Post-Game Talk: 10-13-1. "A bunch of donkeys on skates"

[Atlas]

I like Oates as a player and a competitor. Though I wish he woulda shot the *** puck more.

As coach, I don't have a strong indication good or bad. The team is reasonably coherent on the ice. The guys are more or less in the right spot on the ice most of the time. The talent level is just a lot lower than what we are used to from the high octane years. I don't think Oates is bad...and I don't think he is the answer either. But no coach could turn this group into a winner. Wolski as a top 6 winger? Fehr? Schultz on the ice...ever?

Ward and Brouwer have been solid but both are 3rd line guys, not skill guys.

Fire McPhee.
Bring in Burke.
Sell! Sell! Sell! at the trade deadline.
Tank and get a top prospect (they don't have any choice on this one).

 

[sunnydaycrash]

Ted thinks McPhee is a deity. We have a dillema.

You're right....we do. What other GM would replace coaches like they're underwear and not make a move to shake up the team.

So what if someone gets traded and plays well for another team. We hang on to players like they're all superstars in the making. Not only that but McPhee signs them all to long term deals.

Carlson is a good young D, but he's playing like ****.....so is Mojo. The assets are there to trade.
Take a bloody chance for ****s sake. The Washington Capitals are a MESS !

 

[BTCG]

You're right....we do. What other GM would replace coaches like they're underwear and not make a move to shake up the team.

So what if someone gets traded and plays well for another team. We hang on to players like they're all superstars in the making. Not only that but McPhee signs them all to long term deals.

Carlson is a good young D, but he's playing like ****.....so is Mojo. The assets are there to trade.
Take a bloody chance for ****s sake. The Washington Capitals are a MESS !

The coaches have all been given adaquate time. Dale chose to leave.

Watch... Oates will be given time too.

 

[sunnydaycrash]

The coaches have all been given adaquate time. Dale chose to leave.

Watch... Oates will be given time too.

Fair enough, Hunter decided not to come back.....BUT, BB lost the team, Hunter couldn't get the whole team to buy in , especially OV, and along comes Oates, and the team still looks as dysfunctional.

Lets guess what's next....a new coach. When is McPhee held accountable?

 

[Halpysback*]

Fair enough, Hunter decided not to come back.....BUT, BB lost the team, Hunter couldn't get the whole team to buy in , especially OV, and along comes Oates, and the team still looks as dysfunctional.

Lets guess what's next....a new coach. When is McPhee held accountable?

OV bought in. He scored a reasonable amount, hit everything that moved and made very few defensive mistakes. His ice time during leads was capped but he was still effective when put out there. Moreso than he is now with the run and gun.

Hunter's team is as close to a 100% buy in as we're ever gonna get.

 

[artilector]

I agree. He's shown zero capacity to put together a harmonious team with a recognizable, philosophical bent. Seriously, we've had so many disparate pieces over the years it's insane. Slow, puck possession forwards on the same line as speed, transition dependent forwards. Multiple stay at home defenseman in the same pairings, defensively inept puck movers playing together, fast players playing with slow players, slow players playing with somehow even slower players etc. We've tried to be a transition based team, we've tried to be a heavy forechecking team, we've tried to be a puck possession team, we've tried to be a heavily insulated and defensive team etc., all while making only cosmetic changes to the composition of the roster. We've been an inveterate mash of ill-fitting component pieces for the last decade or there about and it's the general managers' primary responsibility to set a club direction that permeates all levels of the organization that's clear and achievable. McPhee has failed miserably in that dept.

This.

Many of McPhee's incremental moves have been individually good, but altogether he has created a giant mess. Of course, it didn't help that Leonsis apparently has very little understanding of hockey/sports, and that Ovechkin has for whatever reason wilted.

I don't even see a chance at improvement without wiping the slate clean.. I wish I could.. and who knows when that will happen. Somebody mentioned Calgary Flames.. we're not far from that territory. Although this short season might be so shockingly bad that we'll tank our way out of the "9th place team" twilight zone. But then what happens next season?

I don't know, it's effin terrible, really. Especially after watching the high-flying team of just a couple of years ago, it's really hard to watch many of the same guys play both individually and collectively like shadows of themselves.

Blow it up. I mean at this point, what else can one reasonably suggest as a path to get back to being a contender?

 

[BTCG]

Fair enough, Hunter decided not to come back.....BUT, BB lost the team, Hunter couldn't get the whole team to buy in , especially OV, and along comes Oates, and the team still looks as dysfunctional.

Lets guess what's next....a new coach. When is McPhee held accountable?

In my best Detroit rap:

If the team is in the black... he be back!

 

[EHCler]

So what are we gonna get for Ribeiro??

first + x I would guess lets take it. We need to load up our prospect pool again.

 

[Chimaera]

I don't feel bad if Oates gets whacked. I though he was a bad play to the fans and ownership hire to begin with. They need an experienced coach not new NHL head coach #3.

Bring in an experienced hand and it will turn things around.

 

[BTCG]

So what are we gonna get for Ribeiro??

first + x I would guess lets take it. We need to load up our prospect pool again.

Why would we deal #9?

 

[sunnydaycrash]

OV bought in. He scored a reasonable amount, hit everything that moved and made very few defensive mistakes. His ice time during leads was capped but he was still effective when put out there. Moreso than he is now with the run and gun.

Hunter's team is as close to a 100% buy in as we're ever gonna get.

I wouldn't go as far as saying OV bought in. The team still looked dysfunctional. Hunter instilled a dummy proof system and yeah it worked, if you consider a 2nd round exit successful, but Boudreau got the Caps just as far.

The Caps fell apart cos McPhee and Boudreau listened to the media after losing to the Habs, I mean losing to Halak. They haven't been the same since.

 

[BTCG]

I don't feel bad if Oates gets whacked. I though he was a bad play to the fans and ownership hire to begin with. They need an experienced coach not new NHL head coach #3.

Bring in an experienced hand and it will turn things around.

You know this script. Articles will be wriiten... talking heads will openly speculate Adam's demise... and one day, Ted will issue a heartfelt blog... telling us how he's given it deep thought, and he's decided to stay with Adam.

They don't want to pay 2 coaches for this. Paying one is bad enough.

 

[BTCG]

I wouldn't go as far as saying OV bought in. The team still looked dysfunctional. Hunter instilled a dummy proof system and yeah it worked, if you consider a 2nd round exit successful, but Boudreau got the Caps just as far.

The Caps fell apart cos McPhee and Boudreau listened to the media after losing to the Habs, I mean losing to Halak. They haven't been the same since.

This team is a result of years of mistakes. We don't judge talent well at any level, not just in later round drafting. We need real NHL players on every level, offence, defence + goaltending.

There's no quick fix here. We need some fresh eyes to come in and evaluate the organization on all levels.

 

[sunnydaycrash]

This team is a result of years of mistakes. We don't judge talent well at any level, not just in later round drafting. We need real NHL players on every level, offence, defence + goaltending.

There's no quick fix here. We need some fresh eyes to come in and evaluate the organization on all levels.

Couldn't agree more

 

[Calicaps]

Don't forget about his musical chairs with goalies. When it hasn't been a one-two year rental with a vet, it's been a new rookie every postseason.

This is a really important point.

 

[sunnydaycrash]

Just watched Bondra's 5 goal game in 1994 on the NHL vault through gamecenter.
First thing that jumped out at me....effort. They never stopped skating.
That, and character. Someone barely ran over Miller and Iafrate stepped right in and started throwing them.

Bloody hell even John Slaney looked better than most of our D.

Also watched a few minutes of the Caps Pens BB era games....you know, OV was floating ALOT.....the big difference is he always, and I mean always got the puck. That Habs series seriously damaged this team psychologically.

 

[Atlas]

I sincerely doubt the Capitals will win the Cup while Ted Leonsis owns the team. He doesn't love hockey. You shouldn't pretend to love something because you thought you were going to die in a plane and then didn't. It was a mistake for him to buy a hockey team on a whim. You buy and operate a hockey team because you love the game. No other reason.

We are in purgatory, folks.

 

[bonzaibondra12]

The only player I see not giving effort is Ovechkin. The others are but aren't skilled enough to score often.

He floats around the d just swinging his stick around. Then stands at the blue line. Gets the puck, does some move right into the defender or shoots it right into their stick.

Get rid of him. I don't care if he tears it up at his next team. He isn't going to do that here.

 

[fedfed]

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/spor...-15/nhl-general-manager-candidates/53562872/1
Pierre McGuire
No, seriously, Pat Brisson

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I like Oates as a player and a competitor. Though I wish he woulda shot the *** puck more.

As coach, I don't have a strong indication good or bad. The team is reasonably coherent on the ice. The guys are more or less in the right spot on the ice most of the time. The talent level is just a lot lower than what we are used to from the high octane years. I don't think Oates is bad...and I don't think he is the answer either. But no coach could turn this group into a winner. Wolski as a top 6 winger? Fehr? Schultz on the ice...ever?

Ward and Brouwer have been solid but both are 3rd line guys, not skill guys.

Fire McPhee.
Bring in Burke.
Sell! Sell! Sell! at the trade deadline.
Tank and get a top prospect (they don't have any choice on this one).

Burke is not a tanker he will do EVERYTHING he can to avoid that. If you want to tank he is the wrong guy

 

[Halpysback*]

Burke is not a tanker he will do EVERYTHING he can to avoid that. If you want to tank he is the wrong guy

I'd imagine we'd bring him in after the season is over

 

[CAPITAL PUNISHMENT]

not winnin' for Mckinnon!
or
F*in off for Barkov??

 

[RandyHolt]

As Dr Hand would say, we will probably, squeak by.

Heck, Bruce and Dale both made it in on the last day possible to do so.

When half the teams make the playoffs, I think almost any team no matter their record can still make the playoffs halfway through the season.

The playoffs are what, a paltry ****ing 6 points away? I don't know, I never look at the standings until the last month of the season. Ovi has barely laced up his skates. Laich easily our 2nd best scoring winger, hasn't yet played. The goalies cannot get much worse. We have Hammer bag skating keeping everyone else motivated on D ahead of him. Oates can't get any happier with his losses. Panthers twice, a lock for 4 free points.

The problem is bigger than this season and making the playoffs, its George's lack of vision on how to construct a team. He avoids significant roster trades, experienced coaches that threaten his job security; trades where he feels like he is not looting another GM, even if he ends up stuck with the flawed player that amazingly someone had interest in. He rewards players being good in the locker room and off the ice more than their on ice performance. He can play hard ball with his own players. I could go on.

 

[strungout]

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The best thing to do for your team IMO (Sens fan with a bit of love for the Caps but not much for Ovi these days) is to stay the course and don't panic: create a culture within the team of what is expected of players who play for the Capitals.
It will take a while but it's for the best. Also get Ovi back on track: take the C away from him and tell him he has to earn it back.