By your definition who isn’t mobile in this league? And do you feel like the Caps move the puck better than other teams in this league? I don’t believe so. In fact our possession game is arguably one of the weaker ones in the league.
Straightaway speed and quickness (2 different things) are very valuable for a forecheck and a possession game. I’m not even mentioning its obvious advantages on the rush. Watching Strome get left in the dust by Boldy it occurred to me that I’ve seen that repeatedly this season, whether a forward or defenseman, unless it’s Fever or Jensen back there. Trying to think if I can recall one time all season we had someone pull away. Maybe once?
Not saying we need burning speed everywhere but I would venture to say we have an unusual number of guys who are below average skaters. Some due to age, sure, but not all.
Maybe Maclellan is of the belief that guys can improve speed but skill can’t be taught.
Most of our worst offenders were plenty mobile and puck possession machines, they're just old, hurt, and apparently unable to be traded because the Beatles can't break up. I won't disagree they're missing top end speedsters, though guys that normally make up that role have been hurt this year or finally hit the wall (Wilson, Oshie, Eller, etc) but to say he doesn't prioritize mobility is kinda ridiculous.
I'd also argue what you're really taking issue with is a mixture of the team checking out and the actual offensive system just being pretty poo poo. They've never been a very good passing team, even during their dominant 16 and 17 seasons with Trotz, but the few years under Lavi have been unusually bad and I don't personally prescribe that entirely to a personnel issue.
