Head coaches and star players always get more credit for wins and more blame for losses than they deserve. Hockey is probably the most TEAM win sport there is, so this is especially true.
That being said, the Caps have been the best team in the Metro the last four years. Congrats and kudos to everyone involved.
Trotz is a great coach in the right atmosphere, but he sucked ass for us in the playoffs the previous 2 years (prior to the cup) and the previous 17 years of his career. IMO he cost us NOT A CUP, but a viable shot at it the previous two seasons.
IMO it's a real stretch (okay total fantasy) to say he was held back by management the prior two years (as well as the prior 17 or so?) until his job was gone and then just said, "fuck it...I'm doing it my way" and went on to Finally win a Cup. If that's the case, then he was a spineless Head Coach for 20 years....Meh, not buying.
DC, we know what type of hockey you prefer (as do I), but most of that is gone. I still love the game and the Caps. I don't think Reirdon has what it takes to win a Cup, but I don't think Trotz really did either. I agree with KAZ that Trotz stifled our players rather than allowing them to blossom. Some of both is needed and surely what a great coach does. I'm not touting Reirdon as a great coach. I'd say Trotz is better and I applauded his hiring. He did benefit the Caps, but also eventually hindered them.
I don't have the resources to go back and fact check, but I recall YOU DC saying Trotz was simply out-coached and outclassed in the previous playoff series losses against the HENS. Now you think Trotz is great and it was all GMBM's and Monumental's fault? We know don't like GMBM, but NOBODY is totally at fault for anything. And it is the coaches job to use the resources he has been giving to win.
I think GMBM has done a marvelous job overall. He has managed to provide enough tools to be ultimately successful. Hindsight is always 20/20. Yes he has made mistakes. Yes he has overpaid on some (many) contracts. But some of that is necessary to get the players you need to win. Some of it is a risk, and you have to take those risks to win. Some risks blow up in your face. Shattenkirk was a bust, but a risk worth taking at the time. Kempney was a low level risk signing, but a good acquisition. Jensen deal is a steal. The Orpik salary dumb/trade, buyback for $1mil was brilliant. Maybe just luck there, but trading Orpik's contract HAD to be done. We got lucky and got him back on the cheap. (or maybe someone knew it all along). Yes, he let Beagle walk, but No way is Beagle worth 3 million to THIS TEAM. We simply could not afford that for what is basically a career 4th liner. I love Beags and would love to have him and his skill set, but if you don't pay 2019 Cadillac prices for a 2010 F150 do you? We traded/let walk away Brooks Laich, and Karl Alzner. I loved both of those guys, but neither would have helped the Caps past their tenure here.
We would all like to see better trades and better deals and better players (yes, we need a dominant D man....or 2....or..), but EVERY team out there is after the same thing, and it all has to be managed under the Cap. I think GMBM has done that extremely well in his tenure, especially from where he started. We were salary cap-strung long before GMBM was at the helm.
DC, I'm pretty much on the same side of most of your arguments, but not this yo-yo on Trotz (If my recall from years past is actually correct, and I'm open to the possibility it is not). I disagree on your hatred for GMBM as well. It is not GMBM's fault the league is changing to "women's rules" hockey. It IS his fault if he does not adjust to it.
Also, not sure why you have to berate KAZ. I though most of what he had to say was insightful and well put together. Maybe you think he is a troll cause he's a noob? Still no reason to attack him. That's not very welcoming to new fans/members.
I don't think the Caps have what it takes to win a Cup this year. New coach (maybe he will be great someday, maybe not, but it IS his first year), Aging D and weak on D, injured D. Declining PP, horrible PK. Horrible faceoff. All these things add up to small critical losses at important times. THIS team cannot afford the sum of all these little things. I don't see the Caps getting by Tampa IF we make it that far. (I didn't think we'd get by Tampa last year either
)
I am still going to watch though. I am going to enjoy the battle (I hope). I am going to root for my team. I am going to throw stuff at the TV at times, and hopefully in the end, I will rejoice like I have never (okay, once) before.
GO CAPS