a few years. 

[Beaglefan2]

I think if Leonard were an elite skater he would have a chance to play in the post-season, but his skating is just average.  They will probably just sign him and have him practice with the team and be a scratch through the playoffs, but you never know.


I think they are very pleased with Ethan Frank and I bet he stays up for the balance of the season, meaning Miro stays in Hershey and Vrana rides the pine. I bet they sign Frank to a deal as well. It would suck if they waited this long on him, then he proves he should have been up sooner, then they lose him in free agency.


The guy I am still thinking could be vulnerable is Mangiopani.  He tries hard and gets some chances, like he did last night, but he seems to have a hard time converting on his chances.  His contract though will make it hard for them to sit him or trade him.

[richkrt99]

I haven’t looked myself, but I’m curious if Starlink is cheaper than comcast, or at least competitive with what they offer.

I have Starlink at home.  It is the bomb if you live in the boonies like me - where nothing high speed is available.
I have had it for 2 years at home and maybe...MAYBE had outage for a short period only twice during HEAVY snowstorm.  Waited a few months on waiting list, starlink dish arrived.  less than hour install and setup (which is basically mount on the roof, plug in the router, let it point, run the app on phone and BOOM, you up and running.

$120/month, no data limit, we streaming netflix, downloading, running 13 devices, 8 phones, 6 laptops, 4 tv's, playstation, etc, etc.
It's not limitless but it has been 100% awesome for me.  We have never had a lag despite several peeps in the house all using simultaneously

No cable or high speed internet available for us, and we have a DirecTV because my in-laws live with us, and when you can't access dish because of snow or rain, we bump DirecTV over to starlink internet and watch DirecTV thru that.

I would 100% cancel DirecTV if not for in-laws (and they pay for it).  I could get all the TV i want thru streaming services and you can get monumental APP to watch all the Caps games