Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap Part XLI *(Poll added 2/12)*

[Raikkonen]

While I think the Cup is unprobable, getting to the ECF or (fantasy) to SCF will do very much for their confidence and morale.

I mean Ovechkin, Backstrom and core players used to fail. They will smell blood. That could be huge. And could force AO to prepare better and age better / later.

That's some undefined dynamics.

 

[Raikkonen]

Also I think Brouwer should be an useful player in playoffs. Shame he wasn't earlier for us. If he's clicking with Kuz in Spring (I think they've developed some chemistry) he should be kept. His next contract is uncertain, but it's not the problem for today.

At least I see strong sides in Brouwer: physicality, some shot, leaderiZm, PK, some fighting. That should be translated in platoffs (with the help of coaches).

Mojo is eternal potential butter. Or is it butter potential? He's got the worst shot in top-6. He's the smallest one in top-6. I like him much but I'd like a Cup first.

He could be OK but he's RFA and we can see Bura is written all over him at LW in 2-3 years (and while Bura's developing his caphit will be the ****ing 894k).


PS: Now when I'm thinking about it I get the impression that Mojo got less explosive than in previous seasons. That makes some sense ofc. Maybe it's just bad eyes.

 

[Raikkonen]

I don't get the clamoring for a 2C. Kuznetsov has taken that position. He's not a good fit for any wing due to his board work, and I see no reason to trade for a center to move him to the wing.

Kuz never played 100+ matches.

He's injury prone.

Weak yet.

Chances are he will not handle it all the way to the Cup.

Currently our C-depth is Backstrom-Kuznetsov-Fehr-Beagle-Latta.

Maybe we could get some Eller to play with Laich and Ward (Fehr -> 2LW). Smth like that.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I am 90% sure we will not be trading for rentals. We were linked to Kane, who had term remaining. No credible source has said we're in on any of Vermette, Winnik, Santo, etc. So either GMBM is incredibly shrewd and is somehow not being linked to all of these rentals when other teams are, or he is not willing to pay for rentals and is focusing on guys with term remaining.

 

[Raikkonen]

Vermette is going to cost us a arm and a leg. Not really worth it when he's going to test free agency and be one of the top paid players this offseason (meaning he will be greatly overpaid).

I want to make a move and make a big splash - and we really do need a top winger or #2 center, but I don't want to give up some big pieces to do so.

There has to be someone under the radar we could get for less.

I still think Derek Roy could be a good playoff guy. Great two ways, has gone against other teams top lines a ton, 1 million/season this year, and would be very cheap to get.

1) It will be hard to get top winger/center without giving up arm and leg for that
2) Is Roy better than Kuz?

 

[Raikkonen]

What is the most effective 1st line ES move in actual playoffs games? I will tell you. It's a faceoff in the OZ Backstrom wins to Ovechkin's stick directly. They could get away with lesser player at RW, like Johansson.

They could be better with a proven top-6 winger... but if you have to pick one, bolstering the 2nd line is probably more important.

 

[trick9]

Would much rather trade away draft picks that won't help the team that much for 1-3 years, rather than dealing prospects who are much more NHL-ready and could get their first action as early as next season.

Green won't be here in October so Bowey should be off the table, unless he's critical piece for other team to Pavelski/JvR calibre player that's signed long-term. Vrana's value propably changes alot between different teams because he was bit of an reach @ 13 and some teams might still see him as 20-30 prospect in that draft year.

Kuznetsov and Burakovsky should pretty much be off the table completely. Wilson, same as Bowey. Only as a piece for star player signed long-term. Would hate to lose him though.

Vermette -train is propably off the course for now with Kuznetsov playing as well as he has on the 2nd line and Vermette has tons of teams after him. People in here seem to be love him even though his stats on the playoffs are Brouwer -like and he gets tons of crap for that in here.

Winnik <> Chimera
- bottom-6 swap if Toronto feels they can't resign him. Late pick involved if needed.

 

[BobRouse]

Would much rather trade away draft picks that won't help the team that much for 1-3 years, rather than dealing prospects who are much more NHL-ready and could get their first action as early as next season.

Green won't be here in October so Bowey should be off the table, unless he's critical piece for other team to Pavelski/JvR calibre player that's signed long-term. Vrana's value propably changes alot between different teams because he was bit of an reach @ 13 and some teams might still see him as 20-30 prospect in that draft year.

Kuznetsov and Burakovsky should pretty much be off the table completely. Wilson, same as Bowey. Only as a piece for star player signed long-term. Would hate to lose him though.

Vermette -train is propably off the course for now with Kuznetsov playing as well as he has on the 2nd line and Vermette has tons of teams after him. People in here seem to be love him even though his stats on the playoffs are Brouwer -like and he gets tons of crap for that in here.

Winnik <> Chimera
- bottom-6 swap if Toronto feels they can't resign him. Late pick involved if needed.

I'm pretty much with you here only that I'd put Wilson in with Kuz and Bura.

With Orlov coming back potentially that would eat up some remaining cap space we have. Good news is that between him and Schmidt it should ensure Hillen to the press box.

So that would solve one glaring roster issue there.

I personally still would like to see Bura/Wilson in the top 6. Trotz doesn't think so however.

I'd imagine they are show casing Chimera by putting him in the top 6. I'd HOPE they are b/c otherwise his play has not warranted being close to that position.

A cheap vet UFA winger that can be had for a pick would be the way I'd go. The players who would be an obvious upgrade would probably cost too much.

But yeah...draft picks are what we really should solely be looking to deal unless the right player with term left is coming the other way.

 

[g00n]

I wonder what the chances are of an off the board move being made? Like an Alzner or Fehr being part of a deal. Those names never seem to come up in trade talks, and moves have a way of sneaking up on you.

I'm probably just paranoid today. Friday the 13th and all.

 

[txpd]

you mean to say that a bold move that would have alzner traded would not be a good thing?

 

[BobRouse]

I wonder what the chances are of an off the board move being made? Like an Alzner or Fehr being part of a deal. Those names never seem to come up in trade talks, and moves have a way of sneaking up on you.

I'm probably just paranoid today. Friday the 13th and all.

So we'd move to critical players who are on dirt cheap contracts for a cap strapped team like us??

I think you're def paranoid on this one buddy!

I can't imagine any situation where either of those guys is moved.

 

[Raikkonen]

Alzner is not only cheap, he's the only future top-4 LD which is guaranteed to play at certain level.

I think now is a time to (try) develop Orlov as top-4 D and let Orpik play while he can. Upgrading LD makes sense later if smth is broken on that path.

And I hope Alzner can become Suter-light type. Thinking defensive type with some offense. To form Carlzner pair which is kinda like Suter-Weber.

After Orpik is done we should have better defenders on our hands (I mean leadership, grit and nastyness from Orpik should be partly accumulated by his partners). And then... boom! you don't need to upgrade that much. Just invest 2nd/3rd round picks in potential future D sometimes (like Bowey) and you have top4 + stream of 3rd pair Dmen.

I'm sure there is a plan for this, mostly like that.

 

[g00n]

I'm not suggesting we trade Alzner or Fehr. Those are just names I used as an example for my actual question about surprise moves.

The only reason I even entertain this thought (aside from jokes about paranoia and the 13th) is the notion that GMBM might be walking into a seller's market with a buyer mentality, and names can get thrown out there that aren't on fans' radar (or even the GM's). Plus we know that GMBM has gone after players he wanted (Orpik, Niskanen) and overpaid a bit when the asking price went above the anticipated budget. If he and Trotz have a guy in mind, and the GM on the other side of the table has a deal ready to go but wants to change one player, does GMBM scrap the deal, or throw in that other piece with some adjustments?

It doesn't sound too likely, but if Toronto and Edmonton start making deals like the one Buffalo/WPG just pulled off then other GM's might have to make these decisions or be content with doing nothing.

Right now I'd put it 60% in favor of doing nothing in such a case. Much closer to uncertainty than certainty.

 

[BobRouse]

I'm not suggesting we trade Alzner or Fehr. Those are just names I used as an example for my actual question about surprise moves.

The only reason I even entertain this thought (aside from jokes about paranoia and the 13th) is the notion that GMBM might be walking into a seller's market with a buyer mentality, and names can get thrown out there that aren't on fans' radar (or even the GM's). Plus we know that GMBM has gone after players he wanted (Orpik, Niskanen) and overpaid a bit when the asking price went above the anticipated budget. If he and Trotz have a guy in mind, and the GM on the other side of the table has a deal ready to go but wants to change one player, does GMBM scrap the deal, or throw in that other piece with some adjustments?

It doesn't sound too likely, but if Toronto and Edmonton start making deals like the one Buffalo/WPG just pulled off then other GM's might have to make these decisions or be content with doing nothing.

Right now I'd put it 60% in favor of doing nothing in such a case. Much closer to uncertainty than certainty.

For sure we don't know what GMBM is truly all about just yet. We do know he is very aggressive or at least in comparison to GMGM.

The whole being in on Evander Kane (after injury announced) was very very suprising.

Using most cap space to sign 2 dmen was surprising too. I know most on here were DYING for us to resign Grabovski...speaking of which...how's that working out for the Isles? They are doing good for sure but Grabo was been utterly underwhelming.

GMBM is not lollygagging thats for sure. Seems he knows what he wants.

Personally I'd be content with doing nothing and would be more dissappointed if we overpaid for a guy like Vermette.

 

[Backstrom #19]

I still say acquire Vermette and put him with Laich and Ward. Move Fehr up to the top line. Johansson back with Kuzy and Brouwer.

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Fehr
Laich - Vermette - Ward
Johansson - Kuznetsov - Brouwer
Latta - Beagle - Wilson

Penalty kill improves with Vermette, Fehr is a perfect fit for the 1st line. Just give Kuzy's line sheltered minutes.

 

[BobRouse]

I still say acquire Vermette and put him with Laich and Ward. Move Fehr up to the top line. Johansson back with Kuzy and Brouwer.

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Fehr
Laich - Vermette - Ward
Johansson - Kuznetsov - Brouwer
Latta - Beagle - Wilson

Penalty kill improves with Vermette, Fehr is a perfect fit for the 1st line. Just give Kuzy's line sheltered minutes.

Vermette for a 2nd rounder is fine.

Vermette for a 1st and Riley Barber is NOT fine.

He will most likely cost the latter. Do you still say we should acquire Vermette if thats the case?

 

[txpd]

I tend to think the incoming player(s) might be off our radar rather outgoing players. We only tend to talk about players that everyone is talking about.

 

[Backstrom #19]

Vermette for a 2nd rounder is fine.

Vermette for a 1st and Riley Barber is NOT fine.

He will most likely cost the latter. Do you still say we should acquire Vermette if thats the case?

Is Barber that valuable to the team as a RW considering Vrana is tearing up the SHL right now? And Galiev is finally showing he has NHL potential?

 

[BiPolar Caps]

I am 90% sure we will not be trading for rentals. We were linked to Kane, who had term remaining. No credible source has said we're in on any of Vermette, Winnik, Santo, etc. So either GMBM is incredibly shrewd and is somehow not being linked to all of these rentals when other teams are, or he is not willing to pay for rentals and is focusing on guys with term remaining.

My thoughts as well. Picks/prospects are the asking price for such the players that you mentioned and for this discussion I'd have to include the likes of Kuznetsov/Burakovsky/Wilson/Orlov/Schmidt/Latta in the category of prospects that teams would have an interest in. Young players that are on relatively cheap contracts. Why mortgage the future for a rental that really would not change the team's dynamics that much. I know Trotz has mentioned that he sees a need in one or two areas, but even with what may be available I don't think it will make a significant difference for the team in the playoffs at this time. Rather see the Caps pursue those missing pieces in the off season. Just roll with what we got and get the aforementioned young players some playoff experience and evaluate them and others accordingly.

 

[BobRouse]

Is Barber that valuable to the team as a RW considering Vrana is tearing up the SHL right now? And Galiev is finally showing he has NHL potential?

Brouwer has one more year left on his contract. Ward will likely be gone.

We traded away a similar player in Eakin.

Not to mention a 1st round pick in a deep draft (especially with the success rate of our 1st round picks over the last 10 years) is going to be a good player.

So we'd be giving up 2 good young cost controlled NHL players for a couple months of a good, not great, player.

Look at our mid/late 1st round picks:

Carlson, Green, Bura, Varlamov, Forsberg, MJ, Kuz, Wilson etc

Would you trade a player like that along with a player like Eakin for a rental?

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Would much rather trade away draft picks that won't help the team that much for 1-3 years, rather than dealing prospects who are much more NHL-ready and could get their first action as early as next season.

Green won't be here in October so Bowey should be off the table, unless he's critical piece for other team to Pavelski/JvR calibre player that's signed long-term. Vrana's value propably changes alot between different teams because he was bit of an reach @ 13 and some teams might still see him as 20-30 prospect in that draft year.

Kuznetsov and Burakovsky should pretty much be off the table
completely. Wilson, same as Bowey. Only as a piece for star player signed long-term. Would hate to lose him though.

Vermette -train is propably off the course for now with Kuznetsov playing as well as he has on the 2nd line and Vermette has tons of teams after him. People in here seem to be love him even though his stats on the playoffs are Brouwer -like and he gets tons of crap for that in here.

Winnik <> Chimera
- bottom-6 swap if Toronto feels they can't resign him. Late pick involved if needed.

Trading away draft picks is why Burakovsky and Wilson continue to remain with the Caps and are not where they should be, Hershey. Those 2nd round picks that GMGM liked to toss around like confetti, i.e. Joe Corvo/Cody Eakin trades depleted the prospect pool in the minors for this team. Continuing with that formula is a destructive plan for this organizations future.

 

[Capitlols]

I wonder what the chances are of an off the board move being made? Like an Alzner or Fehr being part of a deal. Those names never seem to come up in trade talks, and moves have a way of sneaking up on you.

I'm probably just paranoid today. Friday the 13th and all.

If Alzner brings back someone like OEL, I'm definitely on board.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

I don't get the clamoring for a 2C. Kuznetsov has taken that position. He's not a good fit for any wing due to his board work, and I see no reason to trade for a center to move him to the wing.

I am strongly coming around to Vermette.

1) He can play 2C if Kuznetsov slows down/isn't as effective in the postseason. If not, he slides over to wing no problem.

2) Faceoffs. Big weakness. Remember Game 6 against the Rangers in the ECSF a few years ago?

3) Vermette re-signs for a 4 year, maybe even 3 year, deal. I like that a lot better than committing to projects like ROR or Kadri for 8 years.

4) Vermette gives us a lot of lineup flexibility as he can play in any spot on the 2nd or 3rd lines.

5) He's a finished product who has played 3 years under Tippett and a couple under Hitch. He likely steps in without missing a beat.

 

[strungout]

I didnt know Santorelli was a Nashville draft pick. I always assumed he was picked by the Panthers.

 

[BobRouse]

If Alzner brings back someone like OEL, I'm definitely on board.

If Kuznetsov brings back someone like David Backes, I'm definitely on board.

Obvious statement is obvious.

Ofcourse you trade Alzner for OEL! No sane Caps fan would say no to that.