Speculation: Caps Hockey General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) -- 2017-18 Regular Season Edition

[mad4comp]

“Fine” performances rarely win Championships. Just sayin.

But "decent" performances win you conn smythes or so I heard.

 

[Raikkonen]

Some players were born in these playoffs. Vrana, Stephenson will surely see the direction they need to go to have further success. They will cost 1,5M next season (for BOTH) then RFA. That's huge potentially.

 

[Langway]

The one guy that may end up pricing himself out due to exposure is Kempny, particularly if they're able to go deeper. I've liked his game. It's been sound but it hasn't been downright amazing. It's been adequate and that alone in high stakes could perhaps land him one of those sweetheart UFA deals from some needy team willing to overpay for a month or two of fairly solid play on a contender. I'd like to have him back but this stage could help Djoos further along, too. He's handled himself fairly well, albeit on the right side. I'm not sure he'll mature into a second pair guy alongside Carlson but it's possible. Playoff success this season could allow them the freedom to sweat the regular season less and to more honestly tackle larger developmental goals over the course of the regular season just so long as they're maintaining a playoff pace. So, yeah, at least getting over the second round hump helps big picture and so does the confidence and experience gained by those youngsters.

Tampa Bay will be a real challenge and one that may chart the course for what remains to improve upon. Or not, if they're able to prevail. Either way it's huge experience for all involved.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[HunterSThompson]

That definitely seems out of left field. Late bloomer maybe.

 

[hb12xchamps]

His numbers have improved every year in the German league. Guess this is just taking a flyer on a guy?

Maximilian Kammerer - Elite Prospects

 

[HunterSThompson]

His numbers have improved every year in the German league. Guess this is just taking a flyer on a guy?

Maximilian Kammerer - Elite Prospects

Our good buddy Keith Aucoin led that league in points this past season.

 

[GoCaps2004]

That definitely seems out of left field. Late bloomer maybe.

Yeah his stats are really weird. 1 assist in 18 u20-WJC games, spent a year playing juniors in Canada and put up 3 points in 40 games for the Regina Pats, then spent a year playing juniors in Austria, then spent a large portion of a year playing in Germany's third division. Then somehow he really got better and had surprisingly good seasons in the 16-17 and 17-18 DEL.

Weird.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[EroCaps]

Some players were born in these playoffs. Vrana, Stephenson will surely see the direction they need to go to have further success. They will cost 1,5M next season (for BOTH) then RFA. That's huge potentially.

Yes.

Vrana has shown he's a top 6 player, with a bit of muscle. And Stephenson and Gersich look like players who can fill out that bottom 6 nicely for a few years, minimum.

I'm still not sold on Connolly or Burakovsky.

 

[hb12xchamps]

I liked Bau last year. He improved over the course of the year. Don't believe that he would be pushing for a roster spot in Washington but a decent depth scoring option for Hershey. Looks like they are stocking up the forward prospect pool to try and help balance out all the recent graduations to Washington.

 

[ThaiTanicDK]

Mathias Bau looks like a giant on the ice. Hes gonna be a better version of Jannik Hansen. A guy who has grit and works hard in the corners. Caps made a killer signing with this dude, im sure. Excellent 3rd liner for sure.

 

[WcRoenick97]

It’s amazing how much of a 180 the Caps future has taken since the beginning of the season.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I saw Bau play a few months ago.....huuuuge.

 

[artilector]

This guy is very talented, hard to find in our time -- didn't know he was also a hockey player!

Maxim Kammerer - Wikipedia

 

[peterthegreat12]

I guess we will have an answer on Trotz soon.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

 

[twabby]

His other predictions for WSH free agents:

Carlson: 8 years, $8.6M AAV
Wilson: 4 years, $3.6M AAV
DSP: 2 years, $880K AAV
Chaisson: 2 years, $1.1M AAV
Beagle: 2 years, $1.5M AAV
Boyd: 1 year, $650K AAV
Kempny: 2 years, $1.25M AAV
Bowey: 1 year, $836K AAV

Carlson's prediction might seem a touch high but there are going to be a lot of teams bidding for his services so it wouldn't surprise me if he got $8.6M. 8 years seems like a given at this point if WSH signs him.

Wilson's prediction seems in line with what I think he might get.

Kempny's prediction seems too low given that he's a UFA and I bet other teams are paying attention to him given what he's provided so far. He's still likely to be a good value no matter what.

 

[RandyHolt]

Do major gaffe's hurt players come contract time?

The behind the back pass of Kempny's hurt us but hopefully can save us a few bucks.

 

[Ajax1995]

Grubaurer prediction is 2 years at $3.516K per...

 

[Langway]

After consulting with a sports psychologist, Andre Burakovsky is confident he can ‘reach new levels’

Andre Burakovsky added seven pounds of muscle in the offseason, but strength between the ears is where the Washington forward hopes he’s improved most.

Last season — his second in the NHL — Burakovsky tallied 17 goals and 38 points while enduring a 25-game stretch without a goal. This summer, he worked with a sports psychologist in Sweden to help him avoid another prolonged drought.

From two years ago. Time to move on from this headcase.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Woah, strange move for sure.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Do major gaffe's hurt players come contract time?

The behind the back pass of Kempny's hurt us but hopefully can save us a few bucks.

Ya hoping that Carlson shits the bed then tonight?

 

[Raikkonen]

Do you trade Bura after G7?