Can this core win another Stanley Cup?

[Devil Dancer]

Sadly I voted no, but the core can be changed or supplemented quickly. Figure out a way to add a playoff warrior or a difference maker on D or G and things might be very different.

 

[Holtbyisms]

I ain't seeing it. We're on the ride to see Ovi go after 99 then we can rebuild.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Can they? Yes…..

Will they? I’d be surprised.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

The spirit of the question leads me to say no, though it's hockey and hockey is random as hell. As I have mentioned in other threads I think the team as it stands is a bubble playoff team next year. It wouldn't shock me if they missed the playoffs next year especially with Gallant coaching the Rangers and them being linked to Eichel. I also imagine Pittsburgh and Carolina will also be looking to add, and the Islanders under Trotz are still a better overall team.

The Capitals need to add a significant player to their core, preferably a center, and if they do I think they can be competitive. But as it stands, tweaking here and there and simply hoping for better injury luck isn't going to cut it IMO.

Is it really that random, though? Of the 4 teams left in the playoffs is anybody genuinely surprised that 3 of them are there? Montreal is the only one that is random and completely unexpected (imho).

Agree with you about the rest, though.

 

[Corby78]

Is it really that random, though? Of the 4 teams left in the playoffs is anybody genuinely surprised that 3 of them are there? Montreal is the only one that is random and completely unexpected (imho).

Agree with you about the rest, though.

And they are there because they came out of the north

 

[twabby]

Is it really that random, though? Of the 4 teams left in the playoffs is anybody genuinely surprised that 3 of them are there? Montreal is the only one that is random and completely unexpected (imho).

Agree with you about the rest, though.

There’s more randomness to hockey than many other sports, but of course better teams still usually win. Point being that even if the Capitals aren’t in the contender tier they’ll still have an outside shot. This is why I took the “spirit” of the question into consideration when answering no to the poll, otherwise I think the answer is trivially yes and it’s not really a meaningful question.

 

[HandsomeTom43]

In 1956, Mao Zedong created the "Hundred Flowers" campaign, where the Chinese communist party encouraged the citizens of the country to criticize the party and the government, under the theory of improving the country. Whether it was his original intent, or just a reaction to the massive waves of criticism the party received, shortly after the campaign ended, the government rounded up critics and brutally punished them, sending many to re-education camps and "disappearing" countless others.

It is my secret hope that this thread is exactly the same thing, only directed at the constant nattering nabobs of negativity that infest these boards. A sort of verbal trap for those who I would swear, based on their posts, seem to enjoy a Capitals loss more than a Capitals victory. Perhaps the mods are just cleverly recording all of the "fans" who constantly seem to denigrate the Caps at every turn. Bǎihuā qífàng, bǎijiā zhēngmíng. Let the purge commence!

This is my favorite post ever. This is better than the Lars Eller AHL scrub posts that one dude would always make.

This core has two years left, and there's currently a gaping hole in the 92 spot, if he's 2018 Kuzy then yes, if he's not, then no, unless he get's replaced by someone that can be as high-end as he can be. Throw in some unexpected youth and the next Henrik Lundqvist in Samsonov then yes. It will take a lot of fortune but it is possible.

 

[HTFN]

There’s more randomness to hockey than many other sports, but of course better teams still usually win. Point being that even if the Capitals aren’t in the contender tier they’ll still have an outside shot. This is why I took the “spirit” of the question into consideration when answering no to the poll, otherwise I think the answer is trivially yes and it’s not really a meaningful question.

This is where I am too. Nobody would have called Montreal's Cup window "open" but here we are, and every year some shortsighted hockey fans (not here, just in general) look at a contender and say "oh is this the new way to win" but in reality the way to win is to get to the dance and cross your fingers, more or less. Years of being favorites and predicting the window as "open but closing" led to nothing, and then they were basically dead in the water until they were suddenly winning it all.

they can make it more difficult on themselves but even if they do everything right from here on it's not even that the cup window is closed, it's just that sometimes you don't know when it's open until your head is already through it and then you just have to ride the wave and hope it doesn't slam shut until you're finished going through it.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Yes, with some retooling by adding more speed. With coaches Murray/Forsythe and goalies Sammy/Vitek, no. PP, Goaltending and Team D have to improve a lot if they want to win another Cup.

 

[Melkor]

The reasons why Montreal is still playing are the speed and good goaltending. Caps are exactly the opposite of that so looking at the Habs and going "oh they can do this so can we" is kinda delusional. You need to completely destroy this team and build it with a very different approach and priorities in order to have a chance. Another way is just to add talent. Probably takes less time if the talent is elite but far more difficult than Montreal model for obvious reasons the main of which is Caps current scouting group has chosen the wrong job.

 

[sycamore]

No.

And quite frankly, I would rather watch a losing but young team with exciting future possibilities than
this bunch of aging has-beens.

 

[sycamore]

Sadly I voted no, but the core can be changed or supplemented quickly. Figure out a way to add a playoff warrior or a difference maker on D or G and things might be very different.

The trouble here is "the core" itself. The assumption here is that OV and Nicky (paritcularly Nicky) are still operating at prime levels. But maybe they're not.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I can only imagine 2-3 years from now when the Core is REALLY old.


People yearning to watch a loser….ponderous.


Not me, I’ll take the punchers chance, because realistically, that’s what about 28 teams have each year.

 

[txpd]

The trouble here is "the core" itself. The assumption here is that OV and Nicky (paritcularly Nicky) are still operating at prime levels. But maybe they're not.

Backstrom last season has his best season in the last 5 seasons. Unless injuries become a problem again, Ov didnt appear to have slowed down. Oshie was about as good as he can be.

 

[g00n]

Any "old core" still as good as ours can win with the right supporting cast. The problem may be in the half-ass approach regarding the roster, since cobbling a team of 28-33yr old veterans to fill that supporting cast works if you're rebuilding around young superstars. When the core is older the supporting cast needs to be younger, with upside.

Again it's all about outperforming contracts. If current Ovie and Nick are playing but the cap is higher, allowing more spending elsewhere, are people ready to turn them loose? I doubt most are. This all seems like capology.

 

[Langway]

The problem going forward is very likely not just age but the ability to defend against pace. The less they dictate the more they need to be able to at least rely upon solid defensive structure to slow teams down and make it a chopfest. But that's not really in Laviolette's DNA and they don't have the sort of gritty D core to fully embrace that so it's inevitable they'll be adding speed (albeit checking vs. perimeter or one-dimensional). We'll probably continue to see a lot of fairly vanilla attempts at competing, relying a lot on grit and experience. Without discipline and structure it's just going to get outdone by pace when it inevitably breaks down. They've got to find ways to offset that, get stronger fundamentally and start consolidating secondary complementary strengths beyond grit.