Speculation: Acq/ Rost. Bldg./ Cap Part XXI

[LSnow]

At anyone thinking the Caps make the playoffs as currently constructed. Could probably sneak in with Briere, but we all know he isnt signing here

I hope we dont get Briere, he is horrible defensively and probably costs too much.

 

[BobRouse]

Novel idea..

Give MP a shot at 2nd line center over the course of a year. He was one of our best players in the POs and the year before when Backstrom went out he stepped in and produced. He works his butt off and it would be nice to see the Caps reward him with a real legit chance.

Why trade for overrated scrubs like Grabovski who puts up decent points on horrendous teams and when his team gets good he is bumped down to the bottom 6?

Why sign aging broken down players like Lecavlier or Briere? One dimensional they both are along the lines of Ribeiro and all will want some cash.

Alot of people on this board are like Holmgren and they love to go "name fishing". They give up on their own players (Sharp, Carter, Richards, Bobrovsky) in an effort to go out and land some names or expedite the winning process.

Our best chance for improvement as a team is improvement from within and that won't happen if young players aren't given a chance and we bring in aging broken down mercenaries.

At anyone thinking the Caps make the playoffs as currently constructed. Could probably sneak in with Briere, but we all know he isnt signing here

Yes. The Caps will make the playoffs. They still have a great deal of young players who are getting better or will get better. Briere and his ilk will only hinder our chances.

 

[RandyHolt]

I am on board with trying to fill 2C internally. We were given the hard sell Laich is a center. MJ seems hit or miss at wing and is a center IMO. MP has exceeded expectations but remains disliked by far too many that do not have a better center ready to take his spot. We added Latta. We have options. Kuz

Bigger than thinking all our centers suck at 2C we need to figure out what the knullà is wrong with Backstrom.

If he can play like a 1C he is paid to be, I think our 2C vacancy is not nearly the issue that it is.

Right Full Rudder 20 degree down

Erat Nick O
Laich MP Brouwer
Chimera MJ Ward
Volpatti Beagle Fehr
Latta

Fehr is out of place though. We are clearly high on Wilson hence the playoff games, but I do no see where he fits in our lineup anytime soon. But George is also high on Fehr, clearly. He does not like being wrong on his picks.

If George has the sack to do anything he needs to move a RW in a deal to land a LD. Ward or Brouwer would be my candidates to go.

 

[BobRouse]

I am on board with trying to fill 2C internally. We were given the hard sell Laich is a center. MJ seems hit or miss at wing and is a center IMO. MP has exceeded expectations but remains disliked by far too many that do not have a better center ready to take his spot. We added Latta. We have options. Kuz

Bigger than thinking all our centers suck at 2C we need to figure out what the knullà is wrong with Backstrom.

If he can play like a 1C he is paid to be, I think our 2C vacancy is not nearly the issue that it is.

Right Full Rudder 20 degree down

Erat Nick O
Laich MP Brouwer
Chimera MJ Ward
Volpatti Beagle Fehr
Latta

Fehr is out of place though. We are clearly high on Wilson hence the playoff games, but I do no see where he fits in our lineup anytime soon. But George is also high on Fehr, clearly. He does not like being wrong on his picks.

If George has the sack to do anything he needs to move a RW in a deal to land a LD. Ward or Brouwer would be my candidates to go.

Backstrom I think will be fine. He started slow and picked it up last year. Tough playoffs but he will rebound. He's just now begining his prime years afterall.

We are stacked at RW like you say. MJ would seem likely to be moved back to C. He's still a pup and can learn to be better there.

Interesting...Ward/Fehr/Wilson fighting for 2 bottom 6 forward RW slots. They just resigned Fehr. Brouwer coming off a career year and GMGM loving him as a leader makes me think they keep him. Ward had a strong playoff.

Tough choice. I'm inclined to say they don't trade anyone there. In your lineup swap Fehr and Ward and thats not so bad. If MP can play like I believe he is capable of then we will have a good group of forwards.

Guys like MP, MJ, Carlson, Alzner, Orlov, Holtby, Nuevirth, Wilson etc need to continue to get better and will IMO.

We don't need to be bringing in any long term mistakes from the outside. I laugh at Philadelphia right now...in one year from now all their fans will be bitter about the Lecavalier deal when they see what kind of player he is now.

 

[Raikkonen]

Erat is top-6 LW
Brouwer is top-6 RW, same is Ovechkin
Backstrom is top C
Laich is top-6 LW or C
MJ is top-6 LW or C

=>

Erat/MJ/Laich -Backstrom-Ovechkin
MJ/Laich/Erat - Perreault/MJ/Laich -Brouwer
Fehr - MJ/Laich/Perreault - Ward
Chimera - Latta - Beagle/Mitchell
Volpatti

There is no roster spot almost. Only for cheap forward (preferably C, hence BGordon) on short-term contract. Money is allocated already.

=> cap space -> LD plz

 

[RandyHolt]

I too am glad we did not land Vinny. Anyone that has to be bought out is someone that is trending in the wrong direction. Dirt cheap, yeah maybe on a 1 year deal.

But for all of Holmgren's foolish moves, George and his wiser <non> moves has little to show for it.

Speaking of trending. I think Nick was injured his past loffs but am judging him on his entire playoff resume. 57GP 43 Points is meh. And he racked those points up playing almost exclusively with Ovi, the best player in the world or league for a lot of that time.

I know he is not a physical player but he has room to do more. Sadly, his playoff numbers are trending down as he gains experience. In his last 29GP he has a lame 13 points. Simply put, that trend has to be reversed for this team to make it to the finals. It may not matter who our 2C is.

 

[NoMoreChoking]

Guys I'm sure McPhee knows we have a hole at 2C and he will try to fix it.

This negativity is ridiculous. We will make the playoffs again and you guys that are crying now should not be allowed to root for them.

The season hasn't even started yet

 

[RandyHolt]

If we are using his recent track record on trying to fix 2C, I quickly become less optimistic as we move into an NHL grade division.

George will have about 3.5M in space. A bit low for a proper 2C it seems.

I am thinking we should trade Ward. Since we will never give him reps on a scoring line, he is overpaid. When we are barely making the playoffs, its not wise to keep him on the roster solely for his playoff heroics. That 3M should be spent on a guy that will help us make the playoffs.

This team needs more hart heart and sole soul players that will not float through the regular season.

 

[strungout]

This team needs more hart heart and sole soul players that will not float through the regular season.

Who gives a flying two ****s about the regular season?

They have proved they can make it through the regular season.

They need playoff performers.

 

[Stewie G]

I'm dumbfounded that people are willing to give up playoff performers for regular season stat padders. Is the extra handful of goals that Brouwer pots at 2RW over Ward going to be the difference between making the playoffs or not? If not, ship out Brouwer and his 21 point pace playoff numbers and keep Ward. For all the flak that Flash caught for putting up good regular season numbers and disappearing in the playoffs, somehow Brouwer is escaping the wrath of the masses.

2011 playoffs
Player A: 14GP, 19 minutes/game, 2 goals + 2 assists
Player B: 7GP, 19 minutes/game, 1 goal + 2 assists
Player C: 11 GP, 9 minutes/game, 2 goals + 1 assist

A is Brouwer, B is Flash, C is Knuble

2012 Playoffs
Brouwer: 7 GP, 19:30/game, 1 + 1, 2:30 PPTOI/G, 0 PPP

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Who gives a flying two ****s about the regular season?

They have proved they can make it through the regular season.

They need playoff performers.

Absolutely correct.....too many people, team officials and fans alike have their eyes on the wrong prize. There's no regular season Stanley Cup winner.

 

[Jedgi]

Who gives a flying two ****s about the regular season?

They have proved they can make it through the regular season.

They need playoff performers.

Gonna be much harder to make it through the regular season starting now, especially on with 8 (as opposed to 7) teams in the division, and none of them suck.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Gonna be much harder to make it through the regular season starting now, especially on with 8 (as opposed to 7) teams in the division, and none of them suck.

And hopefully that will expose McPhailure and the paper tiger he's constructed.

 

[Langway]

This team needs more hart heart and sole soul players that will not float through the regular season.

I disagree with this as well but I'll take a different angle from regular season vs. playoffs and suggest that the problem has more to do with leadership, preparation and respecting the game. Floating through the regular season has just been a byproduct of that larger issue.

It's July and so it's about need need need--and this team does need a lot--but they also have to get way more out of what they already have. Without doing that first and foremost it doesn't really matter who they add (not that they add much most likely). Not that they're a great team as constructed either but I still don't think, particularly up front, that they play the game with strong habits.

 

[Jedgi]

And hopefully that will expose McPhailure and the paper tiger he's constructed.

No offense, but the fact that you say McPhailure kind of takes away from your opinion.

 

[BobRouse]

Who gives a flying two ****s about the regular season?

They have proved they can make it through the regular season.

They need playoff performers.

I don't think anyone will disagree with this one bit. We all know it.

The tricky part is how to go about acquiring these "playoff performers"?

My take is we develop them from within. The salary cap has changed alot of things in the NHL just like it did in the NFL.

If there is a cheap vet with experience out there that can add some value I'm all about it. I'm not about grabbing past playoff performers like Briere and VL who are clearly on the downside, broken down and are demanding $$$ and term.

Thats not the way to go.

 

[tycoonheart]

No Vinny. No Ribs. The George McPhee special.

We've exhausted our "internal" options at 2C. We've tried MP. We've tried MJ. No one was capable of being a consistent 2C. Plus I like where both of them are right now. MP works very well on that 3rd line.

We're back to square 1 now. Which means we will probably try to force Brooks Liach into that position. And we'll be here all next season complaining about the need for 2C.

Thanks McPhee.

 

[BobRouse]

No Vinny. No Ribs. The George McPhee special.

We've exhausted our "internal" options at 2C. We've tried MP. We've tried MJ. No one was capable of being a consistent 2C. Plus I like where both of them are right now. MP works very well on that 3rd line.

We're back to square 1 now. Which means we will probably try to force Brooks Liach into that position. And we'll be here all next season complaining about the need for the 2C.

Thanks McPhee.

Really? I guess your definition of "tried" is different from mine. When has MP been given a full shot? The only time I recall is when Backstrom went down for half a season and he played rather well.

MJ is a very young raw player. Its easy to forget that I understand.

Again if you lack patience with young players then chances are they won't develop.

 

[QuadrupleDeke]

Sign Weiss
Sign Scuderi
Trade MoJo or let him walk or whatever, who cares
Obviously keep Alzner at all costs

Hope the math works out? How far over would the Caps be with reasonable numbers for that scenario? Maybe buyout Ward to make it all work?

 

[tycoonheart]

Really? I guess your definition of "tried" is different from mine. When has MP been given a full shot? The only time I recall is when Backstrom went down for half a season and he played rather well.

MJ is a very young raw player. Its easy to forget that I understand.

Again if you lack patience with young players then chances are they won't develop.

He did a respectable job filling in, I agree. The problem is consistency, and we need that if we are to compete for a cup. MP has always been streaky. You can get away with that a bit as the 3C. We aren't getting anywhere in the playoffs with an inconsistent 2nd line center.

As for patience - I mean, isn't this team built to win now? With a few missing pieces. 2C being the big one. Do we have time to sit and wait for someone to develop so that position becomes a solid one? This isn't a young team anymore.

 

[BobRouse]

He did a respectable job filling in, I agree. The problem is consistency, and we need that if we are to compete for a cup. MP has always been streaky. You can get away with that a bit as the 3C. We aren't getting anywhere in the playoffs with an inconsistent 2nd line center.

As for patience - I mean, isn't this team built to win now? With a few missing pieces. 2C being the big one. Do we have time to sit and wait for someone to develop so that position becomes a solid one? This isn't a young team anymore.

All scorers are streaky. You can't demote or bench one if he goes thru a period of non production. That is what has happened to MP for most of his time here except when Backstrom went down and they had no choice but to play him. Again he played darn well then and also very well this past playoffs.

I don't think this team was ever built to win now. If they were it was back in 80-09 and 09-10 when GMGM did not pull the Pronger trigger. That led me to believe we are still rebuilding and have been for a while. Teams built to win now generally don't roll with rookie/2nd year goalies for 4 or 5 straight years in the playoffs.

I always contended (and you can look it up back at the time) it was a huge mistake not to pull that Pronger trigger. I have come to peace with it. If we didn't do it then then there is no reason to do it now. We made our bed with the "building thru draft/protecting all our eggs" philosophy so we may as well ride it out. There is no recapturing the 07-10 Ovechkin. That ship sailed. Can't make up for it now.

 

[NoMoreChoking]

No Vinny. No Ribs. The George McPhee special.

We've exhausted our "internal" options at 2C. We've tried MP. We've tried MJ. No one was capable of being a consistent 2C. Plus I like where both of them are right now. MP works very well on that 3rd line.

We're back to square 1 now. Which means we will probably try to force Brooks Liach into that position. And we'll be here all next season complaining about the need for 2C.

Thanks McPhee.

Would you have signed ribs or vinny to a 5 year 5-6 mill a year contract?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

No offense, but the fact that you say McPhailure kind of takes away from your opinion.

Sorry you feel that way. The truth hurts....

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

McPhailure will address the 2C. Methinks....Briere as I said when he was bought out.

 

[tycoonheart]

All scorers are streaky. You can't demote or bench one if he goes thru a period of non production. That is what has happened to MP for most of his time here except when Backstrom went down and they had no choice but to play him. Again he played darn well then and also very well this past playoffs.

I don't think this team was ever built to win now. If they were it was back in 80-09 and 09-10 when GMGM did not pull the Pronger trigger. That led me to believe we are still rebuilding and have been for a while. Teams built to win now generally don't roll with rookie/2nd year goalies for 4 or 5 straight years in the playoffs.

I always contended (and you can look it up back at the time) it was a huge mistake not to pull that Pronger trigger. I have come to peace with it. If we didn't do it then then there is no reason to do it now. We made our bed with the "building thru draft/protecting all our eggs" philosophy so we may as well ride it out. There is no recapturing the 07-10 Ovechkin. That ship sailed. Can't make up for it now.

That Ovi might have left, but we've got a retooled Ovi who looks like he can still score like he used to. But the guy is 28 and is only going to get older. This is your shot to win a cup. This is where McPhee needs to go all out and build a team that is going to contend now, even if only on paper.

I really don't know why we are being optimistic about trying someone in house at 2C again when its never worked. We bringing in a guy, if only for a year, and he, at the very least, showed that he can play that position and play it pretty well.

Would you have signed ribs or vinny to a 5 year 5-6 mill a year contract?

I would've signed Vinny to the contract that Philly gave him.