g00n
Retired Global Mod
- Nov 22, 2007
- 30,677
- 14,847
I guess it does when Trotz leaves so much from a discipline standpoint up to them. Historically despite whatever leadership they've added that would be a bad idea. If it comes down to a shaky leadership group then trading Orlov isn't going to cut it. I don't think it's just a leadership question. I don't think they truly do development at a high enough level. They supply a sound system and Reirden has chops as far as D goes mostly but forward development? Overall composure and creativity on the puck? Trotz seems to want to win in the easiest fashion possible from a preparation standpoint. Supplying the system and telling them to go through teams is not enough. If you get consistent max effort maybe that works but it's not efficient. It glosses over execution and composure...two keys that any contender must have in their pocket to maintain discipline.The problem lies within the players
2. The second line becomes the new power on power line. Backstrom is still effective defensively, even if he stinks in the offensive zone right now. So put this line up against the opposition's best line. This makes it so that 92 and 8 who aren't great defensively avoid the opposition's best. Choose between 65/90 as the LW depending on who's playing better and what brings better balance to the lineup.
No you can't always control the matchup, but I don't think keeping Backstrom on the top line for defensive purposes makes sense either. They need production on the top line and Kuznetsov isn't going to just be an absolute disaster defensively.
Or alternatively something like:
8-92-77
25-19-14
65-90-83/43
26-10-83/43
I've seen no evidence Burakovsky works well with Backstrom - no more than Ovi does at any rate - any he, Kuzy and Williams have been cold. A 25-19-14 line could make a very effective scoring/checking line - playing much better to Backstrom's two way skill set than a Kuzy-like feeder.
Just a thought, but I wonder if Johansson will actually leave next year. He's not only going to be pricey as a 3C, but quite possibly hungry to return to the top six with skilled players. If he signs a long contract in the off season he loses his ability to control which team he ends up with if he's traded, and the likelihood of him returning to the top six inn Washington diminishes as players like Vrana and Burakovsky become more established.
Whereas if he signs a one year deal, he likely gets traded at the TDL and gets to pick his new home as a UFA a few months later. He's still a relatively young, versatile player who could get more minutes and (probably) money at another team. If he signs up for, say, five years at $5million, there's a fair chance he'd be traded after a year or two anyway for salary cap reasons. Why, then, is now the smart time for MoJo to sign a long term contract?
Well, I don't know what Mojo thinks/wants, but surely there are some arguments "for". There is always risk of injury... If he does sign a long term deal, odds are he won't be traded in a year (when have the Caps done that?)... Also, if he gets bypassed in top-6, then next year he might have unimpressive stats that will hurt his value...
I would guess he's the kind of player who could easily value possibility of long term security over trying to maximize every last dollar.
More interesting question is how valuable he is to the Caps... well, let's see what happens in playoffs...
By the way, what do we think the chances are currently of:
- Richards
- Latta
- Chimera
Getting re-signed this off season? With Winnick here for another year (something that actually pleases me a lot) and assuming Wilson's re-signed, I don't see how there's room for both Richards and Latta. Chimera's slowed down a bit recently, but I'm not convinced there's a natural replacement for him within the team as it is.
I think the Caps would like to keep Richards if it can, and probably Chimera for another year or so, so assuming Mojo sticks with the team I think Latta's the odd one out. It would be crazy to keep him in the press box for another season...
What works in Latta's favor is that he's really cheap, so if they have to squeeze somebody in and because of that need to run a dirt-cheap 4th line, maybe that's how he stays. Personally, I don't really care, I don't see any upside unless he can significantly improve his skating... on the other hand, as a serviceable cheap extra body, he's ok.
The others guys I can easily see leaving... there's probably a price point at which the Caps would want to keep both (unless, say, their wheels fall off in playoffs), but probably their fate will be a by-product of more important decisions, and also whether the other teams are willing to offer them multi-year deals...
Actually, seems pretty likely that both Chimera and Richards will leave. If they don't do well in playoffs, why keep them? If they do, it's likely some teams will give them multi-year deals, which I don't think the Caps can touch.
Here's the thing. If we choke in the playoffs again, what will be our excuse now?
This is by far, the most complete team we have had. If we don't win it with this team the next 2 years, there isn't much we can add and do to make us over the top.
GMBM has done everything he could to try and make this team compete. The problem lies within the players