Speculation: Marcus Johansson's Next Contract

[txpd]

I think the Caps ought to focus on getting Ovi and Backstrom to be effective at ES, and all trade stuff has to be with that in mind. So first they need to evaluate whether they think Wilson will do the trick, perhaps experiment more with splitting them up, and ultimately decide what kind of complementary player is needed for Ovi and/or Backstrom -- and then pursue that guy with pretty much all assets in play to be traded or moved to make space -- Laich/Brouwer/Mojo/Ward/Green/Kuz/Orlov (as much as I'd like Kuz and Orlov to succeed as Caps).

But again, until Backstrom & Ovi get going, flipping pieces on the 3rd or even 2nd lines I think is a secondary concern or even a distraction. Especially considering that the 2nd and 3rd lines have more or less done their job at ES, and Bura is going to continue to improve.

Ovechkin and Backstrom are they key. They are the best players that must be the best players. It goes back to the entire conversation about fixing the core. How can fixing the core be accomplished when Ovechkin and Backstrom have the most impact and are immediately excluded from the conversation?

 

[txpd]

No point talking about all the guys who amounted to nothing more than what they were after four full seasons.

I don't find it absurd. How many seasons do you need to gauge a player. I really haven't seen him significantly improve any aspect of his game and the one thing he was touted for(speed) I hardly notice anymore.

I appears that you are saying that you don't care if he is good now. He was not good enough in the first four seasons and this season is too late.

If he is a 25g 60pt, all situations player, you want him gone because he hasn't been that before this season?

or are you saying that you think this is a hot streak and given a couple weeks or a month he will return to previous levels of suckatude?

 

[Capitlols]

I appears that you are saying that you don't care if he is good now. He was not good enough in the first four seasons and this season is too late.

If he is a 25g 60pt, all situations player, you want him gone because he hasn't been that before this season?

or are you saying that you think this is a hot streak and given a couple weeks or a month he will return to previous levels of suckatude?

Four seasons better sample than 18 games.

Don't even know what the hell your referring to here. He hasn't been, far from it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

 

[artilector]

Ovechkin and Backstrom are they key. They are the best players that must be the best players. It goes back to the entire conversation about fixing the core. How can fixing the core be accomplished when Ovechkin and Backstrom have the most impact and are immediately excluded from the conversation?

Not sure who or what that refers to.

 

[Hivemind]

Do people really not remember Johansson's first couple seasons? The talent was obvious then, and it's showing again this year. It's not as if it vanished, he was put into a position to fail by Oates. Johansson as the primary F1 on his line was an awful idea, despite his speed.

 

[txpd]

Not sure who or what that refers to.

In the fix the core conversation trading ovechkin or backstrom was removed from the table immediately. I said that the team identity and the team culture was set by ovechkin. if the team identity and culture was broken, trading secondary core and not addressing the tone setter of the core was wasted effort.

that's what it refers to.

or in other words I challenge the idea that fixing a broken core is nothing more than another reason to remove players that some have wanted removed for a long time. in this case green and laich.

 

[Langway]

In the fix the core conversation trading ovechkin or backstrom was removed from the table immediately.

But has it been? Mostly IMO it's considered highly unlikely for ownership and "market value" reasons and rightfully so. Those reasons become much less persuasive with diminishing team success but that point hasn't been reached yet.

It's really varying forms of tweaking most people tend to discuss, not fundamentally altering things. I'd agree, though, that trading a Brouwer or Chimera doesn't go far enough in a shot across the brow type of trade. It's the core that's really let the team down from a consistency standpoint (8/19 5-on-5 especially). I increasingly have my doubts that Trotz can change the culture without them fundamentally changing the players. If that involves 8 or 19 there could be merit, although I'm not sure I fully believe Trotz is really the answer all-around. To some extent 'culture change' is just a bunch of claptrap that loser franchises talk about. It's always the actions that count.

 

[artilector]

In the fix the core conversation trading ovechkin or backstrom was removed from the table immediately. I said that the team identity and the team culture was set by ovechkin. if the team identity and culture was broken, trading secondary core and not addressing the tone setter of the core was wasted effort.

that's what it refers to.

or in other words I challenge the idea that fixing a broken core is nothing more than another reason to remove players that some have wanted removed for a long time. in this case green and laich.

I am certainly not considering that angle. It's easy enough to make a case for trading Green and Laich (for example) simply from history, performance, roster and cap structure considerations as they stand on their own. I also don't consider them core nearly to the same degree as Ovi and Backstrom -- I don't think trading them would change team identity in any significant way. Back when Green was an established 1st pairing guy, yeah, it could be a major identity change to trade him say for some defensive vet, but it's not the case any more.

 

[txpd]

its easy to consider trading green. he is a pending ufa that will be expensive and where the caps have depth. I would keep him but you can make the case. I don't see where trading green fixes the core though. if the team let him walk as a ufa, would that fix the core?

on the other hand, if the issue with the core is at the heart of the core....if the biggest part of the core which sets the team identity and creates its culture is the reason the core is failing, not addressing that for market value reasons, and rightly so, means that....you don't fix the core.

which brings us to the reality. if you cant win with Ovechkin as the lead dog and you cant move him to create a new culture, identity and core, then you are stuck.

 

[Langway]

on the other hand, if the issue with the core is at the heart of the core....if the biggest part of the core which sets the team identity and creates its culture is the reason the core is failing, not addressing that for market value reasons, and rightly so, means that....you don't fix the core.

which brings us to the reality. if you cant win with Ovechkin as the lead dog and you cant move him to create a new culture, identity and core, then you are stuck.

Doom/gloom. I don't think this is any secret. It's just something most like to avoid as a possibility and that ownership likely wants to avoid if possible. These are scarce talents. For them to become bad apples suggests there's probably still more wrong going on beyond them as individuals.

 

[txpd]

there's no question. I am not advocating trading Ovechkin. I would be even less fond of the idea of trading Backstrom. I just think its necessary when stating that the core is broken and needs to be broken up that if you just mess around the edges you are probably not fixing anything.

What the Caps need is a Fedorov and facts are those are VERY few and far between.

 

[discobob]

For what it's worth, here is some additional speculation on this front:

http://brookslaichyear.com/2014/12/15/what-will-it-cost-to-re-sign-marcus-johansson/

 

[txpd]

He's 4th on the team in scoring. He's 4th on the team in ES scoring. He is tied for 2nd on the team in goals. He is tied for the team lead in ES goals. he has 2pts in his last 5 and 6pts in his last 10. I am not impressed by his -1. Otherwise he is doing better than I thought.

 

[strungout]

Someone has the domain....http://brookslaichyear.com/

****ing stupid internet morons.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

He's looking at $4 x 4 or better. Let him be someone else's dead cap space.

 

[Capitlols]

+1

Interested to see how teams would value Mojo.

 

[Langway]

He's 4th on the team in scoring. He's 4th on the team in ES scoring. He is tied for 2nd on the team in goals. He is tied for the team lead in ES goals. he has 2pts in his last 5 and 6pts in his last 10. I am not impressed by his -1. Otherwise he is doing better than I thought.

Three 5-on-5 points in the last 14 games. Statistics!

 

[strungout]

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

+1

Interested to see how teams would value Mojo.

There's always idiots willing to overpay, but I'd imagine he'd return something similar to Penner or Hemsky.

 

[txpd]

Three 5-on-5 points in the last 14 games. Statistics!

any player that is not a point per game player is going to have dry spells particularly if they are prone to hot spells. I suspect the next 15 - 20 games will even things out. it didn't help that bura went ice cold in that stretch unless you want to put that on Johansson.

 

[Ajax1995]

He's looking at $4 x 4 or better. Let him be someone else's dead cap space.

So are you saying trade him during the season or after the season or what?

And if dealing him what fantasy are you harboring with respect to a return and what they might do with the possible $4+ mil in cap space saved?

 

[Stewie G]

So are you saying trade him during the season or after the season or what?

And if dealing him what fantasy are you harboring with respect to a return and what they might do with the possible $4+ mil in cap space saved?

Jagr will be a free agent.

 

[Ajax1995]

Jagr will be a free agent.

Ovechkin-Backsrom-Jagr here we come...

 

[Burakovsky95*]

Ovechkin-Backsrom-Jagr here we come...

To be honest if this was 2 years ago, I would be all for that and that line would probably be awesome. My hate for Jagr aside.