Talk about Capitals hockey & more! > Washington Capitals & Other Hockey Discussion
What happens now.
Mickstix:
Didn't know they "had" to protect guys with NTC's? NHL makes a bunch of special rules for the expansion, surprised they didn't shitcan that one as well. lol Either way, for the Carlson's and the Kuzy's they can get back more then just a salary dump, if they do decide/try to move them, imo. But it's the Caps, so expecting some big moves is probably not gonna happen. If the Krackers take Dillon or Schultz and they trade a couple other smaller contracts for even smaller contracts, they'll probably be able to squeeze in under the cap with the same core group and disappoint us for a few more years! :) :raspberry:
Beaglefan2:
I saw that they had to protect Backy for some reason. The guy I think they will lose will be Sheary. He is the relentless type of player that you need in the playoffs and has some term at a reasonable cost. I hate to lose him.
I don't think they take Jensen. Yes, he had a good rebound year and can skate and move the puck, but he is not big enough or strong enough for the playoffs.
Dillion is big enough and strong enough but his defense isn't great and his cap number is bigger than it should be.
So for me, I think they take Sheary, with an outside chance they take Vanacek. Really hate to lose Sheary.
BlackIce:
--- Quote from: Beaglefan2 on Tuesday July 20, 2021, 10:38:13 AM Eastern ---I saw that they had to protect Backy for some reason. The guy I think they will lose will be Sheary. He is the relentless type of player that you need in the playoffs and has some term at a reasonable cost. I hate to lose him.
I don't think they take Jensen. Yes, he had a good rebound year and can skate and move the puck, but he is not big enough or strong enough for the playoffs.
Dillion is big enough and strong enough but his defense isn't great and his cap number is bigger than it should be.
So for me, I think they take Sheary, with an outside chance they take Vanacek. Really hate to lose Sheary.
--- End quote ---
Nobody has a clue who Seattle will take from the Caps. I've seen so-called "experts'" draft mocks with Sheary, Jensen, Dillon, Dowd, and Vanacek mentioned. If there is a argument that the Caps have done well in preparing for this draft, it would be that they have exposed a bunch of middling players with no clear favorite as a piece that would be desirable for Seattle to take to be part of a "core group." Really -- is there ANY player that the Caps would lose from those they have exposed that would be a crushing blow to the franchise, even in the short term?
alta:
--- Quote from: BlackIce on Tuesday July 20, 2021, 11:51:01 AM Eastern ---
Nobody has a clue who Seattle will take from the Caps. I've seen so-called "experts'" draft mocks with Sheary, Jensen, Dillon, Dowd, and Vanacek mentioned. If there is a argument that the Caps have done well in preparing for this draft, it would be that they have exposed a bunch of middling players with no clear favorite as a piece that would be desirable for Seattle to take to be part of a "core group." Really -- is there ANY player that the Caps would lose from those they have exposed that would be a crushing blow to the franchise, even in the short term?
--- End quote ---
Ovechkin. Only because of his ability to fill the arena.
So you agree Carlson is replaceable then. Interesting.
BlackIce:
--- Quote from: alta on Monday July 19, 2021, 11:04:23 AM Eastern ---
and yet, the organization NEEDS to get better and dump major salary to do so.
I'm curios, Do you have ANY opinions on how they can do that? Or are they supposed to remain stagnant for the joy of the fans in the regular season?
--- End quote ---
I think Ted Leonsis may be trapped.
When Ovechkin came into the league, Ted promised him that he would do all he could to build a Stanley-Cup-contending team around him, and try to maintain that status to give him as many chances as possible to win Cups. While one may quibble with the types of teams that have been built to try to accomplish this, to me there is no question that Ted has made a good-faith attempt to keep that promise. And the franchise did achieve it, once.
Players have come and gone continuously over these past 15 years, but the team has never really "reloaded" or "rebuilt" during that time. The emphasis has always been on incremental changes to try to shore up weak areas and make the team "just that little bit better." That is a TOUGH way to build up to a championship -- to try to maintain a core that becomes increasingly expensive and inevitably ages over the years, and find just the right complementary pieces to get over the top.
To me, there has been one, and only one, exception to that rule, and that was letting Holtby go. But that decision was driven partially by the Caps finally pricing themselves into a Salary Cap corner, and partially by Holtby's deteriorating performance after 2018. It seems to me that this past season was the one that the Caps should have taken the opportunity to make some major changes, if they were going to ever do it while Ovechkin was still around. The combination of having untested goalies, and the uncertainty surrounding how the season would play out due to COVID, made this a time to say "Hey, it isn't going to happen this season. Let's try to regroup/reload here." But maybe they couldn't do anything even if they wanted to, because other teams may have pulled in their horns due to COVID uncertainties. They did make one major move, acquiring Mantha. Time will tell how that plays out. But even that really was an incremental rather than a foundational move, because they traded significant draft assets to make it happen.
I think the team needs to take a few steps back to move forward. But I doubt that it happens until Ovechkin leaves the franchise. Until then it will be "do everything to maximize the team's capabilities, and spend up to the salary cap to do it." Once Ovechkin leaves, THEN you will probably see a thorough housecleaning. And Ted will market it as "The beginning of a new era."
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