Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap Part XLVII

[Monsterrain]

I think for sure they are penciling orlov in for greenies spot on the 3rd pair. Now who hes paired with i dont have a clue. I wouldnt be against gleason but i wouldnt mind seeing one of our young guys step up. Now if we can only find someone to bite on laich.

 

[FloridaCap]

I think for sure they are penciling orlov in for greenies spot on the 3rd pair. Now who hes paired with i dont have a clue. I wouldnt be against gleason but i wouldnt mind seeing one of our young guys step up. Now if we can only find someone to bite on laich.

Nobody is going to bite on Laich.

Brouwer is the one we have to move. Dude is straight up ****ing garbage, but still puts up pretty stats so he's movable.

 

[Raikkonen]

Nobody is going to bite on Laich.

Brouwer is the one we have to move. Dude is straight up ****ing garbage, but still puts up pretty stats so he's movable.

1) I think Laich has value

2) that has to be litmus test for GMBM - if he will identify TB's problem and indeed move him for profit


PS: Brouwer had very good looks in these 8 games. Maybe if he scored a couple we wouldn't be so upset with him. So a little puck luck for him could change the situation. But I can't say he was sniping any corners. He shanked, missed the net completely or marked the goalie's crest. Not good enough.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

PS: Brouwer had very good looks in these 8 games. Maybe if he scored a couple we wouldn't be so upset with him. So a little puck luck for him could change the situation. But I can't say he was sniping any corners. He shanked, missed the net completely or marked the goalie's crest. Not good enough.

It's not puck luck when it's a 72 game sample. The guy is garbage and needs to be booted from this team.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

It's not puck luck when it's a 72 game sample. The guy is garbage and needs to be booted from this team.

It's funny. I was thinking about possible replacements for him in his top-6 and PP spot, and initially thought, "Man, TJ Oshie would be absolutely perfect". Then I looked at his playoff record. Yikes. I guess you never know. Grittiness does not automatically lead to playoff performance.

 

[peterthegreat12]

So which players from Hershey get a chance next year? Brown, Vrana, Carrick, etc.?

I would like to see Brown get a legit chance. Has looked impressive in Hershey this year.

 

[FloridaCap]

1) I think Laich has value

2) that has to be litmus test for GMBM - if he will identify TB's problem and indeed move him for profit


PS: Brouwer had very good looks in these 8 games. Maybe if he scored a couple we wouldn't be so upset with him. So a little puck luck for him could change the situation. But I can't say he was sniping any corners. He shanked, missed the net completely or marked the goalie's crest. Not good enough.

Even if he converted his few chances, I'd want him gone.

He's viewed as good defensively just because he's a grinder -- but watch him in the d-zone. He's an absolute trainwreck. He's sooooo slow that he's always behind the play, then when he finally gets the puck he always tries to chip it out. Which leads to it staying in. Over and over. Watch the only Rangers goal last night. Brouwer loafing around the entire d-zone in slow motion, chasing pucks and never getting to them.

He's awful offensively, he's awful defensively. He's the single worst passer on the team. He might be the slowest player on the entire team. I've wanted his ass gone for years and now is no different.

Deal Brouwer, and use his money on Fehr/Ward/Green/etc

 

[thelebaron]

So which players from Hershey get a chance next year? Brown, Vrana, Carrick, etc.?

I would like to see Brown get a legit chance. Has looked impressive in Hershey this year.

yeah id like to see brown given a good look at as well. thought hes looked good during his few callups

 

[noptov]

Nobody is going to bite on Laich.

Oh, I think somebody bites on Laich (and not just his girlfriend ). The whole cap hit higher than salary is an attractive proposition to some bottom feeding teams. Plus, if your team is going to be bad, they might as well be laichable

 

[artilector]

It's hard to imagine it will be a problem to trade Laich, in the worst case adding some middle-round pick. Depending on what else they do, it would be absolutely worth it.

Caps were able to trade a broken Chris Clark, other teams have pretty much had no problems in similar cases.

I'd be more concerned about the Caps' brass thought-process on the matter. I doubt they pull the trigger on Brouwer, but I am hopeful that the cap situation won't leave them much choice with Laich.

 

[Hivemind]

Chris Clark didn't carry a $4.5M cap hit.

 

[MW6]

Chris Clark didn't carry a $4.5M cap hit.

That isn't necessary a negative thing to some teams, considering his salary is lower than his cap hit. Just on top of my head, Arizona is one team that should be interested. Hardworking vet with leadership qualities, to guide the young ones.
Ducks got lots of cap space both an internal budget, and BB always loved BL.
Toronto isn't afraid to eat salary while rebuilding for the cost of a pick.

Something should be able to work out.

 

[artilector]

Chris Clark didn't carry a $4.5M cap hit.

Sure, but then the cap ceiling wasnt 71.5M, either. And Laich has more left in the tank.

Doesn't seem like a crazy difference.

 

[Calicaps]

@ngreenberg: 2015 NHL UFA rankings via Sportsnet:

1. Dubnyk
2. Ribeiro
3. Green
4. Franson
5. Soderberg

Buy or sell?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...-antoine-vermette-mike-green-justin-williams/

52 gonna get paid....

 

[Monsterrain]

52 gonna get paid....

Good for him. Orlov is better.

 

[Langway]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-top-3-contenders-for-mike-babcock/

8. As European-based scorers like Steve Moses and Artem Panarin find NHL employment, another one hopes to make the leap. Derek Ryan, a Spokane-born former Alberta Golden Bear, led the Swedish league in scoring with 60 points in 55 games for Orebro. He’s 28 and not the biggest guy in the world, but everyone’s looking for the next Tyler Johnson. Toronto had some discussions about him, although I’m not sure they’ll do it. Another possibility, apparently, is Washington.

One of Ryan's teammates in the SHL? Brian Willsie.

 

[third man in]

Offseason- get rid of Laich, Brouwer and, Mojo

Re-sign Fehr and Ward, get a top 6 winger somewhere.

Hopefully Holtby isn't too expensive but he's gonna get paid...

 

[stanleycaps18]

Have to think Schmidt will get a look on D as well.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

IMO Schmidt is clearly an NHL caliber dman right now. He should absolutely make the team next year assuming he's still under contract.

 

[aquablue]

If you could trade Backstrom for a goal scoring winger (30 goals +) who shows up in the playoffs, would you do it?

The fact is that BK hasn't really shown up in this series. He lacks explosiveness and goal scoring ability and appears to not be a top playoff performer. This team doesn't need a top assist man in the regular season anymore, it needs playoff performance and more top level goal scoring threat. Backstrom's game doesn't translate to the playoffs very well, it's obvious now.

We could use Kuznetsov as our top C now and pick up a 2C down the road. Backstrom's game doesn't translate to the playoffs very well throughout his career. I think it's obvious that if we had another top goal scoring threat in the top 6, \we would have more reliable playoff goal scoring and OV wouldn't be the only one who is relied upon for all the big goals. I would do this. I think Backstrom's finesse passes do not work very well in the fast intense playoffs and also he is rather slow.

Backstrom for Kessel or somebody else? Then trade for a 2C or UFA - Vermette?

I also want to get rid of MOJO, he's useless in the playoffs. Brouwer too.

OV --- Kuznetsov --- Ward resigned
Bura ---- 2C -------- Premium goal scoring Winger
Chimera- Fehr --- cheap ufa/trade plugger
Wilson --- Latta ----- Laich

Orpik - Carlson
Niskanen - Alzner
Orlov -- Smidt/Gleason/vet pickup.

That would give us two premium top goal scoring lines, a decent grinding line and a ferocious 4th line that teams will be deadly scared of facing.

 

[third man in]

I want to try first

Ov- kuz - Ward
Bura- Nick- UFA/trade
Chim- Fehr- Wilson
?- Latta- ?

Anytime Nick had centered 2nd line he had tbro anchored to him.

 

[Langway]

This team doesn't need a top assist man in the regular season anymore, it needs playoff performance and more top level goal scoring threat.

If they want to make the playoffs they do. That and the stale PP setup are key components to them making the playoffs. If they show no sign of changing the PP setup now or going forward I don't know how anyone should expect them to make reasonable significant personnel changes.

Backstrom turns into Mikko Koivu in the playoffs. If Kuznetsov continues to progress and this issue doesn't change then, yeah, I'd explore a deal in the future potentially. It's too early to make that kind of call, as frustrating a player as he has become in the playoffs. There's still so much that this team needs to simply do better from a fundamentals standpoint. There's a great deal of better coaching needing to be done. Their pace all year has been ragged and that plays into most of their issues at this point overall. Wading into games is such an arrogant mentality.

 

[artilector]

If you could trade Backstrom for a goal scoring winger (30 goals +) who shows up in the playoffs, would you do it?

The fact is that BK hasn't really shown up in this series. He lacks explosiveness and goal scoring ability and appears to not be a top playoff performer. This team doesn't need a top assist man in the regular season anymore, it needs playoff performance and more top level goal scoring threat. Backstrom's game doesn't translate to the playoffs very well, it's obvious now.

We could use Kuznetsov as our top C now and pick up a 2C down the road. Backstrom's game doesn't translate to the playoffs very well throughout his career. I think it's obvious that if we had another top goal scoring threat in the top 6, \we would have more reliable playoff goal scoring and OV wouldn't be the only one who is relied upon for all the big goals. I would do this. I think Backstrom's finesse passes do not work very well in the fast intense playoffs and also he is rather slow.

Backstrom for Kessel or somebody else? Then trade for a 2C or UFA - Vermette?

I also want to get rid of MOJO, he's useless in the playoffs. Brouwer too.

OV --- Kuznetsov --- Ward resigned
Bura ---- 2C -------- Premium goal scoring Winger
Chimera- Fehr --- cheap ufa/trade plugger
Wilson --- Latta ----- Laich

Orpik - Carlson
Niskanen - Alzner
Orlov -- Smidt/Gleason/vet pickup.

That would give us two premium top goal scoring lines, a decent grinding line and a ferocious 4th line that teams will be deadly scared of facing.

No, too early to give up on Backstrom in playoffs, Caps have barely tried him with linemates other than Ovi, and the likes of Brouwer and Mojo.

Say, what if they try a Bura-Backstrom-Wilson line next year? Might kick butt as a 2nd line, I'd certainly want to see it.

It's hard to imagine that Backstrom can't be a good 2C, and he's on a nice contract where the Caps should be able to afford him as a 2C. If it ever comes to pulling the trigger, I'd do it for a younger top-quality center.

Caps should have enough assets to land a very good wing without needing to trade a core piece.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

No, too early to give up on Backstrom in playoffs, Caps have barely tried him with linemates other than Ovi, and the likes of Brouwer and Mojo.

Say, what if they try a Bura-Backstrom-Wilson line next year? Might kick butt as a 2nd line, I'd certainly want to see it.

It's hard to imagine that Backstrom can't be a good 2C, and he's on a nice contract where the Caps should be able to afford him as a 2C. If it ever comes to pulling the trigger, I'd do it for a younger top-quality center.

Caps should have enough assets to land a very good wing without needing to trade a core piece.

These are my exact thoughts expressed much more cleanly.

In general, I'm much more in favor of adding around the core rather than subtracting from it.

 

[DCorNothing]

If you could trade Backstrom for a goal scoring winger (30 goals +) who shows up in the playoffs, would you do it?

The fact is that BK hasn't really shown up in this series. He lacks explosiveness and goal scoring ability and appears to not be a top playoff performer. This team doesn't need a top assist man in the regular season anymore, it needs playoff performance and more top level goal scoring threat. Backstrom's game doesn't translate to the playoffs very well, it's obvious now.

We could use Kuznetsov as our top C now and pick up a 2C down the road. Backstrom's game doesn't translate to the playoffs very well throughout his career. I think it's obvious that if we had another top goal scoring threat in the top 6, \we would have more reliable playoff goal scoring and OV wouldn't be the only one who is relied upon for all the big goals. I would do this. I think Backstrom's finesse passes do not work very well in the fast intense playoffs and also he is rather slow.

Backstrom for Kessel or somebody else? Then trade for a 2C or UFA - Vermette?

I also want to get rid of MOJO, he's useless in the playoffs. Brouwer too.

OV --- Kuznetsov --- Ward resigned
Bura ---- 2C -------- Premium goal scoring Winger
Chimera- Fehr --- cheap ufa/trade plugger
Wilson --- Latta ----- Laich

Orpik - Carlson
Niskanen - Alzner
Orlov -- Smidt/Gleason/vet pickup.

That would give us two premium top goal scoring lines, a decent grinding line and a ferocious 4th line that teams will be deadly scared of facing.

I'd do it in a heartbeat. Free up a little cap space for a guy who doesn't actually stop giving a **** once April and May come around.