GDT: Capitals at Blackhawks Oct 1, 2013 8:00 PM ET

[Icetime]

Chuck Gormley ‏@ChuckGormleyCSN 14s
#CapitalsTalk Brouwer, Green happy that Grabovski got 3 goals in debut but both want him to stay in position on power play.

wtf?

I can't believe those two clowns actually talked to the press about that. What petty *****es.

Work it out with the coach and player at practice if it's a problem you immature spoiled brats.

 

[Liberati0n*]

Obviously Brouwer is an entitled baby, but what he's saying for the wrong reasons is still right. Putting aside strict adherence to the process just because ignoring it worked once is dangerous and extremely stupid. That said, if they want to have something like that as a designed play from now on that's fine.

 

[Xaroc]

The point is that no one picked LA. No one anywhere predicted them before the playoffs started.

People picked them at the start of the year but who cares. They didn't get hot and win. Quick was amazing all year but was getting crap for goal support. All that happened was they got Carter and the rest of the team started scoring like they do normally and they rolled.

BBs teams were dominant puck possession teams I thought? So did we get "unlucky" in the Montreal series?

Yeah, we got unlucky in the Montreal series. Higher puck possession is not a guarantee of winning. However it is a bigger guarantee than hoping you have a hot goalie and he overcomes your crappy play to carry you a round or two extra. Montreal didn't win the Cup that year either if you recall.

Ovechkin had like a 2 or 3% shooting percentage in last playoffs and we had the puck possession stats vs the Rangers for the most part did we not? At worst it was fairly even.

One series doesn't mean jack. The Caps were a brutal puck possession team over the season and it came back to bite them in the ass when it mattered.

It sure seemed with the Tampa series we heavily outshot them especially in the games here and outchanced them. I dont remember the stats but it felt like it. We lost because Roloson was just flat out better than Neuvirth that series.

Point is that a hot goalie is THE most important element that can ensure success in the playoffs. Team confidence is there too.

No having a good goalie play well and being a good team are what win you the Cup. Having a goalie get hot helps maybe in a series or three but rarely does it lead to winning a Cup as you demonstrated by pointing out a single team that had a hot goalie win them a Cup in the last 20 years.

 

[Ridley Simon]

The point is that no one picked LA. No one anywhere predicted them before the playoffs started.

BBs teams were dominant puck possession teams I thought? So did we get "unlucky" in the Montreal series?

Ovechkin had like a 2 or 3% shooting percentage in last playoffs and we had the puck possession stats vs the Rangers for the most part did we not? At worst it was fairly even.

It sure seemed with the Tampa series we heavily outshot them especially in the games here and outchanced them. I dont remember the stats but it felt like it. We lost because Roloson was just flat out better than Neuvirth that series.

Point is that a hot goalie is THE most important element that can ensure success in the playoffs. Team confidence is there too.

No one picked LA? That's just plane hogwash. Lots of people thought they were the trendy pick, and they dommated the playoffs in ways the league hasn't seen in years.

You ere saying about hindsight, and your 20/20 vision?

And when you are off your soapbox, perhaps you can talk about your newfound affection for Grabovski? He was the hockey anti-Christ to you, a few short months ago? You seem to like dodging that nugget.

Look, the Caps D sucks. It's obvious to anyone that's is not wearing homer glasses. The offense is terrific, homer glasses or not. The goaltending had a bad night, and that's shouldn't be expected to continue.

But the defense's bad night was a continuation of the last few years. Now we are being sold a teenager (Carrick), and couple of journeymen (Hillen and Olesky), and a fading warrior (Erskine) as being our ticket to a deep playoff run.

All the while, we have 18% of our Caps cap tied up in 3 players that we really do not need (Erat, Laich, and Neuvirth). We could use one of Laich/Erat, but not both. With our defense, Neuvirth is a waste of money too, as he is not the type of goalie to steal wins.

Yes all of this is ok with you, as you are entertained, right?

 

[BobRouse]

One series doesn't mean jack. The Caps were a brutal puck possession team over the season and it came back to bite them in the ass when it mattered.

But you see its more than just one series in my eyes..

In 2008 I thought overall we had the edge on the Flyers. The last 4 games we took over and I am pretty sure we outshot them overall and had the puck more.

During Hunter Hockey the Bruins outshot us in 6 of the 7 games and I am CERTAIN they had the definitive edge possession wise. How did we win that one?

Then there were the Montreal and Tampa series.

Look I'm saying puck possession and shots are important. But series are won or lost on goaltending primarily.

Pittsburgh got bounced the last couple years in the playoffs despite having dominant teams. Fleury put on one of the most awful displays of goaltending I think I've ever seen vs the Flyers that one series. It only went 6 games because Bryz was only a fair bit less sucky.

 

[Xaroc]

But you see its more than just one series in my eyes..

In 2008 I thought overall we had the edge on the Flyers. The last 4 games we took over and I am pretty sure we outshot them overall and had the puck more.

During Hunter Hockey the Bruins outshot us in 6 of the 7 games and I am CERTAIN they had the definitive edge possession wise. How did we win that one?

Then there were the Montreal and Tampa series.

Look I'm saying puck possession and shots are important. But series are won or lost on goaltending primarily.

Pittsburgh got bounced the last couple years in the playoffs despite having dominant teams. Fleury put on one of the most awful displays of goaltending I think I've ever seen vs the Flyers that one series. It only went 6 games because Bryz was only a fair bit less sucky.

No one is saying goaltending isn't important. You can't win with bad goaltending. As you notice both Pittsburgh and Philly got bounced. My problem is this concept that a hot goalie can mask the other issues with a team. It can for a series or two but it won't win you a Cup.

You need a good team and a good goalie playing well or even outstanding to win. You can't have a crappy possession team with a godly goalie and win it all. Much like even if you are the best possession team in the league you can't win without at least reasonable goaltending.

 

[Ridley Simon]

You mean the chuck it in front of the net and hope it takes a bounce off a skate and in tactic?

I NEVER said we lost b/c Neuvirth gave up soft goals or played terrible (he didn't play great..average or something like that).

What I DID say is that Roloson outplayed Neuvirth and there is no denying that.

Maybe some of the Stat geeks can enlighten me here....
Starting from the Philly series and onward we have faultered in the playoffs. That can't really be denied.

Outside of the Pittsburgh and Boston series it sure felt like we had the possession stats and SOG advantage.

Certainly we had it against Montreal, Tampa, the Rangers (at least first couple times around) and even Philly from game 4 on.

If we are heavily outshooting them (or outshooting to some degree at least) and controlling the puck then how the heck did we lose those series??

You can say our D was bad or whatever..but fact remains we STILL controlled the puck and SOG. Were we unlucky?

To me I contend that all those series outside of Pitt perhaps...we got out goaltended.

Semin with 44 shots on Halak and 0 goals? Ovechkin with 30 or so shots last year and 1 goal?

Are SOG an indicator of team success? Are puck possession stats that important?

We beat boston despite getting whipped in SOG and puck possession (or at least it SURE FELT LIKE WE DID).

So...HOW did we beat Boston? I will tell you...Holtby outplayed TT. Simple as that.

Lol, didn't you JUST tell me that we hadn't seen a Caps Goalie outplay the opposition since Kolzig, in 1998? I argued you, you told me I was wrong?

Now you say this?

Your flopping on issues is legendary.

 

[HTFN]

No one picked LA? That's just plane hogwash. Lots of people thought they were the trendy pick, and they dommated the playoffs in ways the league hasn't seen in years.

You ere saying about hindsight, and your 20/20 vision?

And when you are off your soapbox, perhaps you can talk about your newfound affection for Grabovski? He was the hockey anti-Christ to you, a few short months ago? You seem to like dodging that nugget.

Look, the Caps D sucks. It's obvious to anyone that's is not wearing homer glasses. The offense is terrific, homer glasses or not. The goaltending had a bad night, and that's shouldn't be expected to continue.

But the defense's bad night was a continuation of the last few years. Now we are being sold a teenager (Carrick), and couple of journeymen (Hillen and Olesky), and a fading warrior (Erskine) as being our ticket to a deep playoff run.

All the while, we have 18% of our Caps cap tied up in 3 players that we really do not need (Erat, Laich, and Neuvirth). We could use one of Laich/Erat, but not both. With our defense, Neuvirth is a waste of money too, as he is not the type of goalie to steal wins.

Yes all of this is ok with you, as you are entertained, right?

Oh, we are? I guess I missed the part where we're on the other side of the deadline and waiting for the final games of the season to bleed off.

Can people just try settling the **** down and give it some time while the dust settles before absolutely losing all sense? I'm trying to figure out if it's just this board, or some kind of internet-based toxin that's causing people to go rabid, but I seem to remember a time when people would write off the first ten games out of camp as a time to juggle lines and tinker. Instead, Erat is clearly just a 4th liner, forever, Carrick is being touted as the messiah instead of just a good kid getting his feet wet, and nothing at all is going to change.

To me, Erat has the qualities that make Johansson a good fit for 1LW on paper, and some of the qualities that Johansson lacks, like better control and strength on the puck, I can't imagine a scenario in which he doesn't scoot right up into the top 6, which means displacement, line juggling, and a better idea of where people need to fit to function at their best. I have faith in Oates to make these changes, even if they're not the ones I envision, and at the very least, I have faith that with some time to shake the rust off, some of these issues will be fixed without doing a damn thing. The errors most notable from yesterday's game are some that look remarkably fixable (Holtby's concentration, Carrick's size, Laich and Brouwer don't tend to do well on a line together, Fehr's defense down the middle).

Sign us up for 0-82, I guess, but I wish I knew why DC's hockey board mirrors its politics, because this is just an amalgamation of talking points, rhetoric, deliberate misinterpretation, and above all, incessant pessimism.

 

[Ridley Simon]

People picked them at the start of the year but who cares. They didn't get hot and win. Quick was amazing all year but was getting crap for goal support. All that happened was they got Carter and the rest of the team started scoring like they do normally and they rolled.



Yeah, we got unlucky in the Montreal series. Higher puck possession is not a guarantee of winning. However it is a bigger guarantee than hoping you have a hot goalie and he overcomes your crappy play to carry you a round or two extra. Montreal didn't win the Cup that year either if you recall.



One series doesn't mean jack. The Caps were a brutal puck possession team over the season and it came back to bite them in the ass when it mattered.



No having a good goalie play well and being a good team are what win you the Cup. Having a goalie get hot helps maybe in a series or three but rarely does it lead to winning a Cup as you demonstrated by pointing out a single team that had a hot goalie win them a Cup in the last 20 years.

Considering that the "hot Goalie" that is being espoused here, is arguably the best of all time (Patrick Roy), I think Rouse's point has pretty much been flogged. I can't see using Roy as an example of luck

 

[Xaroc]

Considering that the "hot Goalie" that is being espoused here, is arguably the best of all time (Patrick Roy), I think Rouse's point has pretty much been flogged. I can't see using Roy as an example of luck

Fair enough. I was trying to throw him a bone on that one. That Habs team wasn't a bad team either and the Kings, while they had Gretzky, were not complete world beaters. The Habs did have those 10 OT wins in that run though and that was pretty lucky.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Where is it? I'd like to see it myself (cause I haven't done that, but thanks)

Here it is:

Did we look tough though? That's what's matters, wins losses....who cares?

Nope. Has been fire George for at least 2 seasons. It's more a continuation, than something new

Stop it.

Erskine + top 4 = MONEY!!

Sadly, I think George thinks like you.

I try to be as fair as possible, but my utter impatience with George gets the best of me.

Not specifically "Fire George", but they definetely conform to your schtick.

I get that you are a long suffering Caps fan. I think that can be said of the vast majority of us that frequent this board. But the above comments come after the 1st friggin game of the year, against the defending SC champs no less.

Just think "The Sky is Falling" act is more appropriate after, maybe, 10 games.

Also, I'd ask for examples of me calling for Shanahan and Friends to be fired, but I know they don't exsist so don't bother.

 

[Ajax1995]

So I see the 'Hawks won the vaunted shots attempted stats 57-54 thus asserting their superior possession game but I was wondering if anyone knows where we can find those numbers broken down by even strength, PK, and PP since I believe these numbers are only supposed to mean anything at even strength?

 

[brs03]

So I see the 'Hawks won the vaunted shots attempted stats 57-54 thus asserting their superior possession game but I was wondering if anyone knows where we can find those numbers broken down by even strength, PK, and PP since I believe these numbers are only supposed to mean anything at even strength?

http://www.extraskater.com/game/2013-10-01-capitals-blackhawks

EDIT: I can't paste the stats into a quote without it looking crummy. CHI was better at 5-on-5, whether in general or only when "close" or tied. The chart shows the Caps had a good 20 minutes stretch mid-1st to mid-2nd, but CHI really took over after that.

(That site is new I think, and boy is it an improvement over timeonice or the like in terms of user friendliness. Really nice.)

 

[Ajax1995]

http://www.extraskater.com/game/2013-10-01-capitals-blackhawks

EDIT: I can't paste the stats into a quote without it looking crummy. CHI was better at 5-on-5, whether in general or only when "close" or tied. The chart shows the Caps had a good 20 minutes stretch mid-1st to mid-2nd, but CHI really took over after that.

danke schön...

The Fenwick chart is amusing especially the part from roughly 5 minutes into the 2nd period until the end of that period where the Caps might add 2 events and the 'Hawks about 16.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Oh, we are? I guess I missed the part where we're on the other side of the deadline and waiting for the final games of the season to bleed off.

Can people just try settling the **** down and give it some time while the dust settles before absolutely losing all sense? I'm trying to figure out if it's just this board, or some kind of internet-based toxin that's causing people to go rabid, but I seem to remember a time when people would write off the first ten games out of camp as a time to juggle lines and tinker. Instead, Erat is clearly just a 4th liner, forever, Carrick is being touted as the messiah instead of just a good kid getting his feet wet, and nothing at all is going to change.

To me, Erat has the qualities that make Johansson a good fit for 1LW on paper, and some of the qualities that Johansson lacks, like better control and strength on the puck, I can't imagine a scenario in which he doesn't scoot right up into the top 6, which means displacement, line juggling, and a better idea of where people need to fit to function at their best. I have faith in Oates to make these changes, even if they're not the ones I envision, and at the very least, I have faith that with some time to shake the rust off, some of these issues will be fixed without doing a damn thing. The errors most notable from yesterday's game are some that look remarkably fixable (Holtby's concentration, Carrick's size, Laich and Brouwer don't tend to do well on a line together, Fehr's defense down the middle).

Sign us up for 0-82, I guess, but I wish I knew why DC's hockey board mirrors its politics, because this is just an amalgamation of talking points, rhetoric, deliberate misinterpretation, and above all, incessant pessimism.

Ok unless you are a BRAND NEW Caps fan, your post means nothing to me. Either that, or you just can't read well.

The defense issues are going on years now. I highlighted the defense as the problem-- and then you quote me, and ramble on about the offense. I don't think anyone here will claim the offense is an issue, unto itself. The amount of money we pay Laich and Erat is an issue, but that's also not about the offensive performance.

So....This particular incarnation of George's tenure (let's call it the Ovy years)' has never had a good defense. I have been discussing the defense , and it's problems, since 2009. So NO, it's not one game....it's more like 4 seasons (or 4 playoff loses, 4 trade deadlines, now 5 offseasons, etc etc).

Good Lord, take off the blinders.

Also, how is "Carrick's size" remarkably fixable?

 

[Ridley Simon]

Here it is:











Not specifically "Fire George", but they definetely conform to your schtick.

I get that you are a long suffering Caps fan. I think that can be said of the vast majority of us that frequent this board. But the above comments come after the 1st friggin game of the year, against the defending SC champs no less.

Just think "The Sky is Falling" act is more appropriate after, maybe, 10 games.

Also, I'd ask for examples of me calling for Shanahan and Friends to be fired, but I know they don't exsist so don't bother.

Come on WetHog, you can do better than that. Read all my posts, if you want my opinions on this team. They are pretty easy to follow. Not some silly tongue in cheek blurbs while the game was going on. That said....No, my comments were pokes at certain posters who thought this team was top in the East. And that Erskine is the 2nd coming of Scott Stevens, etc etc. That seem to care more about substance than winning.

If you actually read my comments, I'm not disappointed in the teams performance. I think they played pretty well, and looked about as good as could be expected, given their roster limitations.

And when I have time, I will search for your comments chastising the Redskins during their game threads. I know they are in there.....

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I can't believe those two clowns actually talked to the press about that. What petty *****es.

Work it out with the coach and player at practice if it's a problem you immature spoiled brats.

You guys are getting all spun up about some tweet from Gormley that aren't even real quotes?

Overreact much Anti-Brouwer Crew?

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I was thinking the same thing about Alzner and Langway. As for Brouwer and Green, they need to zip it. As for GMGM defense, this is nothing new in 16 years. I personally think the Caps are in for an entertaining year. Erskine had issues, but his hit on Toews was great. I give much respect for giving Carrick a reward to play, but let him develop more. Just hope GMGM doesn't, Forsberg him.

 

[Calicaps]

I can't believe those two clowns actually talked to the press about that. What petty *****es.

Work it out with the coach and player at practice if it's a problem you immature spoiled brats.

Obviously Brouwer is an entitled baby, but what he's saying for the wrong reasons is still right. Putting aside strict adherence to the process just because ignoring it worked once is dangerous and extremely stupid. That said, if they want to have something like that as a designed play from now on that's fine.

Man! To complain to the press about this is very possibly the dooshiest move ever. Shame on them.

And Lib, I agree that one ought not mess with our PP.

EDIT: Also CCF is right that it's not quoted, so maybe ********, but if true...

 

[HTFN]

Ok unless you are a BRAND NEW Caps fan, your post means nothing to me. Either that, or you just can't read well.

The defense issues are going on years now. I highlighted the defense as the problem-- and then you quote me, and ramble on about the offense. I don't think anyone here will claim the offense is an issue, unto itself. The amount of money we pay Laich and Erat is an issue, but that's also not about the offensive performance.

So....This particular incarnation of George's tenure (let's call it the Ovy years)' has never had a good defense. I have been discussing the defense , and it's problems, since 2009. So NO, it's not one game....it's more like 4 seasons (or 4 playoff loses, 4 trade deadlines, now 5 offseasons, etc etc).

Good Lord, take off the blinders.

Also, how is "Carrick's size" remarkably fixable?

In the interest of fairness, my quoting your post is almost solely about Carrick and co. being sold as the ticket to the playoffs. I don't think management expects any more out of Carrick than to play a couple games, enjoy himself, and come back hungry and with a good sense of what's next to work on. I don't think that Hillen factors in to the team plan as anything but a 7th defenseman come playoff time. The rest is a general address about a few repeating themes that have been weighing the discourse of the board down a lot, in my personal opinion (Erat and the 4th line, positioning, etc.). Some people, and not you in particular, but some people are becoming so consumed by smaller details that they can't see improvement when it's staring them in the face, or getting so far ahead of themselves that they forget that some of these things will resolve themselves with plenty of time to spare. I usually don't throw out quote bait, but when it comes to things like Erat, I'll eat crow if he's still toiling around with the dregs of the lineup being worthless by the Olympic break, and that's playing it safe. Ambitiously, I give it maybe a month before he's getting regular scoring line time. Don't get me wrong here, either, because some of them are valid (like your cap management point), but not all, and some are mountains out of molehills.

As for Carrick's size, well, I don't expect any growth in height, maybe, but I also don't expect him to continue the rest of his NHL career with a teenager's body and muscle mass. Carrick's number one flaw in my eyes, through preseason and last night, is his strength on and off the puck relative to NHL competition. Against marginal players in the preseason it was less glaring, but still evident. Against Bollig, a certified man-mountain that was being used heavily against the Hillen-Carrick pairing, there was no chance. Even if he never grows to floor those guys (which he won't), a year or two of aging and gaining that strength as he grows NHL ready will put him in a better position to make plays against guys that you would expect him to handle with more regularity, and that's why I say it's fixable. If his actual skill level never takes another step forward, he'll still be a better (and probably serviceable) player for getting his strength and conditioning to the NHL level.


In any case, this whole board has this weird post-deadline mentality when there's an entire season left to play, like the playoffs are looming and the team is still figuring out how to tie its skate laces, and apparently drawing on recent coaching mistakes to make the assumption that not a single aspect of this team will be making any improvement throughout the year. Believe me, I have my own reservations about management and roster composition when it comes to this board's talking points, and that's not even getting started on things that haven't been mentioned in a while (I don't think Hillen should be on this team as anything but a 7), but some of this is either exaggerated or jumping the gun by a mile.

 

[Ridley Simon]

In the interest of fairness, my quoting your post is almost solely about Carrick and co. being sold as the ticket to the playoffs. I don't think management expects any more out of Carrick than to play a couple games, enjoy himself, and come back hungry and with a good sense of what's next to work on. I don't think that Hillen factors in to the team plan as anything but a 7th defenseman come playoff time. The rest is a general address about a few repeating themes that have been weighing the discourse of the board down a lot, in my personal opinion (Erat and the 4th line, positioning, etc.). Some people, and not you in particular, but some people are becoming so consumed by smaller details that they can't see improvement when it's staring them in the face, or getting so far ahead of themselves that they forget that some of these things will resolve themselves with plenty of time to spare. I usually don't throw out quote bait, but when it comes to things like Erat, I'll eat crow if he's still toiling around with the dregs of the lineup being worthless by the Olympic break, and that's playing it safe. Ambitiously, I give it maybe a month before he's getting regular scoring line time. Don't get me wrong here, either, because some of them are valid (like your cap management point), but not all, and some are mountains out of molehills.

As for Carrick's size, well, I don't expect any growth in height, maybe, but I also don't expect him to continue the rest of his NHL career with a teenager's body and muscle mass. Carrick's number one flaw in my eyes, through preseason and last night, is his strength on and off the puck relative to NHL competition. Against marginal players in the preseason it was less glaring, but still evident. Against Bollig, a certified man-mountain that was being used heavily against the Hillen-Carrick pairing, there was no chance. Even if he never grows to floor those guys (which he won't), a year or two of aging and gaining that strength as he grows NHL ready will put him in a better position to make plays against guys that you would expect him to handle with more regularity, and that's why I say it's fixable. If his actual skill level never takes another step forward, he'll still be a better (and probably serviceable) player for getting his strength and conditioning to the NHL level.


In any case, this whole board has this weird post-deadline mentality when there's an entire season left to play, like the playoffs are looming and the team is still figuring out how to tie its skate laces, and apparently drawing on recent coaching mistakes to make the assumption that not a single aspect of this team will be making any improvement throughout the year. Believe me, I have my own reservations about management and roster composition when it comes to this board's talking points, and that's not even getting started on things that haven't been mentioned in a while (I don't think Hillen should be on this team as anything but a 7), but some of this is either exaggerated or jumping the gun by a mile.

Fair enough.

Look, to me it's simple. The defense is not good. It's bad enough, that it will make our young/impetuous/mercurial playing goaltenders look worse than they really are. Last night is example #1. Most people on this board want to blame Holtby for the loss, and that is simply unfair. Yes, he directly blew goal #5, which in turn lost the game, but man....the defense was giving up a TON of ice to the Hawks forwards, all night long. As I quoted earlier, were any G in the league playing behind our team, I don't see less than 4 goals against. I don't care who they were. And assuredly Neuvirth wasn't shutting them down, and that is not a slight to MN.

George has failed us with the defense, he just has. Playing Connor Carrick, a 19yr old, long shot pick (do not pretend 5th is assured of anything) who is from the good ol North AmericA -- read, highly seen and scouted-- was an indictment of the rest if the defense. Olesky, Orlov,
Kundratek, Schmidt, Schilling, Wey, etc etc. None of them could play their way onto the team. We also have an FA dude named Cvajovsky or whatever, almost making the team.

Who in the hell are these guys? Where is the actual NHL talent on the blue line? Not AHL fodder, NHL journeymen, or young not yet ready defenseman! We all know dmen take longer to mature... So let's actually get YOUNGER on the back end. Brilliant!!! It's another incarnation of George just not giving a **** about the back end. It's stupid.

And frankly, the trade deadline....I'm not sure what's the expectations are there? We have zero cap space. Like nada. So any dman coming in will need to be exactly matched up with salary going out. That is a lot harder to fix during the season. "Pure Hockey Trades" like that are not exactly George's wheelhouse, either. Sure, send out picks/prospects for a fringey add on? George is your man. Player for player? Not so much. He's had the Flash/Hannan trade. He's had.....ahhhh.....ummmm.....I don't know. Do we have to go as far back as his ill fated Linden/Zubrus for Zednik/Bulis deal? So 2 such trades?

Ouch.

We also need to realize that any dman that will truly make a difference here will need to be a top 4. Those are not cheap in salary cap monies. So yes, we are looking at a higher priced F going out. George has *never* done a high priced forward for high priced defenseman trade. As in Not Ever. 16 years and counting.

So pardon me if I think the seasons Cup chances are bleak. Sure, we can aspire to the "get in and get lucky" thought process that's some espouse. However, we've seen that never actually leads to a cup. Least, not in the last 20 years.

So this year, while possibly fun for the offensive fireworks ahead, will probably be another wasted year of Ovechkins prime. And that pisses me off.

End venting.

 

[usiel]

This thread has the angst of a game 7 playoff loss. Sure I don't like Carrick in the big club dev. wise but man its game one.

 

[HTFN]

Fair enough.

Look, to me it's simple. The defense is not good. It's bad enough, that it will make our young/impetuous/mercurial playing goaltenders look worse than they really are. Last night is example #1. Most people on this board want to blame Holtby for the loss, and that is simply unfair. Yes, he directly blew goal #5, which in turn lost the game, but man....the defense was giving up a TON of ice to the Hawks forwards, all night long. As I quoted earlier, were any G in the league playing behind our team, I don't see less than 4 goals against. I don't care who they were. And assuredly Neuvirth wasn't shutting them down, and that is not a slight to MN.

George has failed us with the defense, he just has. Playing Connor Carrick, a 19yr old, long shot pick (do not pretend 5th is assured of anything) who is from the good ol North AmericA -- read, highly seen and scouted-- was an indictment of the rest if the defense. Olesky, Orlov,
Kundratek, Schmidt, Schilling, Wey, etc etc. None of them could play their way onto the team. We also have an FA dude named Cvajovsky or whatever, almost making the team.

Who in the hell are these guys? Where is the actual NHL talent on the blue line? Not AHL fodder, NHL journeymen, or young not yet ready defenseman! We all know dmen take longer to mature... So let's actually get YOUNGER on the back end. Brilliant!!! It's another incarnation of George just not giving a **** about the back end. It's stupid.

And frankly, the trade deadline....I'm not sure what's the expectations are there? We have zero cap space. Like nada. So any dman coming in will need to be exactly matched up with salary going out. That is a lot harder to fix during the season. "Pure Hockey Trades" like that are not exactly George's wheelhouse, either. Sure, send out picks/prospects for a fringey add on? George is your man. Player for player? Not so much. He's had the Flash/Hannan trade. He's had.....ahhhh.....ummmm.....I don't know. Do we have to go as far back as his ill fated Linden/Zubrus for Zednik/Bulis deal? So 2 such trades?

Ouch.

We also need to realize that any dman that will truly make a difference here will need to be a top 4. Those are not cheap in salary cap monies. So yes, we are looking at a higher priced F going out. George has *never* done a high priced forward for high priced defenseman trade. As in Not Ever. 16 years and counting.

So pardon me if I think the seasons Cup chances are bleak. Sure, we can aspire to the "get in and get lucky" thought process that's some espouse. However, we've seen that never actually leads to a cup. Least, not in the last 20 years.

So this year, while possibly fun for the offensive fireworks ahead, will probably be another wasted year of Ovechkins prime. And that pisses me off.

End venting.

I don't expect anything out of the deadline (like I said, I have my own reservations about management), I just meant more that if you removed the date from the title of this thread, you'd have a hard time convincing me that this was from October, let alone game 1.

EDIT: Unless you count the first post, in which case I was referring to the fact that we're not glued to what happens here, for any number of reasons. Hell, I could be wrong, but if they wind up sending Wilson back and going with someone cheaper, wouldn't that cap space prorate out to at least one decent acquisition opportunity?

 

[Ridley Simon]

I don't expect anything out of the deadline (like I said, I have my own reservations about management), I just meant more that if you removed the date from the title of this thread, you'd have a hard time convincing me that this was from October, let alone game 1.

EDIT: Unless you count the first post, in which case I was referring to the fact that we're not glued to what happens here, for any number of reasons. Hell, I could be wrong, but if they wind up sending Wilson back and going with someone cheaper, wouldn't that cap space prorate out to at least one decent acquisition opportunity?

Dumping Wilson and not replacing him at all, would give them about 7m at the deadline. Trading his salary for one half of it, would give them around 3m at the deadline.

Carrick won't last, so that wil cost them a little bit, unless it's Kundratek that comes up.

 

[artilector]

I sympathize with R-Simon... the reason why game 1 is a catalyst for venting is because when you wait several months for new NHL season, and are excited about new pieces on the team, it's a real b1tch to see the same kinds of flaws that stem from mediocre management. It's not that Game 1 flaws can't be fixed. It's that we have a flawed team and a flawed GM, and those are long term problems.

On the other hand.. it's not unexpected. What are you gonna do.. good wife = man becomes happy; bad wife = man becomes philosopher

Still, for a puncher, the Caps are pretty loaded. So we have that, at least.