Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap/Lines etc. Part LXXIV (Arbitration Season)

[g00n]

I agree with waht you're saying - but it still sucks now even getting close.

ECF in the first year? Caps didn't make the ECF. They made second rd two years in a row.

We didn't go from being a team that didn't have the talent to make the playoffs. We were terrible under Oates and he was the worst coach possibly ever in the NHL (i know that's exaggerated - but he was awful). Caps didn't make the playoffs because of his bad coaching and front office disasters when trying to add depth under the Caps core players.

Let's not act like GMBM took over a team that wasn't talented and that's why the Caps didn't make the playoffs. He took over a team that had made the playoffs multiple times with Alzner, Carlson, Holtby, Ovi, and Backstrom as the top guys.... same top guys he has now 3 years later.

Caps have missed the playoffs like once over the past 10 or 11 years. GMBM didn't take over a rebuilding team...

Pitt was in danger of not even making the playoffs 7 months ago and ended up winning the Cup b/c front office/coaching adjustments. So yes, 2 years of 2nd rd losses is not something to be happy about when you have what some experts say "the most balanced top to bottom team in the NHL".

Also, things haven't gotten worse - but they certainly haven't gotten better. Sure, having a proven NHL coach in Trotz is nice and the team plays as a team better (and Trotz is great)... and winning a ton in October, November, and December is nice - but the end results haven't been any better at all - and time with the core they've been trying to win with for the better part of a decade is running out. People can say we were close this year and bla bla bla - but we hear that every second rd loss. ALso, if you go back and watch the Pitt/Wash game - Pitt was BY FAR the team that controlled that series. Possession, shots, coaching, their system, etc were all better than the Caps that series.

It's time to win NOW - but we've added Eller and Connolly while losing Chimera....

I said "almost" making the ECF. They were like a minute away and choked away the rest of the series. Is that on the GM?

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Outside of Orpik, my only problem with GMBM is his drafting, and I could be wrong about that in the long term, since his picks haven't had time to play out yet.

I'd like to see him leverage Samsonov rather than keeping him in-house for the long term. I'm still annoyed with that pick, along with the Walker debacle.

I wish he would curb his penchant for liberally disposing of 2nd and 3rd round picks. The Connolly signing made me look at the 2010 draft results and you see some of the talent that does exist in the later rounds of a draft.

 

[txpd]

Oh, please. This team has been on the cusp for eight years already. Expectations shouldn't be lowered due to recent mismanagement, esp. given their regular season performances and the rise of Holtby. There is no bigger poster child for coming up short in the playoffs over the past decade than these Washington Capitals.

Ultimately it seems like Trotz just isn't the guy to win a Cup with so you might as well stack as much talent as possible and shake up the team further by introducing new players with different skill sets and habits. If you believe Trotz will figure it out then I guess largely the same cast is fine. Younger players are bound to develop to some extent. But we've seen enough and heard enough subsequently to doubt whether he has that elusive killer instinct either.

The killer instinct. Sullivan was a failed NHL head coach as I recall. Boudreau didnt have it. Nor did Hunter or Oates and now Trotz. Which coaches have that killer instinct and which of them that have it are capable of translating that into the team having it?

I agree that Trotz is questionable as a playoff coach. I am also wondering if he has any experience with the hot seat. He had 16 years in his first NHL HC job. How prepared is he to face getting fired for not getting past the 2nd round in just his 3rd season?

You can make a case that if Ov is going to lead this team to a cup, he should have had a big game in g2 v the pens or in the game with Letang out or would have scored a goal ahead ppg in the late minutes of g6 after the game was tied. Its hard to blame Ov and any of the players getting ice time similar to his could have stepped up with the killer instinct but Ovechkin is the big dog.

 

[SpinningEdge]

I said "almost" making the ECF. They were like a minute away and choked away the rest of the series. Is that on the GM?

I mean it's the same players who haven't been able to get over the hump - so maybe? If the same group of guys leading the team can't ever get past that 2nd rd obstacle - Yes, some blame is on the GM for not adding to that or mixing it up to fix that problem.

It is a lot of bad luck w/ the Caps too. Matchups against Rangers (President Trophy winners last year) and Pens this year (hottest team in NHL over last half of year), but when a team does fail - there needs to be blame. Some may blame players, some coaching (like Trotz's lack of adjustments in the Pens series), some officiating, or some even blaming the front office. Sure, every year something different can happen and each season is different - but for the Caps - the same thing tends to keep happening with no REAL changes. That's why I put most of the blame on the front office - and GMBM is the top dog in the front office right now when it comes to putting together the roster.

 

[g00n]

I mean it's the same players who haven't been able to get over the hump - so maybe? If the same group of guys leading the team can't ever get past that 2nd rd obstacle - Yes, some blame is on the GM for not adding to that or mixing it up to fix that problem.

It is a lot of bad luck w/ the Caps too. Matchups against Rangers (President Trophy winners last year) and Pens this year (hottest team in NHL over last half of year), but when a team does fail - there needs to be blame. Some may blame players, some coaching (like Trotz's lack of adjustments in the Pens series), some officiating, or some even blaming the front office. Sure, every year something different can happen and each season is different - but for the Caps - the same thing tends to keep happening with no REAL changes. That's why I put most of the blame on the front office - and GMBM is the top dog in the front office right now when it comes to putting together the roster.

Wait, so are you blaming gmBm in his first year for the chokejob of a team you also credit McPhee for building?

 

[Langway]

I agree that Trotz is questionable as a playoff coach. I am also wondering if he has any experience with the hot seat. He had 16 years in his first NHL HC job. How prepared is he to face getting fired for not getting past the 2nd round in just his 3rd season?

I find that hard to believe as likely but we'll see. Given ownership's interest in Trotz prior to MacLellan's promotion it makes for a bit of an awkward setup. Coupled with MacLellan's inexperience, will he really push Trotz to make needed tactical changes as well as make that coaching change any time soon? There may be some daylight between them philosophically but is MacLellan seasoned enough himself to push Trotz out of his comfort zone?

Putting it on the kids and their improvement has long been a ready-made organizational excuse with the added advantage of inherently requiring further patience. Developing excellence requires patience to be sure but also an unsparing deliberate adherence to the process. They've never really gotten to that level and it's mostly shown when it counts. They have a long-running ability to secure good outcomes in the regular season often to the detriment of the depth in the process of becoming a more dangerous playoff team. Trotz has shown to just be more of the same and with largely the same cast it seems likely to follow the same old script. Things could happen--Kuznetsov could step up--but the organizational philosophy still seems just as suspect. Trotz's stubbornness could be a huge factor in the coming seasons and MacLellan needs to guard against that as much as possible.

 

[Coldplay619]

Isabelle KhurshudyanVerified account
‏@ikhurshudyan
Caps will make systematic changes next season, but don't expect them "to play a lot differently"

“We had 120 points and we’re probably as close to the Penguins as you’re going to be,” Trotz said. “We just need to get more production out of those bottom six.”

Should we be scared?

 

[Carlzner]

He's not wrong.

The two biggest problems that series was not pressing harder in game 4 and not pressing harder after tying game 6. Both of which GMBM specifically called out.

 

[Calicaps]

Should we be scared?

No. They are a good team. They don't need to blow anything up. Not the roster and not the system, but they do need tweaks to both. Sounds like Trotz has accepted that fact. I hope he can implement the right tweaks.

 

[twabby]

My main concern is coaching at this point. After the Capitals blew the 3-1 series lead to the Rangers, Trotz said the team lacked killer instinct because they couldn't finish the Rangers off.

I guess I didn't see much improvement in this department because it seemed like the team lacked focus at the beginning of games starting from January on. I don't really buy that the players were just unfocused, I think it was a product of the system. I feel like the Capitals go through too much of a feeling out process to start games, rather than dictating the play from the outset like the Lightning and Penguins seem to do (moreso the Penguins obviously). The Capitals seemed to play not to lose to start games, and then when their backs are against the wall the talent takes over and the score dictates that they need to attack more. This strategy works in the regular season because let's face it, the Capitals have a better roster than almost every team in the league. But it didn't work against Pittsburgh because they have a similarly talented roster and they are coached to attack from the outset.

 

[Caps8112]

I mean it's the same players who haven't been able to get over the hump - so maybe? If the same group of guys leading the team can't ever get past that 2nd rd obstacle - Yes, some blame is on the GM for not adding to that or mixing it up to fix that problem.

It is a lot of bad luck w/ the Caps too. Matchups against Rangers (President Trophy winners last year) and Pens this year (hottest team in NHL over last half of year), but when a team does fail - there needs to be blame. Some may blame players, some coaching (like Trotz's lack of adjustments in the Pens series), some officiating, or some even blaming the front office. Sure, every year something different can happen and each season is different - but for the Caps - the same thing tends to keep happening with no REAL changes. That's why I put most of the blame on the front office - and GMBM is the top dog in the front office right now when it comes to putting together the roster.

"To a dark place this line of thought will carry us" Yoda


Who knows, maybe its time for massive changes if they fall short in the 2nd round again this year. To make things brief, playoffs start and Ovi gets double covered, end of story. Rest of team fails to pick up the slack and fall 1 goal short every game. Its really quite simple, of all these amazing reg. season teams when it comes to the playoffs Ovi is the only go to guy. Really liked Oshie in this playoffs but other then that it was the same old story. The putrid Flyers took the caps to 6.

When is it time to decide this corp cant get it done. Teams make shakeup trades all the time of star players. Obviously I mean Backstrom even though I dont really want him gone. If not him tho who do you choose. Blame has to fall somewhere. Really dont think the ownership will trade Ovi unless he asks for it and I am in no way saying I want to trade Ovi

 

[Caps8112]

My main concern is coaching at this point. After the Capitals blew the 3-1 series lead to the Rangers, Trotz said the team lacked killer instinct because they couldn't finish the Rangers off.

I guess I didn't see much improvement in this department because it seemed like the team lacked focus at the beginning of games starting from January on. I don't really buy that the players were just unfocused, I think it was a product of the system. I feel like the Capitals go through too much of a feeling out process to start games, rather than dictating the play from the outset like the Lightning and Penguins seem to do (moreso the Penguins obviously). The Capitals seemed to play not to lose to start games, and then when their backs are against the wall the talent takes over and the score dictates that they need to attack more. This strategy works in the regular season because let's face it, the Capitals have a better roster than almost every team in the league. But it didn't work against Pittsburgh because they have a similarly talented roster and they are coached to attack from the outset.

Ive said this before but I see the last two playoffs a little bit differently then the usual choke job the caps pull. In fact the blown 3-1 to the Rangers I dont see as a choke at all. They were playing the best team in the conference. You can arrange the 7 games any way you want but the caps came to play in that series and someone has to lose. The pens one is also very simple. Whoever won that series won the cup IMO. Pens were firing on all cylinders and caps had way to many meaningless games leading up to it but those were the best two teams in the league with Tampa being 3rd. The flyers taking the caps to 6 seemed like the caps knowing their was no way they could lose to them and playing without heart. Probably underestimated the pens a little bit in the same way.

 

[SpinningEdge]

I'm not really crediting anyone. There's no one to really correct. Ovechkin is arguably the greatest pro athlete in history to never even make a conference final.

Well, maybe the Caps scouting and draft people. They're great. I'll give them credit.

McPhee should have been gone years ago when he was trying the same thing over and over and it wasn't working. Remember the 2nd line substitutions he kept trying to fix taht never was the difference? Went from Laich to Ribeor to Grabo, etc. Whatever though, that's in the past.

Basiccally - with where the Caps are now - with the talent they have with the top part of their roster - I just want to stop seeing so much approval and people being okay with things now. It's a god damn embarrassment Ovi has performed and hasn't been out of the second rd. It's a damn embarrassment Holtby has like a .940 save percentage and has unde a 2 GAA in like 100 playoff games and is under .500.

I just want to see PRESSURE on the front office and coaching staff. It seems like Trotz is here to win and do what it takes. I like that. That was a good move. However, the roster moves by the front office just blow my mind. The Caps have the best core/talented players in their prime in the HISTORY of their franchise - and the fact that the GM takes first rd picks to draft a goalie when Holtby is locked up for 6 years and then a defender 3-4 years away just screams no pressure to WIN NOW for the Caps.

Ted should be reminding everyone in the front office that if the Caps fail to get over this 2nd rd hump - every offseason the front office better be sweating big time or come up with a much better plan than Lars Eller to keep their job. If there was that kind of pressure TO WIN NOW then maybe GMBM would be trying to do more things to help win now/maybe he'd be making better in-season moves... maybe when we're playing .500 for a month going into the deadline he doesn't just think "Oh, I'll just add Mike Weber", etc.

When you put pressure on people - you usually get the best out of people. They either rise up - or they fail. I don't think GMBM has any of that pressure - and it's a damn shame b/c Ovechkin deserves so much more than what he has been handed in Washington by their incompetent/constantly failing front office.

 

[txpd]

I mean it's the same players who haven't been able to get over the hump - so maybe? If the same group of guys leading the team can't ever get past that 2nd rd obstacle - Yes, some blame is on the GM for not adding to that or mixing it up to fix that problem.

It is a lot of bad luck w/ the Caps too. Matchups against Rangers (President Trophy winners last year) and Pens this year (hottest team in NHL over last half of year), but when a team does fail - there needs to be blame. Some may blame players, some coaching (like Trotz's lack of adjustments in the Pens series), some officiating, or some even blaming the front office. Sure, every year something different can happen and each season is different - but for the Caps - the same thing tends to keep happening with no REAL changes. That's why I put most of the blame on the front office - and GMBM is the top dog in the front office right now when it comes to putting together the roster.

I've said this before and its true. The best way to win a championship is to put yourself in a position to win as often as possible. We have seen it. This past playoffs the media and the insiders largely picked the Blackhawks and the Kings to win the Cup. They both were done in 1 round. Were both of those team fatally flawed or were they good enough and better than most but they failed this time?

Those teams play their game year after year. The Caps have believed that while legit contenders that their game was actually the problem. Bruce offense, Bruce defense, Hunter Hockey, Handedness Hockey, Trotz heavy hockey. With the same basic core, they have changed directions 5 different times.

I've concluded that they they either need to stay the course for a while and keep banging away at it or decide this team is not going to work and to tear it up and start fresh....yes, that means moving Ov and Backstrom and building a completely new identity.

My view is that they should believe in themselves and keep banging away. Convince Ovechkin to keep swinging with all he has and that the door will come down.

 

[hockeykicker]

It's a sad day

 

[third man in]

No. They are a good team. They don't need to blow anything up. Not the roster and not the system, but they do need tweaks to both. Sounds like Trotz has accepted that fact. I hope he can implement the right tweaks.

This, and hope like hell Kuz plays like a top 6 center next playoffs

 

[Langway]

Should we be scared?

Only in that he seems to be completely letting Kuznetsov and Burakovsky off the hook. It wasn't just the bottom six. It also took, what, five games for him to adjust?

IMO it boils down to being disciplined yet intelligently searching for what's most effective. The Caps were too rigid and passive when it mattered and that's not playing to win. They got away with that often in the regular season but they've got to dump that tendency and be more aggressive. Being mentally engaged to perform at increasingly high levels begins way before the playoffs start. It's possible to do mostly the same things systematically but to execute them much crisper, faster, and more intelligently. Whether that's their approach is anyone's guess. Ultimately I think Trotz will err on the side of caution, "structure" and defense-first because it's his bread and butter. I don't really expect them to become a Chicago or Detroit from a hockey sense and playmaking standpoint. That's not his game.

 

[twabby]

I don't like seeing guys lose their jobs but Gormley was just dreadful on air and didn't provide nearly as much information as say Isabelle does. Hard to justify his paycheck.

 

[SpinningEdge]

It's a sad day

So his last story published is a Caps story about Ovi possibly leaving the Caps for Russia one day.... Not a great last thing to be remembered by.

.... Not as bad as making a Forsberg for Martin Erat trade though...

 

[third man in]

It's a sad day

Maybe for him lol

 

[Hivemind]

It's a sad day

 

[strungout]

Maybe for him lol

I can't believe he made it this long.

 

[Ridley Simon]

It's funny how we went from missing the playoffs and many just hoping the change in leadership doesn't make things WORSE... to acting like we're owed a Cup... in 2 years.

Almost making the ECF in the first year, and probably overachieving a bit, really raised expectations.

Correct on all counts.

Look, I'm not afraid to bash management for what I deem stupid/short-sighted/backwards moves or thinking, as we all know. So I feel like I can be even keeled about this management group.

And they are doing a really good job. I can't say great, until if/when they win the Cup.....but it's really good, now.

And hell, we all know Rutherford was the Penguins Anti-Christ as little as 6mo ago, and was bringing on the Malkin trade apocalypse this summer. Then he made a few moves, fired a coach, and won everything in sight in about 4 months.

Things can change that fast. The Caps foundation today, is as good as anyone's. Period.

To think that there are moves to be made that would guarantee them anything next spring is foolish. Frankly, it's a lot easier to screw it all up with a move, than it is to ensure success. And they haven't done anything to screw it up. Not yet, at least.

 

[g00n]

Re: the Gorminator...

I'm not going to cheer a man losing his job (providing me with free content) just because I found him to be annoying, awkward, frequently inaccurate and cringeworthy.

I'm not against the move, though.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

It's a sad day

Your post from two days ago:

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washin...r-path-datsyuk

can we fire this fool already? jesus gormley shut up

I am impressed! Well done!