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

[brachyrynchos]

It's good sending Walker down, he'll play more, and perhaps work on his game. My main gripe, is trading 2 picks to draft him, where he wasn't even supposed to be picked. And knowing he is a bottom six player, not developing him as such, penalty killing, and raising his defense IQ. I kept hearing that he was the most NHL ready forward in the system, too. If this organization has a future for him, and Walker wants to play for this organization, then they both have to do a better job of making that happen. I still have hope for the kid.
This is why I think it's important to call up guys like Siegenthaler. Have them get an idea of the speed, physicality, and what it's like. Yes, it's a small sample size, but after sending them back down, they'll have an idea of what to expect, and what to work on.

 

[ovikovy817]

Then why did they not do the same with galiev? Why risk losing him for nothing?

Maybe Galiev had something like "if sent to AHL, can terminate the contract and go back to Russia"
or maybe just they thaught Galiev could be an option if injury occured.
And during those years Galiev was not a problem for the cap space. Walker is.

 

[twabby]

How many guys like him on NHL rosters league wide?

Full list of players who are worse than -10% relative Corsi with at least 50 GP since 2014-15:

Player Advanced Stats Finder | Hockey-Reference.com

Malhotra, Gaustad, and Nystrom could at least point to the fact that they had ridiculous defensive zone usage as a reason for why their possession numbers are so skewed. Graovac's Corsi/Fenwick numbers are terrible despite generous offensive zone deployment and generous QoC.

He's a 7th round pick who has shown nothing at the NHL level. IMO the only reason they are giving Graovac a shot is because they need to justify their trade for him in the offseason.

I'm not even against sending Walker down, I'm just against having Graovac in the lineup. It's a waste.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Walker playing in AHL > Walker in the press box in Washington.

That’s how I see it....he needs to play.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Full list of players who are worse than -10% relative Corsi with at least 50 GP since 2014-15:

Player Advanced Stats Finder | Hockey-Reference.com

View attachment 85583

Malhotra, Gaustad, and Nystrom could at least point to the fact that they had ridiculous defensive zone usage as a reason for why their possession numbers are so skewed. Graovac's Corsi/Fenwick numbers are terrible despite generous offensive zone deployment and generous QoC.

He's a 7th round pick who has shown nothing at the NHL level. IMO the only reason they are giving Graovac a shot is because they need to justify their trade for him in the offseason.

I'm not even against sending Walker down, I'm just against having Graovac in the lineup. It's a waste.

Not even the worst. A positive!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Then why did they not do the same with galiev? Why risk losing him for nothing?

Different roster, different cap situation? Were they so pressed they had to send down Galiev?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

It's good sending Walker down, he'll play more, and perhaps work on his game. My main gripe, is trading 2 picks to draft him, where he wasn't even supposed to be picked. And knowing he is a bottom six player, not developing him as such, penalty killing, and raising his defense IQ. I kept hearing that he was the most NHL ready forward in the system, too. If this organization has a future for him, and Walker wants to play for this organization, then they both have to do a better job of making that happen. I still have hope for the kid.
This is why I think it's important to call up guys like Siegenthaler. Have them get an idea of the speed, physicality, and what it's like. Yes, it's a small sample size, but after sending them back down, they'll have an idea of what to expect, and what to work on.

You would think doubling down on him they would gift him a roster spot, but not Barry!

 

[brachyrynchos]

Graovac is making $600k this year, that could be the only reason for keeping him around, for what? I don't know. And not to sound ill worded of him, he just doesn't bring anything. If he was good in the corners, or added a greater physical element to the team, or penalty killing, something, he would be worth keeping around. Send Graovac down, have him play more with Hershey, have him help them, and maybe he can be trained into a respectable 4th line player, (Beagle's temporary replacement?) or a cheap call- up or 13th forward.

 

[brachyrynchos]

You would think doubling down on him they would gift him a roster spot, but not Barry!

Just how the whole thing, from the draft, until now, makes me want to ask Brian Maclellan what exactly his thoughts are regarding Walker. He was worried that some other team was going to draft him, deciding it best to trade to trade 2 4th rd picks to select him 89th overall. Is it a scouting issue? Development issue? What are the reasons for sending him down exactly? And most importantly, why wasn't Walker better developed and prepared?

 

[maacoshark]

Full list of players who are worse than -10% relative Corsi with at least 50 GP since 2014-15:

Player Advanced Stats Finder | Hockey-Reference.com

View attachment 85583

Malhotra, Gaustad, and Nystrom could at least point to the fact that they had ridiculous defensive zone usage as a reason for why their possession numbers are so skewed. Graovac's Corsi/Fenwick numbers are terrible despite generous offensive zone deployment and generous QoC.

He's a 7th round pick who has shown nothing at the NHL level. IMO the only reason they are giving Graovac a shot is because they need to justify their trade for him in the offseason.

I'm not even against sending Walker down, I'm just against having Graovac in the lineup. It's a waste.

I don't think Graovac will be in the lineup once Burakovsky is back.

 

[twabby]

I don't think Graovac will be in the lineup once Burakovsky is back.

Neither do I, but I'd rather see someone in Hershey get a shot in the lineup. It's slim pickings to be sure but certainly a better option than one of the worst forwards in the entire NHL in Graovac.

 

[maacoshark]

I really hope he gets claimed. If stupid never gets punished it will never change.

I don't understand why people are bitter about putting Walker on waivers. He doesn't belong in the NHL. At the beginning of the season I was bitter that Stephenson was put on waivers and Walker and Graovac were kept.

 

[MrGone]

I don't understand why people are bitter about putting Walker on waivers. He doesn't belong in the NHL. At the beginning of the season I was bitter that Stephenson was put on waivers and Walker and Graovac were kept.

Maybe you just don't follow the team that close? It’s not about the player. It’s more about trading up in the draft for a guy that was already part of the organization. If they liked him they could have signed him seeing they had open contract spots. Instead they let him walk then trade up to draft their own guy only to put him on waivers.

Maybe @Ridley Simon is right and he did not want to sign? Still it shows poor asset management. When a team has given up as many picks as the Caps have. They should not be making moves hopping to land the next undersized fringe player.

 

[trick9]

Shocked if Walker gets claimed, to be honest.

 

[maacoshark]

Maybe you just don't follow the team that close? It’s not about the player. It’s more about trading up in the draft for a guy that was already part of the organization. If they liked him they could have signed him seeing they had open contract spots. Instead they let him walk then trade up to draft their own guy only to put him on waivers.

Maybe @Ridley Simon is right and he did not want to sign? Still it shows poor asset management. When a team has given up as many picks as the Caps have. They should not be making moves hopping to land the next undersized fringe player.

I'm not talking about trading up to get him. That's in the past. I'm talking about now. He should have been in Hershey the whole time. As far as poor asset management, we could discuss that forever. Every team has made mistakes. Sometimes a player just doesn't develope as expected.

 

[brachyrynchos]

BMac traded 2 more picks in the same draft to select Vanecek 39th overall, a 2nd (44th) and a 3rd (74th). He could of had both him and Walker, and another 2 prospects in the system. Walker 89th in exchange for the 104th and 118th pick. Here's the players that were selected. (NYR 118th) Igor Sheterkin is considered to be pretty good goalie prospect. Over in KHL
(NYR 104th) Ryan Mantha; defenseman 17-05-5 in the AHL with Bakersfield (EDM)
(BUF 74th) Brycen Martin; defenseman 14-1-3-4 with Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL
(BUF 44th) Eric Cornel; Right Wing 14-2-2-4 up in Rochester AHL.

 

[Langway]

Again, they couldn't have signed Walker in '13-14 because he played part of the previous season in Europe. It's the same rule that previously kept PHI from signing Hyka and EDM from signing Tkachev. But, yes, they did trade up for him despite his limitations and age. Those players don't have tremendous odds and we're mostly talking about a fourth-liner here. Hershey also maybe wasn't the ideal developing ground him in terms of being gifted strong offensive roles to more seriously develop in that area. So while Trotz can critique his well-roundedness it has been four seasons already and it shouldn't be the real issue. He is a limited player in skill level but he's also a player that does a lot of the underlying stuff right and that's more than can likely be said about Graovac beyond his training camp energy level. Walker only got two consecutive games at most so it wasn't much of a chance. Teams running the likes of Rinaldo, Nolan, Deslauriers and the like out every game really couldn't do any worse.

 

[Ridley Simon]

So much hand wringing over waiver players.

The traded for Graovac to be able to protect Eller in the expansion draft, remember? They needed another available forward. He wasn't traded for to upgrade the team, no matter what anyone said at the time. As had been well documented, they botched the expansion draft in a few ways. That's another piece that backfired when Schmidt got taken.

That said, Eller could have easily been the guy McPhee took. Or perhaps Johansson. Who knows, had they gone 4-4 instead of 7-3. We won't know.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Nice finish kuz

 

[Portable Mink]

im pissed about Walker.
Great posession stats, great speed.
whats to say he cant be a bryan rust?
he has the speed, tenacity, fitness and agility to be a solid PKer and 4th liner.

Just wasnt given good opportunity becasue of his size.
Poor form Trotz

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

im pissed about Walker.
Great posession stats, great speed.
whats to say he cant be a bryan rust?
he has the speed, tenacity, fitness and agility to be a solid PKer and 4th liner.

Just wasnt given good opportunity becasue of his size.
Poor form Trotz

Rust is a lot more skilled. He'll be back eventually, don't worry.

 

[Raikkonen]

Walker as Rust? I don't think so. This is blown out of proportion.

Walker is small AHL player. Can he play in the NHL in a pinch? Maybe.

Should GM think twice about waiving him to make space for better player? No.

 

[hb12xchamps]

I just don't understand how Walker doesn't get into the lineup. It's almost as if Trotz just completely forgot who he is and that he was even on the team.

The guy has great speed, can penalty kill when called upon, and is a waterbug/pest out there. Yes he's small, but he plays A LOT bigger than his size. Instead, they favor bigger, slower players.

It still baffles my mind that Trotz said he didn't PK in Hershey. Hell, Walker played on the 5 on 3 PK when guys like Stephenson and Garrett Mitchell were scratched on in the box. Such an embarrassment that the coach doesn't even know the scouting report of his own players.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

I wouldn't mind trying out Stephenson with Backstrom and Ovechkin for a game or two. His speed could really help that line.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Just keep the top-6 the same for now, and do Stephenson - Eller - Connolly on the 3rd until 65 comes back. Connolly has been getting lots of hate lately but I have more faith in him being able to contribute offensively than I have in Graovac.