GDT: Capitals @ Maple Leafs | 1/29/23 | 5:00p ET

[SherVaughn30]

The legs look heavy. Need to inject the team with youth for the thousandth time.

Not with this stupid stubborn coach!

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

Not with this stupid stubborn coach!

To be fair management doesn’t seem to be prioritizing it either.

 

[Misery74]

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I’m ready for a BB redux.

Our ceiling is first round loser under Laviolette. What’s the point anyway?

 

[um]

I was at the game, Mantha and Kuznetsov are somehow worse in person.

Protas and someone else who is willing try would be a large upgrade.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I’m ready for a BB redux.

Our ceiling is first round loser under Laviolette. What’s the point anyway?

I like BB, but that ship has sailed. Ride out Lavy for the rest of the season and then pursue Jeff Halpern or Spencer Carberry in the off season.

 

[Hivemind]

I like BB, but that ship has sailed. Ride out Lavy for the rest of the season and then pursue Jeff Halpern or Spencer Carberry in the off season.

I'm all for Carberry. Halpern would be okay, but there's a few others I prefer over him.

 

[Langway]

Have to wonder about Todd Nelson given Hershey's success and what seems like a proximate style to Lavi with more balance re: youth. Also cheaper.

 

[um]

NAK playing with more determination than Kuzy/Mantha combined. $14 million dollars just going through the motions on the ice.

I just wish NAK would stop taking bad penalties.

Other than that he’s a good 4th line grinder.

Nobody beats Oates. NOBODY!

I got a little love for Oates for reviving Ovie.

All in all no one touches Trotz. Such a shame what happened.

 

[SherVaughn30]

I like BB, but that ship has sailed. Ride out Lavy for the rest of the season and then pursue Jeff Halpern or Spencer Carberry in the off season.

Hershey Bears coach Todd Nelson should be an option as well.

 

[Corby78]

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I’m ready for a BB redux.

Our ceiling is first round loser under Laviolette. What’s the point anyway?

I don’t even think we make the playoffs

 

[twabby]

My game puck tonight goes to Matt Irwin for basically not screwing up too badly like most of the rest of the team! 90% xGF% in 10 minutes of work. Well done Matt! It’s just fine that this is the best they had to offer tonight!

 

[SherVaughn30]

To be fair management doesn’t seem to be prioritizing it either.

That's because the Caps have a marketing owner. Ted cares about the dollar and not winning Cups(he wins a Cup, but screws up keeping the Cup winning coach). He's short-sighted to the fact that teams who address and fix issues put themselves in better position for long term success. Paying a coach $5 million per season(top coaches money in the NHL) to have injury riddled/ups n downs/1st round playoff failures/heavily favoring vets type seasons, is not putting the team in the best position possible. Deep down OV's success in chasing Gretzky's all-time goals record is enough for him.

 

[SherVaughn30]

I don’t even think we make the playoffs

Both us and the Pens could miss. Sabres are surging hard, Isles are a live again and the Panthers could push too as they are underachieving compared to last season.

 

[Hivemind]

Todd Nelson has definitely worked his way into the conversation about potential NHL coaches. If they make an in-season change, he's the natural fit as an interim coach.

Mike Vellucci is a guy I'm interested in. Tom Wilson's former head coach with the Plymouth Whalers. Won the OHL Championship in 2007. Won the Calder Cup with Charlotte as their head coach in 2019. Has been an assistant coach with the Penguins over the past 3 seasons.

Marco Sturm had been generating some buzz for a while, although his middle-of-the-pack season with the Ontario Reign this year might cool temperatures a little bit. On the other hand, he's gotten the most out of Lias Andersson that anyone has since he's come to North America (with the obvious caveat that Andersson is 24 and still playing in the AHL). But he's got NHL assistant coaching experience with Los Angeles, and has helped raise Germany's profile as their head coach in recent international tournaments (including the Silver at the no-NHLers 2018 Olympics).

Carberry is still my preferred candidate, though.

 

[Devil Dancer]

The coach talk is fun and a nice distraction, but they really don't look like they have the horses to compete in the East this year. They needed an MVP performance from Ovie to run up their December record, and he's not going to do that consistently at 37. Factor in the Carlson injury and it looks pretty bleak.

And this is with the Gustafson home run and the Milano double.

I'm feel pretty down on the team again, in case it wasn't clear.

 

[mad4comp]

The coach talk is fun and a nice distraction, but they really don't look like they have the horses to compete in the East this year. They needed an MVP performance from Ovie to run up their December record, and he's not going to do that consistently at 37. Factor in the Carlson injury and it looks pretty bleak.

And this is with the Gustafson home run and the Milano double.

I'm feel pretty down on the team again, in case it wasn't clear.

We do have the horses to compete.... the problem is we took those horses out and replaced them with donkeys about 3 weeks ago. Protas/Alexeyev/NAK/Milano/Strome - send Backstrom/Oshie to the press box and shoot Irwin into the sun.

The team that played Colorado and ran circles around them is the one we need. (the one where Backstrom/Oshie didn't play).

I have a feeling that Lavi is being forced to play Backstrom and Oshie by management. It's a shame really, Lavi is probably smart enough to realize this considering every time Backstrom/Oshie don't play, we get hella fast. The moment they get back... we turn into massive turds. No amount of "recovery" games for those two is gonna make them any faster. And Oshie still looks injured.

 

[HecticGlow]

We do have the horses to compete.... the problem is we took those horses out and replaced them with donkeys about 3 weeks ago. Protas/Alexeyev/NAK/Milano/Strome - send Backstrom/Oshie to the press box and shoot Irwin into the sun.

Three of the guys you mentioned have been in the lineup. Alexeyev has done very little in his sparse usage - I’m not sure why you think he can be a major driver for this team. Protas, while very good and probably deserving of a lineup spot, has had 4th line minutes most of the games he’s played and not factored into the offence too much, which is one of the main areas of misery for the Caps right now.

 

[tycoonheart]

Lavi to me in the NHL Ron Rivera. Mediocre as all hell.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

Lavi to me in the NHL Ron Rivera. Mediocre as all hell.

I am not the biggest Lavi fan but he is not mediocre in terms of his career.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Lavi to me in the NHL Ron Rivera. Mediocre as all hell.

Lavi has taken three teams in two different conferences to the Cup. He’s won a Cup. He’s the winningest American coach of all time and one of only 10 coaches ever to win 700 games.

Rivera has three winning seasons total in twelve years as a coach. He has made the playoffs four times in those twelve seasons — and two of those were in seasons when his team had losing records and were simply the least bad team in the division — and has advanced twice. They are not the same and not close to the same; Lavi is head and shoulders above Rivera and there’s really no room for debate.

If you want an NFL comparable, Lavi is the NHL’s Bill Parcells.

 

[crazy8888]

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I’m ready for a BB redux.

Our ceiling is first round loser under Laviolette. What’s the point anyway?

As I said before its been a dream of mine for a while now. Though I do not see it happening as the team had a chance to get BB a few years back but passed on it.

 

[g00n]

Three of the guys you mentioned have been in the lineup. Alexeyev has done very little in his sparse usage - I’m not sure why you think he can be a major driver for this team. Protas, while very good and probably deserving of a lineup spot, has had 4th line minutes most of the games he’s played and not factored into the offence too much, which is one of the main areas of misery for the Caps right now.

It's a thing. Several posters have it in their heads that the team is "old and slow" and they have a few whipping boys they blame every loss for.

Imagine blaming Backstrom for last night given how well he's been playing, the fact that he won the SO vs PIT, and had the only goal vs TOR, because "old and slow veterans" is what's REALLY behind it all.

 

[YippieKaey]

It's a thing. Several posters have it in their heads that the team is "old and slow" and they have a few whipping boys they blame every loss for.

Imagine blaming Backstrom for last night given how well he's been playing, the fact that he won the SO vs PIT, and had the only goal vs TOR, because "old and slow veterans" is what's REALLY behind it all.

What is your explanation to the teams performance?

 

[g00n]

What is your explanation to the teams performance?

Some key players aren't pulling their weight, they missed Carlson on the PP, the goaltending hasn't been as good as it could be, they've had to shuffle lines a lot for various reasons including injuries, they pulled into a playoff spot which removed some of the pressure they felt in December after GMBM called them out publicly, and maybe most importantly Ovie is no longer close to a record (passing Howe at the end of Dec) so they don't have that extra bit of motivation.

"A couple of old and slow guys coming back" is just an extension of confirmation bias.

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

Some key players aren't pulling their weight, they missed Carlson on the PP, the goaltending hasn't been as good as it could be, they've had to shuffle lines a lot for various reasons including injuries, they pulled into a playoff spot which removed some of the pressure they felt in December after GMBM called them out publicly, and maybe most importantly Ovie is no longer close to a record (passing Howe at the end of Dec) so they don't have that extra bit of motivation.

"A couple of old and slow guys coming back" is just an extension of confirmation bias.