We lose a couple games and now the sky is falling. Same old story around here. Relax people. It's a new system and we've had boatloads of injuries. If any of you guys (and girls) were GM you'd be making a trade every time someone has a bad game. Pretty hard to win games when your second line is sheary, eller and panik. This team is deep and when healthy they are solid.
Giving kuznetsov away would be a mistake. He should have won the Conn Smyth when we won the cup and if you actually aren't biased because of your hate for him, you'd admit that as well. He's a gamer and has been our best player in the post season almost every year (except last, they all sucked it up)
Samsonov has tones of trade value. Let him settle back in and knock the rust off. He hadn't played since last March. We need him and Vanecek this year and Anderson should be put on waivers. Keep the better of the two at the end of year and trade the other for picks and prospects so that Seattle doesn't take one of them instead of Oshie.
Orlov also isn't as bad as many of you believe but I do think he is expendable. If the caps can move him at the deadline for picks and prospects, I could see some non playoff teams being interested in him then (Detroit or Buffalo) or possibly Winnipeg for some depth on their roster as I see them as a playoff team but they need some help in front of Hellebuyck.
If Caps can move Orlov's contract and Oshie gets picked up by Seattle, that will be around 10M in cap space relief.
Trading one of the young goalies and Orlov would fetch a decent return.
The sky ain't falling. Of course we're going to lose the odd game here and there. That's not the issue, for me, anyway.
Firstly, I wish to say that if I had to protect either Oshe or Kuzy, I would protect Oshie EVERY single day of the week and twice on Sundays. Is he the more skilled player?
Hardly! Is he a better centre? No.
But he doesn't EVER take a shift off. He doesn't glide. He doesn't pretend to be pretty. He goes to the net and takes all the punshment that entails. Put him on the wing and he does that job. He isn't the fastest, but he hustles. He forechecks and he is actually more defensively responsible than some of our Dmen. Cough, cough, Dylan.... jus' sayin'. He's not afraid to be physiical.
I would take that mentality and that work ethic over the likes of Kuzy, EVERY day.
And now for Kuzy.
I've had enough.
He's one of the most naturally talented players we've ever had. He reminds me more and more of Sasha Semin every day. All the talent can't make up for lack of heart. The self entitlement, the arrogance. He doesn't just tke the odd shift off, he takes whole games off. He is the epitomy of the "Klub Kettler" culture that we have been trying to shake off for years now.
When he first came here, I could forgive him. He was young. He's been here a while now. It's about time he grew up. He's still more interested in
than anything else.
I say trade him. Let some other team deal with the diva, where he'll actually have to work for and earn his money. Whilst he's here, he's under Ovi's umberella. Under Ovi's Weagle wing protection.
It would be interesting to see if he was quite so cocky in another arena.........
As for the others......... I haven't seen, heard, or read any other apology, other than Ovi's for their gross stupidity that sent them into quarantne.
THAT is what pisses me off.
