Fantasy/Injury Thread 2 (Visiting fans: all fantasy/starter/injury questions here)

[AlexBrovechkin8]

He has no confidence right now and isn't producing. He hasn't produced for the past 50 games.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Yeah, I had the opportunity to take Kuznetsov in a couple drafts and I stayed far away from him. This slow start didn't come out of nowhere.

 

[CanuckGame39]

Will this team get it back together and become that presidents trophy team like last year?

Last season Holtby had 9 losses all season hes already at 6 for this season.

I'm asking for selfish reasons. I have Holtby on my fantasy team. I'm not able to watch the caps often. Any insight appreciated.

 

[Hivemind]

Will this team get it back together and become that presidents trophy team like last year?

.No.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

.No.

What he said.

 

[Maitz]

Is there a hope he's (Kuz) gonna turn things around or you guys think he will ends up with less than 40 pts ??

 

[Hivemind]

Kuz will have more than 40 points, but won't match his 77 point total from last year

 

[Maitz]

How is Ovechkin pass to Kuz on the 2nd goals of Williams is not an assist? ( against BOS yesterday)

 

[twabby]

How is Ovechkin pass to Kuz on the 2nd goals of Williams is not an assist? ( against BOS yesterday)

Not sure. I imagine if they review it they will add an assist to Ovechkin as well.

 

[kurt]

Any updates on Carlson's injury? All I've seen is this: http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nhl/2543/john-carlson

Looks like he's travelling with the team, which is probably good news.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Hopefully he plays Thursday @ St. Louis, which I think he should.

 

[Tyler Durden]

What are the chances Carlson plays tomorrow?

 

[twabby]

What are the chances Carlson plays tomorrow?

Very slim IMO. He'll probably need to practice once before being re-inserted into the lineup.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Whats the latest on Carlson? You think he plays tomorrow vs Carolina or Tuesday vs Ottawa?

 

[twabby]

I doubt he'll play either day since he hasn't returned to practice yet, but I guess we'll find out more this morning at the morning skate.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Any updates on Niskanen?

 

[Maximus]

Not a fantasy question but a question about a deal GMGM made which still has me scratching my heads and I'm sure yours as well.

What was the logic behind GMGM's trading Forsberg for Erat a few years ago?

Erat was pretty much a zero and Forsberg is a borderline superstar. This is not 20/20 hindsight here as I recall alot of y'all were pissed off at what might be the worst deal in the past 15 years in the entire league as we all saw Forsberg's potential.

Anyways, would love to read what the heck GMGM was thinking...thx in advance

 

[Hivemind]

Geee, thanks for bringing that trade up again. We all LOVE to think about squandering Forsberg in exchange for 1.5 years of a disgruntled Erat and an AHL center.

As best as we can tell, the thinking was the team was floating around the playoff margins and was desperately missing a top 6 LW (Ovechkin was playing RW at the time under Oates and Brooks Laich was injured/terrible). Erat still had term remaining on his contract, so he wasn't being viewed as a rental. With the team on the fringe of the playoffs, many speculate that it was a move for McPhee to attempt to save his job (missing the playoffs ended up costing him his job after the next season). It also was a 180degree pivot from McPhee's prior history of "hoarding his nuts" when it came to prospect management (historically refusing to deal away quality prospects to help his team in the short term, which had perhaps cost them in the playoffs in the past).

Most Caps fans hated the move at the time, and it's only become worse as time progressed. Erat got hurt shortly after arriving in Washington, and then Oates tried to convert him to center the following season. The apparent dysfunction between Oates and McPhee only made the move worse, as Oates never really gave Erat a chance to play in the role he was brought in for (not that Erat's boxcars gave him much reason to).

 

[Zoidberg Jesus]

Not a fantasy question but a question about a deal GMGM made which still has me scratching my heads and I'm sure yours as well.

What was the logic behind GMGM's trading Forsberg for Erat a few years ago?

Erat was pretty much a zero and Forsberg is a borderline superstar. This is not 20/20 hindsight here as I recall alot of y'all were pissed off at what might be the worst deal in the past 15 years in the entire league as we all saw Forsberg's potential.

Anyways, would love to read what the heck GMGM was thinking...thx in advance

It was a move to save his job. McPhee was on thin ice with the Caps decline since the Montreal series, and missing the playoffs was gonna be the nail in the coffin. So McPhee overpaid for playoff help out of desperation, and then Oates forced a career RW to play on the LW because players had to play on the side of their handedness, then played him on the 4th line when that predictably didn't go well. Just a bad situation all around.

Edit: Looks like Hivemind beat me to it. Just want to add that I think this episode is a good example of how hands-off ownership isn't always a good thing. Fans typically hate when ownership interferes with the running of the club, but sometimes the owner needs to realize that there are situations where management - either through self-interest or sheer incompetence - isn't acting in the best interests of the club. Ted Leonsis is generally a good owner because he's not cheap with his teams and he learned his lesson early on about superseding management (see the Jagr debacle), but the end of McPhee's tenure and Ernie Grunfeld's enduring run with the Wizards were/are both obvious issues he could have prevented.

 

[Maximus]

Thx fellas for the replies about the Forsberg/Erat trade and what the thought process of GMGM at the time of the deal. I know it brings back bad memories and that wasn't the reason I brought it up. I was just curious as to what some of y'all remembered was McPhee's motivation to make such a horrid deal.

On another note, call it a hunch but I got a feeling our two teams(Rangers/Caps) are going to meeting again come playoff time somehow someway...it's just the way our two teams roll as it's inevitable....

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Is the feeling that Oshie will be back sooner than later? Thanks

 

[twabby]

Yes. Wouldn't be surprised if he's back by this weekend.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Thx fellas for the replies about the Forsberg/Erat trade and what the thought process of GMGM at the time of the deal. I know it brings back bad memories and that wasn't the reason I brought it up. I was just curious as to what some of y'all remembered was McPhee's motivation to make such a horrid deal.

On another note, call it a hunch but I got a feeling our two teams(Rangers/Caps) are going to meeting again come playoff time somehow someway...it's just the way our two teams roll as it's inevitable....

We remember it with anger, disgust, and resignation. It was a selfish, panic movie by a guy who had long worn out his welcome and who had no vision for how to shape the dynamic of the club moving forward, and it was a move that should never have been allowed to happen. The team was awful with Oates. They were one of the worst possession teams in the league that relied exclusively on the PP and the shootout/loser point to stay afloat. McPhee had no business trading for a winger that wasn't going to change the complexion of the team or fix it's many issues.

Death, taxes, and the Caps playing the Rangers or Penguins in the playoffs. Like clockwork.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Of the 6 games in the next 2 weeks how many of those do you see Holtby starting in?

 

[BackToTheBasics]

Of the 6 games in the next 2 weeks how many of those do you see Holtby starting in?

Probably 5. Grubauer will likely get the start against LA/ANA this weekend.