Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap/Lines etc. Part LXXXIV -- The Doggiest Days (Woof!) 2017

[RandyHolt]

if you listen to what people around him say, Ov is always injured. Cal Ripken...

Yeah you got that right.

He seemed to foul an awful lot of foul balls directly off his foot. He would be hoping around in clear agony, and then go back into the box like nothing happened.

@Sammie

 

[Hivemind]

Teams are starting to extend PTOs. Some of the semi-notables include Pirri (FLA), Gelinas (MTL), Cowen (COL), Prust (LAK), Loktionov (LAK), and McClement (PIT). Caps have not invited anyone yet, and only have a single invite to rookie camp so far AFAIK.



FWIW, I still think Derek Roy should have made the team a couple years ago off of his PTO.

 

[txpd]

Yeah you got that right.

He seemed to foul an awful lot of foul balls directly off his foot. He would be hoping around in clear agony, and then go back into the box like nothing happened.

@Sammie

sometimes I don't come close to understanding what you are talking about

 

[hockeykicker]

https://streamable.com/no90u

First, Burakovsky shows off his one-meter box jumps on each leg. One meter probably means nothing to you since Americans don’t believe in the metric scale, so I’ll convert it into units you understand. That’s nearly 40 inches or three-and-a-half feet. That’s like 39 inches higher than Barry Trotz can jump.
In the next video, Burakovsky nearly hits his head on the ceiling as he does an even higher box jump with two legs.

 

[Corby78]

I wonder how closely Pitt fans monitor kessels weight

 

[hockeykicker]

I wonder how closely Pitt fans monitor kessels weight

Are you kidding? All the time haha

 

[Sam Spade]

That's great, if you have the prospects and the development system to pull it off. Finding and developing Connor Sheary and Jake Guentzel is not an easy task. Outside of one of the best (if not the very best) goalie pipeline in the NHL, the Capitals have had questionable results at producing quality talent from their minor league system since the talent boom of the fire sale dried up.

Not taking anything away from the Pens here but what do you consider developing players?

Guentzal (23) and Sheary (25) both played four years of college, signed, played limited time in the minors (44 and 90 games) then came up to play with with Sidney Crosby.

Great finds for sure but I'm not going out on a limb here in saying maybe they don't produce with the Coyotes or the Flyers.

I would bet if the Caps put Burakovsky (22) or Vrana (21) with Backstrom all season they could pot 20-25 goals per season.

At least I hope they can.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

Not taking anything away from the Pens here but what do you consider developing players?

Guentzal (23) and Sheary (25) both played four years of college, signed, played limited time in the minors (44 and 90 games) then came up to play with with Sidney Crosby.

Great finds for sure but I'm not going out on a limb here in saying maybe they don't produce with the Coyotes or the Flyers.

I would bet if the Caps put Burakovsky (22) or Vrana (21) with Backstrom all season they could pot 20-25 goals per season.

At least I hope they can.

This coach is to old school for that

 

[Holtbyisms]

This coach is to old school for that

He ain't gonna have a choice this year, young skill guys are going to have to play in skilled roles unless he bring in a bunch of PTO grinders to fill out the lineup. Cause there's no way he rolls with training camp day 1 lines through the entire season. At some point he'll tinker and it'll mean a young skill guy on a top line. I expect Bura to have a 25 goal year this year. Last year he shows signed of if when paired with skill players and got the minutes. He also looked stronger last year, I expect him to be even stronger this year. I can see Vrana with a 15 goal year getting about 50% of his games in the top 6, might even try him on PP1 if they want to spread out the PP wealth. That'll definitely increase his point production.

I'm excited for this year, don't care about last season or the last 10. New season, new hope. Caps forever.

 

[g00n]

I wonder how closely Pitt fans monitor kessels weight

Are you kidding? All the time haha

Yeah, Kessel's perceived fitness has been a thing for a loooong time. See his recent pic with the Cup and several hot dogs. And of course the vid of him on the exercise bike. But a lot of that was because he just has a pudgy kidface and doesn't strike you as an elite hockey player. The effects of medication also factored into it.

But his game is not the same as Ovechkin's and he hasn't shown any real signs of losing speed over the years. Ovie made his mark as a bull in a china shop who scored dazzling goals off the rush. He's had to pivot from that to PP turret status and he hasn't been a major threat on the rush in years. Kessel still is. Not the same player in many ways.

Either way...maybe Ovie should contact Kessel and ask him for some tips instead of mocking him during the AS Draft...

 

[Langway]

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-capitals-breakdown-key-factors/c-290773714

General manager Brian MacLellan isn't ruling out having two rookies [on defense], although he also hasn't ruled out bringing in another experienced defenseman before training camp, possibly on a professional tryout agreement.

"I'm definitely comfortable with one, maybe not two," MacLellan said of playing his rookie defensemen. "We'll see how it goes."

There's not much left in free agency, though, esp. at LD after Beauchemin returned to the Ducks. Stuart, Kindl, Liles and Tyutin don't offer anything more than Orpik and maybe not even anything more than Chorney at this point. Franson could be interesting I guess but I assume he's going to want a contract over a PTO and they might as well go with Bowey at 3RD anyway. It's Djoos/2LD that figures to be the bigger question mark. I'd look more toward the waiver wire for defensive depth if needed, though. There may be some decent options at the end of the pre-season and as-is they have enough prospects to battle it out internally over some slower stopgap vet.

Between existing depth forwards, I wouldn't be against adding a depth forward PTO. That may not be a priority at all but more competition beyond the Hershey options would be a good thing. I'm not sure Graovac, Boyd, Barber and O'Brien present enough of a challenge for Walker, Smith-Pelly and Stephenson. Plus, there's a bit more quality remaining among unsigned forwards between Jagr, Vanek, Iginla, Gionta, Upshall, Winnik, Chiasson, Hudler and Da Costa. Hard to say which of those will accept PTOs, though, and for a lot of reasons we can scratch off Jagr at least.

 

[hockeykicker]

Roman polak could be one too

 

[dillyboy93]

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-capitals-breakdown-key-factors/c-290773714

There's not much left in free agency, though, esp. at LD after Beauchemin returned to the Ducks. Stuart, Kindl, Liles and Tyutin don't offer anything more than Orpik and maybe not even anything more than Chorney at this point. Franson could be interesting I guess but I assume he's going to want a contract over a PTO and they might as well go with Bowey at 3RD anyway. It's Djoos/2LD that figures to be the bigger question mark. I'd look more toward the waiver wire for defensive depth if needed, though. There may be some decent options at the end of the pre-season and as-is they have enough prospects to battle it out internally over some slower stopgap vet.

Between existing depth forwards, I wouldn't be against adding a depth forward PTO. That may not be a priority at all but more competition beyond the Hershey options would be a good thing. I'm not sure Graovac, Boyd, Barber and O'Brien present enough of a challenge for Walker, Smith-Pelly and Stephenson. Plus, there's a bit more quality remaining among unsigned forwards between Jagr, Vanek, Iginla, Gionta, Upshall, Winnik, Chiasson, Hudler and Da Costa. Hard to say which of those will accept PTOs, though, and for a lot of reasons we can scratch off Jagr at least.

Franson maybe?

 

[hockeykicker]

Franson maybe?

He's listed in first paragraph

 

[dillyboy93]

He's listed in first paragraph

Oops, clearly I can't read

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

I would bring back Winnik if he takes league min

 

[Hivemind]

I think Liles is a very different player than Orpik. His recent injuries and decline make Liles are far less intriguing player than a couple years ago, but I wouldn't mind a PTO. Unclear how he stacks up against Chorney at this point, but it doesn't hurt to have some more competition for the 6-8D slots.

 

[twabby]

I would bring back Winnik if he takes league min

If Winnik could do something, anything in the playoffs I'd be down with bringing him back. But it's hard to ignore 0 goals and 3 assists in 58 playoff games (and 0 points in 25 playoff games with Washington).

 

[Caps8112]

whens camp start

 

[g00n]

Winnik is a playoff dud with no indication of any breakout coming. Pass. Don't waste a spot on a guy like that. Play some kids for most of the regular season.

 

[Sam Spade]

Roman polak could be one too

I would bring back Winnik if he takes league min

That is going backward.

Niskanen, Carlson, Orpik, Orlov, two rookies, Chorney. I am perfectly ok with that.

Don't want Winnick or some old guy, I don't even want Smith-Pelley to make the NHL roster. Let's move forward.

 

[Langway]

Roman polak could be one too

I guess he could pair with Djoos and stick up for him or something with Orpik at 2LD but I'd avoid experienced slower options. They could be decent enough stopgaps but they need mobility back there. It's better to take their lumps and hope someone takes charge between Djoos, Johansen and Siegenthaler. There are a handful of younger defensemen I'd monitor to see if they hit waivers at some point before the season starts if no one steps up. Vegas should ship a few out in time but maybe only Reinhart works for salary reasons and I'm not sure that's a fit. For free it could be but I wouldn't give up much. I assume Miller and Merrill won't be shipped out quite yet in order to maintain some semblance of competitiveness.

With Reirden still around I'd lean on him to manufacture solutions in-season and avoid stopgapping the whole season or until the deadline. They need to lean on him to really develop quality options and turn their organizational depth into a glut that can help offset pending raises and/or become trade assets for help elsewhere. Whereas, in comparison, I'm less convinced they can adequately develop quality forward depth and all of their 11/12/13F options have at least some marks on them. If Vrana or Wilson disappoint or a scoring-line forward goes down I don't have confidence in anyone stepping up from the fourth-line or beyond. Not that they need to sign a Vanek but they could use a quality type that can either fit on the fourth line and chip in or put someone else there in turn. Walker-Beagle-DSP doesn't strike me as a particularly good fourth line and that kind of seems like the default option at the moment when there are better options available to them. It's not so clearcut in UFA on the back-end so it makes for an easier upgrade. Again, they may not be focused on it at all but they should be.

 

[RandyHolt]

Backwards, you wanna go backwards?

Brooks Laich, 2LD.

I hear he is available. Mobility minimized on the backend.

 

[crazy8888]

I would bring back Winnik if he takes league min

I have no idea why Winnik got a sweater in these past PO'S. The only time i even noticed him was in game 7 breakaway that he missed.

As someone mentioned above, his playoff production can be matched by any player currently playing hockey, and not only on professional level.

 

[Hivemind]

Bringing back Winnik would at least open the possibility towards reuniting the best 4th line in the NHL, but that would also rely on other wingers stepping up enough to relegate Wilson back to the 4th line.