Tribute Orlov appreciation thread

[895]

My favourite Orlov goal

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[twabby]

My favorite memory of Dmitry Orlov is being one half of the shutdown pair that won the Stanley Cup in the Year of our Lord 2018.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Top 50 Cap for sure….

 

[um]

Awesome open ice hitter. And occasionally nasty in the corners and in front of the net.

 

[Silky mitts]

He had that string of injuries early in his career then was one of the most durable, consistent guys we’ve ever had. By far the Caps’ most productive 2nd round pick.

 

[Misery74]

Top 50 Cap for sure….

Not too many defenseman. Top 10 defenseman.

 

[Hivemind]

Absolute best open-ice hip checker in the NHL. Pity today's speed didn't let him show it off more than once or twice per season.



Gonna miss Orly

 

[Langway]

It's going to be really difficult to upgrade over this guy in the near-term. They can add Chychrun or something but then that's a guy that helps man the top pair. An insulating tough minute second pair stabilizer that helped drive play is hard to part with at any age, particularly if having much of any hope at competing in the near-term.

One thing I'd note is I think his lower body injury may limit him come playoff time to some extent. It had since he returned anyway. He hasn't had the same burst. So Boston should probably not load up and play him oodles alongside McAvoy. A similar second pair role with Carlo should be fine. Great team he's headed to. Hard to see anyone stopping them in the East short of maybe CAR should they add another big piece.

 

[Brian23]

I've never felt more secure, or more faith, in a defensive pairing then the Orlov - Niskanen pairing. I was always sad he changed out of 81, but I'll look at my 9 jersey fondly. Sad it had to come to this, many other guys should have been shipped awhile ago before we had to get to Orlov.

 

[Carlzner]

 

[Hivemind]

 

[Carlzner]

 

[usiel]

Was there was when he was drafted. Followed his development to becoming a full time NHL dman. Watched him lift the SC. Solid tenure as a caps player. I mean draft success here. That said I recall his early games in the NHL dman he was way more squirrely than Siegs/AA/Johan but had way more rope to learn the way compared to the last few years with Fever being the only one.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Was there was when he was drafted. Followed his development to becoming a full time NHL dman. Watched him lift the SC. Solid tenure as a caps player. I mean draft success here. That said I recall his early games in the NHL dman he was way more squirrely than Siegs/AA/Johan but had way more rope to learn the way compared to the last few years with Fever being the only one.

Orlov was the player for which we affectionately developed the pizzas/60 metric. He loved to deliver pizzas (bad turnovers in high-danger zones) and we used to joke on these boards that when you played Orlov a lot of times you were playing four forwards or that he played like a defenseman in beer league who was great at rushing the puck and then went for a line change when the puck was on defense.

It's been awesome to see the player he turned into and this one hurts the morning after. He was the longest tenured Capital behind Ovi, Backstrom, and Carlson and he was every bit a piece of this core as were some of the other bigger names.

I wish him the best and won't be disappointed if he decides to change his contract demands and wants to come home this summer.

 

[g00n]

I remember when he was just a lowly delivery boy, flinging pizzas up the middle of the ice.

Then he grew into a Hip-Checkin' Man we all could be proud of.

Godspeed.

 

[twabby]

Dating back to his rookie year Orlov was always an excellent player. But that 3 year run between 2015-16 to 2017-18 are just about as good as any Capital defenseman in recent memory.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

So many good memories of Orlov. He turned into an absolute stud, largely thanks to Trotz who fixed some of the issues in his game.

My favorite Orlov memory is this one:

 

[ovikovy817]

Didn't thought he would come back at a good level after his injury at the Worlds in 2014.
Missed the 14-15 with the Caps due to that injury.
But now he's a SC champ.

 

[Chimaera]

He's a development success. Now just need to do it again a few times.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Loved Orly's willingness to push the pace, and play up-tempo. And Nisky was an ideal partner for him. He still has a bomb of a slapshot, and can snipe wristers with the best of them. Totally agree that he was one of the best development successes for this organization. Hope he and Hath have a solid playoff run with the Bs

 

[Neil Racki]

Dmitry!

When he was on .. he was top tier.

Wish you the best and a big pile of money in the offseason.

 

[itsjustsurvival]

Was one of my favorite Capitals. Will miss him and wish him the best going forward.

 

[Corby78]

He is in this photo, therefore will always hold a special place in Caps history.

 

[Hivemind]

View attachment 655939
He is in this photo, therefore will always hold a special place in Caps history.

I mean, Madison Bowey is in that picture too...

 

[Ridley Simon]

I've never felt more secure, or more faith, in a defensive pairing then the Orlov - Niskanen pairing. I was always sad he changed out of 81, but I'll look at my 9 jersey fondly. Sad it had to come to this, many other guys should have been shipped awhile ago before we had to get to Orlov.

I’m wearing one of my Orlov jerseys today (all day) in tribute. It’s the road white 9. I thought about the red 81, but I wanted it to be more on point (and SC Proud).

I will miss Orlov. But *hopefully* only for a few months and we can bring him back.

PS - Tex would be beside himself. He loved Orlov. We used to PM about him.