Player Discussion Alzner

[ArtPeur]

He has a partial NMC dont think he would want to ride the bus with the kids.

You also have to consider that he's going to take a veteran spot in Laval

 

[habsgirl5000]

Post-mortem. Mid April, 2019....

"The character players didn't show a good attitude. The others had a positive attitude but lacked character. No stones will be left un-turned as Marc and I try to figure this out over the course of his new contract extension."

i would have a bad attitude too if my boss destroyed a promising team

 

[Adam Michaels]

He has a partial NMC dont think he would want to ride the bus with the kids.

He has a Modified-NTC, not a partial NMC. Basically, he can be sent down to the minors without his consent. He has the exact same clause as Brendan Smith with the Rangers, who was placed on waivers, went unclaimed, and finished his season in Hartford.

 

[LeHab]

He has a Modified-NTC, not a partial NMC. Basically, he can be sent down to the minors without his consent. He has the exact same clause as Brendan Smith with the Rangers, who was placed on waivers, went unclaimed, and finished his season in Hartford.

My mistake, you are right it is a modified NTC not NMC.

 

[LaP]

I don't think there's any point doing anything with him for the next season unless you need the cap space. He can make an okay 3rd pairing coupled with Juulsen as long as you have the cap space.

 

[ottawa]

Stolen from the trade boards but hilarious in hindsight

 

[Hockeyholic]

Lmao. Poor Alzner has to feel like a fool now. Caps are champs. Habs are in the worst shape of any team.

 

[Cobra Commander]

Krawl Fallzner

 

[Habs100]

Honestly, if Alzner goes on one of those slim down diets that other athletes have undergone, it might give him the mobility he needs to be effective in the new NHL.

He looks really chunky in interviews.

Same for Lucic, by the way.

 

[LeHab]

Stolen from the trade boards but hilarious in hindsight

Wants to win money...

 

[Tyson]

I will never understand this team’s philosophy. Even fans noticed the league was changing to a fast, transition hockey league and slow players were finding it difficult to play. McCarron would have been a decent NHLer 6 years ago. Dwight King was a good player for about 4 years until the league became too fast. Alzner was a solid Dman for many years until the league became too fast. Alzner and Weber both will become nightmare contracts pretty much now.

 

[Cobra Commander]

I will never understand this team’s philosophy. Even fans noticed the league was changing to a fast, transition hockey league and slow players were finding it difficult to play. McCarron would have been a decent NHLer 6 years ago. Dwight King was a good player for about 4 years until the league became too fast. Alzner was a solid Dman for many years until the league became too fast. Alzner and Weber both will become nightmare contracts pretty much now.

Keep Weber's name far away from this, he is a great player in this new fast league.

 

[Scriptor]

Buying Alzner out this year will save us $4.6 mil but in 2021 it will cost us $4.6 mil. By then the cap will rise so it would matter. Overall it will decrease our cap by $1.3 mil per year for the next 8 years.

Do it

I think we could more easily get someone to take Alzner (CHI?) as insurance at D for 3M. That would cost us 1.65M in salary held back over 4 years instead of 1.3M over 8 years. I much prefer that. I honestly don't think that this would be all that difficult to do, especially if we start the year with the Alzner-Juulsen pairing to put the veteran in a better light before trading him when injuries start piling up for teams. At that point, it's unclear just how badly we would need to hold back salary. Mind you, there will even be so-called fans screaming at Bergevin for trading Alzner if he has played well this year alongside Juulsen.

That's how ridiculous MON fans are...

 

[Cobra Commander]

Bergevin thought Alzner was a great D-man, Capitals fans all told us he was garbage.

So nobody from the Habs org watched this guy play before showing interest?

And then they throw a huge deal his way? You can't make this stuff up.

 

[Tyson]

Keep Weber's name far away from this, he is a great player in this new fast league.

Weber is a smart Dman which will help him immensely as he ages, and slows down. He will start having issues competing as the league gets younger and faster.

 

[Sorinth]

I don't think there's any point doing anything with him for the next season unless you need the cap space. He can make an okay 3rd pairing coupled with Juulsen as long as you have the cap space.

Honestly if the goal is to tank next season (I'm not sure it should be), he's actually a decent player to have. You can play him 20-22 minutes a night starting every shift in the defensive zone. He can soak up a lot of the defensive minutes which insulates guys like Mete and Juulsen. You might not win a lot of games with that strategy, but if the goal is to tank it's a lot better then having our best prospects going up against top lines and getting torched every night.

 

[Price is Wright]

Bergevin thought Alzner was a great D-man, Capitals fans all told us he was garbage.

So nobody from the Habs org watched this guy play before showing interest?

And then they throw a huge deal his way? You can't make this stuff up.

It was pure reputation. His last season with the Caps they likely excused as injuries. If you have read the way people defended him, it was the same stuff every time:

- Never missed games until 2017, he is fine
- Used to be a top pair guy with Carlson and we will use him as a second pair guy
- We need his toughness, our D is too soft
- There are stats that make him look good
- You don't need hand strength to be good at hockey (seriously someone said that)
- He's better than Emelin and that's what counts
- He was one of the best free agents available

I'm sure that is what Crawford and Bergevin were saying too.

 

[Habs100]

Lmao. Poor Alzner has to feel like a fool now. Caps are champs. Habs are in the worst shape of any team.

Alzner needs to come to camp slim as fitness freak, after a summer of going vegan and gruelling workouts.

If he does that, no matter how he ends up playinh, I'll respect him.

If he comes back with the same chunky and triple chin look, the treatment he'll get from the fans will be what he deserves.

 

[sandviper]

Bergevin thought Alzner was a great D-man, Capitals fans all told us he was garbage.

So nobody from the Habs org watched this guy play before showing interest?

And then they throw a huge deal his way? You can't make this stuff up.

What is damning about this is pro scouts and Bergevin obviously missed this, or chose not to believe it. Worst still, given both their tenures, CJ and JJ must have been consulted as well. That's 4-6 people in the chain at the minimum who all though Alzner was a catch.

One of those rare instances where there were 30 teams that won this signing by the Habs.

 

[LaP]

It was pure reputation. His last season with the Caps they likely excused as injuries. If you have read the way people defended him, it was the same stuff every time:

- Never missed games until 2017, he is fine
- Used to be a top pair guy with Carlson and we will use him as a second pair guy
- We need his toughness, our D is too soft
- There are stats that make him look good
- You don't need hand strength to be good at hockey (seriously someone said that)
- He's better than Emelin and that's what counts
- He was one of the best free agents available

I'm sure that is what Crawford and Bergevin were saying too.

Alzner never was a legit top pairing guy. Like Gorges he played in the top 4 but really he's a 3rd pairing dman. He used to be an okay 4th guy when his contract was better but that's about as far as i would personally go. Never ever been a solid top 3 guy. He always has been one of the weakest link of the capitals. And i don't say that with hindsight i've been saying it for a while. Guys like him and Laich looked good on the caps but really they were dim a dozen players.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Stolen from the trade boards but hilarious in hindsight

The truth is honestly:

"I would've stayed with the caps but they were at the cap and let go. I signed with a team who finished high in standings and maybe I can help"

 

[Price is Wright]

Alzner never was a legit top pairing guy. Like Gorges he played in the top 4 but really he's a 3rd pairing dman. He used to be an okay 4th guy when his contract was better but that's about as far as i would personally go. Never ever been a solid top 3 guy. He always has been one of the weakest link of the capitals. And i don't say that with hindsight i've been saying it for a while. Guys like him and Laich looked good on the caps but really they were dim a dozen players.

You would think the team that had Gorges with Subban and Emelin with Weber would understand that but nope.

 

[ottawa]

The truth is honestly:

"I would've stayed with the caps but they were at the cap and let go. I signed with a team who finished high in standings and maybe I can help"

And the more accurate truth is probably "I went to the highest bidder"

 

[Price is Wright]

And the more accurate truth is probably "I went to the highest bidder"

According to Alzner he skipped his future interviews to sign with Montreal. He probably had an idea on the offers but nothing concrete for those teams, so he didn't really go highest bidder.

But what he probably did was:
- Knew he wasn't going back to Washington (he was low on the depth chart)
- Evaluated the teams who wanted him to see who had the best records and potential (Montreal won their division)
- Looked at who would be his competition on the left side (Markov was old, there was no competition unlike Calgary who was interested and has Giordano and Brodie)
- Saw Montreal was offering him a huge contract (with a no trade clause for 7 teams)

He also couldn't delay too long because there were other D options (Daley, Hainsey, Kulikov, Stone) who all got less money and term than him but if he waited too long he could end up like Cody Franson, who constantly waited too long and never got that long term deal.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Louis Jean said today on Destination Coupe Stanley AM on TVA Sports that MB will not buy out Alzner. He said he hasn't given up on him and that Alzner has had success in Washington and is confident he will do better next year.