I asked a legitimate question and I would appreciate a serious, non-flippant answer or, at the very least, present one that demonstrates a modicum of understanding of the complete situation in Washington. The sheer volume of animosity hurled at Washington at times is mind-boggling. Why is it that Washington is expected to sustain substantial losses year in and year out yet it is acceptable for other teams to say “
enough?†Just because Lincoln Holdings is financially solid does not mean that they should toss good money after bad (visa vie the Rangers). Unlike Pittsburgh, they do not have to play for a new arena (though Capitals/Lincoln Holdings do not receive any MCI revenue, that goes to Washington Sports and Entertainment) and as such do not feel the immediate pressure of having to win now to save their team.
How wrong is it for a team with a $50-million plus payroll (one that
never left the bottom five) full of underachieving, apathetic players that accomplished nothing (zero, nada, zilch, zippo) gutted in favor of a younger team? This ideology was especially pertinent with a new economic landscape on the horizon. While people like to emphatically state that the Capitals “tanked†(though you did use the polite “in order to suck†(in quite large letters too)) to be assured a bottom finish, the simple truth is that the team was firmly ensconced in the bottom of the rankings quite early in the season. I’ll say that again since this basic point is conveniently overlooked; the Capitals with the talented misters Bondra, Lang, Jagr, Gonchar, Kolzig et al were a
bottom three team. Besides, it’s not like the Capitals had their team perform wind sprints in “fitness tests†prior to games now is it?
For too long the Capitals have been middle of the road; good enough to get into the playoffs, but not good enough to win; bad enough to be tossed in the first round, but not bad enough to warrant high impact draft picks. This franchise absolutely needed to be gutted and rebuilt from the ground up (personally, I think it should have happened three seasons ago). Knowing that the NHL was going to lose an entire season in the upcoming CBA war, this was the most opportune time to do so. Therefore the high dollar contracts and soon-to-be-UFAs are sent packing and the younger players are brought in. As a Capital fan I am glad that Lincoln Holdings finally “got it†and decided to commit fully to rebuild mode, anything less would have returned this team to perpetually mediocrity (now, if only my
other team would learn that lesson).
Since the Capitals are in year
one of a rebuild I see absolutely no reason for them to spend $35-million on free agents that will accomplish little in terms of team or player development. This is the season that the franchise will learn which prospects are the real deal and which are hype. Through evaluation of play (both individually and collectively) the Capitals will determine which of their prospects they will build around and which areas need reinforcement. While I may be “just a silly girl†I believe that this is the wisest course of action.
Regarding your other “points†~ ~ ~ ~
The last time the team that finished dead last actually won the lottery was Boston in 1997 (Thornton). If I remember correctly, three of the last five years the team that finished 28th won the lottery.
Regarding "there being no Ovechkin or Crosby available" to Pittsburgh, Malkin was a lovely consolation prize for "falling on their face" as well as landing a number five (Whitney) pick and two number one picks (Fleury, Crosby) accumulated by the Pens in a span of four years. The Pens stank for five years as they attempted to rebuild their team. Good for them as the rewards for stinking look like they might finally pay off. Pittsburgh also has the additional pressure of playing for a new arena; therefore the onus is on them to win now rather then later. The Pens have to spend money to ice a team that could make the playoffs in hopes of keeping their team in Pittsburgh.
