Respect for this organization

[KitFisto]

As negative as I've been at times, it's always been due to loving this team so much and suffering so much heartache as all of you have as well. I've been a fan since the early-mid 80s. I remember listening to playoff games on the radio because they weren't on TV.


Players on this squad have been given female nicknames. The owner and GM have been maligned for failure and caring more about entertainment than winning. Well, we won!!!!!!! They stayed the course they believed in and it finally paid off. The players on this team as well as the coaching staff and management have EARNED our respect. No matter how pissed off I get in the future, this group has eased my pain and will always have my respect!


GO CAPS!!!!!!!

[Maacoshark]

I've always tried to remain positive with this team. The only time I was negative about this team was when they brought Jagr in.
    This team has been very close for quite awhile now. Always thought we had the skill but needed more players with heart. Players that hustle. We didnt add any high end talent this year. We added role players. Players that made a difference. DSP was a great pickup. E played a lot better than I thought he would. Stephenson was a pleasant surprise for most people but not for me. I knew we had a very solid player in him. I was disappointed he didn't make the lineup early in the season. I'm glad he got his opportunity. Kempny was also a good addition. Best deadline deal we have made in a long time. I have to admit I wasnt impressed immediately but once he learned the system he fit in well. I think a big key to our success was the development of Wilson. He took several steps ahead. Playing with Kuzy and Ovie will do that but he didn't look out of place at all with those guys.
   Trotz deserves a ton of credit. He did a fantastic job with this team and had them peaking at the end of the year. I hope we sign him

[BlackIce]

The problem with negativity is when it expresses itself in absolutes, as in "this team is never going to win;" "ownership doesn't care about winning, they only care about entertainment and getting people to spend money;" "the organization gets only fancy players, not the down-and-dirty types needed for success;" etc. etc.  Such attitudes are borne of an organization that has not tasted ultimate success -- yet -- and extrapolates to say that success will NEVER occur.  Such absolutes are not existentially true.  They are only true until the day that they aren't.

[KitFistosBrotherInLaw]

As negative as I've been at times
....
GO CAPS!!!!!!!

At times???
However, GO CAPS!!!!!!! Couldn't agree more! 

[OldHat]

The problem with negativity is when it expresses itself in absolutes, as in "this team is never going to win;" "ownership doesn't care about winning, they only care about entertainment and getting people to spend money;" "the organization gets only fancy players, not the down-and-dirty types needed for success;" etc. etc.  Such attitudes are borne of an organization that has not tasted ultimate success -- yet -- and extrapolates to say that success will NEVER occur.  Such absolutes are not existentially true.  They are only true until the day that they aren't.

Somehow this team found the down-and-dirty style of play.  To a man.  This is what brought it home. 

[DC_1908]

Well, first of all, this has been a great day hanging out with one of best friends that I’ve known since the fourth grade, so Im on one fixed riding lawn mower and a combined $300 worth of beer later . . .


Respect, absolutely.


But submission. obedience, blind loyalty, unconditional trust, submission, idol worship . . .  None of us should.


A three year plan that took 10 years. Regular  season “dominance” with early exits, with the mission statement “build a strong team and have a chance in the playoffs”


During this time Kings, Hawks, and Hens* win multiple cups. . . .


So yes, theis year they proved me and most others wrong, great.  But it took 10years.  During that time, our criticisms, and anger where proved correct over and over again.  Could “someday” happen, sure, but:


 Are you willing to wait for “someday” because unchallenged faith and loyalty, or do whatever it takes to destroy anything in your way to get to the first step? 


10 years later;  The first step is finally done, . . . Ok.


We’ve  just started.

[KitFisto]

I knew you'd find a way to bitch about something after winning the cup lol.

[DC_1908]

I knew you'd find a way to bitch about something after winning the cup lol.

Well. . . when you’re on what may be the last case of KBS for the year, it’s sad times

But, worked didn’t it? 🤫

[Maacoshark]

    I have a lot of respect for the organization for what they have built. Some people say the Caps owner and management was only interested in selling tickets and didnt care about winning. I never believed that. They made a lot if moves trying to build a team that could win. Infact sometimes they may have tried too hard to add a piece and ended up making va deal that may have hurt the team more than helped. I disagreed with some of the decisions but I respect the effort.

[DC_1908]

    I have a lot of respect for the organization for what they have built. Some people say the Caps owner and management was only interested in selling tickets and didnt care about winning. I never believed that. They made a lot if moves trying to build a team that could win. Infact sometimes they may have tried too hard to add a piece and ended up making va deal that may have hurt the team more than helped. I disagreed with some of the decisions but I respect the effort.

I wouldn’t say they “didn’t/don’t care” about winnng, I have and still do question what place championshops are in their priority. The marketing, stats, etc. etc. came first, with Championships being left to “have a chance/anything could happen in the playoffs”

We’ve never seen or been given an indication that Caos viewed, or wanted the Cup to be anything other than that. In fact the closest we heard was the “three year plan” in 2010.

So this question will really be answered in the next few seasons.  Is this organization, from Ted to fans, convinced that this is the best team in the league, is this the best course to continue to win championships? 

More importantly how long are we willing to wait for another championship?  3yrs? 5yrs, another 10yrs, even longer?

[justwincaps]

Nice 1st world problem complaining about others complaining about the team, how long it took to win, whether they had the right formula, etc.

For those who questioned the heart, construction, etc of the team, they were proved wrong [me included].   

For those who “always believed” - did you have the same faith 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 3 years ago, 12 months ago?

This board is made up of a variety of personalities .... and I’m so glad it is.   Some are more optimistic, others are more pessimistic.   What unites this board is the singular desire of winning a Cup - which we did less than 72 hours ago.   

To me, it’s pointless to bitch about people who bitched about the lack of success. 

Enjoy the Cup.  Enjoy the differing opinions.  And let’s support this team backing up this Cup with another one next year!

[Maacoshark]

I wouldn’t say they “didn’t/don’t care” about winnng, I have and still do question what place championshops are in their priority. The marketing, stats, etc. etc. came first, with Championships being left to “have a chance/anything could happen in the playoffs”

We’ve never seen or been given an indication that Caos viewed, or wanted the Cup to be anything other than that. In fact the closest we heard was the “three year plan” in 2010.

So this question will really be answered in the next few seasons.  Is this organization, from Ted to fans, convinced that this is the best team in the league, is this the best course to continue to win championships? 

More importantly how long are we willing to wait for another championship?  3yrs? 5yrs, another 10yrs, even longer?

   I think winning was very high on the priority list. Maybe too high. I think they made deals trying to put them in a position to win but ended up hurting themselves. Trading for Erat and Shattenkirk come to mind.
   Who knows what's in store for the future. The core is still here for now but are starting to age. Who knows if we keep Carlson or not. Whether people like him or not, he us a very important piece on this team. Especially on the pp.
    Sure I'd like them to win more cups but we all know how difficult that is. As long as they can stay competitive there is always a chance.

[Maacoshark]

Nice 1st world problem complaining about others complaining about the team, how long it took to win, whether they had the right formula, etc.

For those who questioned the heart, construction, etc of the team, they were proved wrong [me included].   

For those who “always believed” - did you have the same faith 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 3 years ago, 12 months ago?

This board is made up of a variety of personalities .... and I’m so glad it is.   Some are more optimistic, others are more pessimistic.   What unites this board is the singular desire of winning a Cup - which we did less than 72 hours ago.   

To me, it’s pointless to bitch about people who bitched about the lack of success. 

Enjoy the Cup.  Enjoy the differing opinions.  And let’s support this team backing up this Cup with another one next year!
[/m]

     I said after their loss last year that the skill was their but we were lacking in grit. We addressed that a bit by adding a couple players and giving others more opportunities to help. I think a very important move Trotz made this year was putting Wilson on the first line. He got a chance to contribute more and his physical play gave Ovi and Kuzymire space. Stephenson and DSP were good additions.

[Devise]

     I said after their loss last year that the skill was their but we were lacking in grit. We addressed that a bit by adding a couple players and giving others more opportunities to help. I think a very important move Trotz made this year was putting Wilson on the first line. He got a chance to contribute more and his physical play gave Ovi and Kuzymire space. Stephenson and DSP were good additions.

Absolutely. Trotz started focusing on building effective line combinations and not placing people in "positions" to get points or up their draft/personal stock. Playing with Oshie and Nicky, Vrana was forechecking more, defending more, etc for example. Stephenson was a revelation, played every forward position in the playoffs up and down the line up based on injury. Those are the utility guys you need. Combine that with our excellent underrated center depth, and I think people were actually sleeping on us.


If anything I think some of us viewed the team the way the Pens/Bolts did. "Of course they won't win, they are the Caps." We have reverse bias due to a history of failure. That didn't make us any less equipped for the playoffs imo, and the fact that us and so many pundits got everything wrong about these playoffs coming in I think is pretty telling. It's easy to get lost in hype shuffles and narrative changes, DC talks about it all the time. All these other teams played so much 'faster" than us, they said. And it's the new NHL full of speed, they said. But one of the things I always talk about and have in the past, great NHL teams who win the most in the playoffs don't play "one" style. They are able to adapt to the team and situation at hand and then dictate the game from there. Exactly what we did in every single playoff series, where it required us to play a little different to handle each team, each time. Coaching was stellar, but we had the personnel even in injury to allow us to adapt.


Lets not forget against the Pens in the elimination game we had several first timers inserted due to injuries and they all worked like excellent cogs in said machine.

[4 Caps]

   I think winning was very high on the priority list. Maybe too high. I think they made deals trying to put them in a position to win but ended up hurting themselves. Trading for Erat and Shattenkirk come to mind.
   Who knows what's in store for the future. The core is still here for now but are starting to age. Who knows if we keep Carlson or not. Whether people like him or not, he us a very important piece on this team. Especially on the pp.
    Sure I'd like them to win more cups but we all know how difficult that is. As long as they can stay competitive there is always a chance.

Maacoshark, this is dead on and well stated.  There is no doubt that ever since Ted bought this team the goal was to win the Stanley Cup.  Ovie is guoted as saying that in his first year when he was swimming in Ted’s pool, Ted told him they would win the cup one day.  While it took longer than any of us wanted Ted delivered.  One of the critcisims of Ted is that he is too loyal to his employees.  He stuck with McPhee for a long time even though he did not hire him.  Same with Ernie Gruenfield who is still head of the Wizzards.  As we know 4 years ago he finally let McPhee go and replaced him with BMac who has done a great job culminating with winning the Stanley Cup.  IMO we are in good hands with BMac and Trotz as head coach.  No one knows what the future holds but I have confidence in the current leadership of the Caps. 

[DC_1908]

   I think winning was very high on the priority list. Maybe too high. I think they made deals trying to put them in a position to win but ended up hurting themselves. Trading for Erat and Shattenkirk come to mind.
   Who knows what's in store for the future. The core is still here for now but are starting to age. Who knows if we keep Carlson or not. Whether people like him or not, he us a very important piece on this team. Especially on the pp.
    Sure I'd like them to win more cups but we all know how difficult that is. As long as they can stay competitive there is always a chance.

Yeah, and that sounds great and all. . . But, why did it take 10 years and why did so many other teams do it multiple times before we did once?


It comes down is the championship ours, or did we finally get the chance to say that we’re just glad to be here?


We took the long road that equates to  a GPS with Gilbert Godfrey giving driving directions to Stevie Wonder. . .   Now, it needs to be you’ll take this “from my cold, dead, hands”