Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2019-20 Season Pt. 5: 2020

[txpd]

Dowd barely offers any of the things Dowd was hired to do.

He's good on face-offs, PK, puck protection, springing a pass and keeping the room light.

Also I imagine he has more to offer on a contender then the hellish cluster f*ck he's been playing on this year

Who is good on the PK?? Thornton?

 

[Langway]

Who? Lavy and who? I posted this elsewhere. Ted hiring a coach currently under contract elsewhere would be out of character. It wont happen. MacLellan coaching is more likely

MacLellan is not going to coach. If anything he should tell Ted to stuff it and if those are his options he can keep his cooked coached until they waste another post-season.

A coach currently under contract would help Ted, not hurt, because the remainder of the salary could be offset somewhat. There would also be less term remaining compared to a fresh hire, giving them time to prove they're the right fit before an extension. I certainly don't think anything is immanent but a bad loss tomorrow and losing two of the following three could put the playoffs in jeopardy. Hard to undersell what a loss of playoff revenue would mean. If anything will spark a change that's it.

 

[Capsman]

Dowd barely offers any of the things Dowd was hired to do.

He's good on face-offs, PK, puck protection, springing a pass and keeping the room light.

Also I imagine he has more to offer on a contender then the hellish cluster f*ck he's been playing on this year

Wait, who is Thornton going to pass to on the 4th line?

 

[SherVaughn30]

Man I'm going to be rooting hard tomorrow morning for the Pens to blow out the Caps!
That would increase our chances of getting Reirden fired!

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Thornton for the 4th/3rd line please

I don't want Thornton on our team. The guy is a douche bag. And I would expect this is his last shot at a Cup so if he's smart he won't be coming to the Caps.

 

[Capsman]

Man I'm going to be rooting hard tomorrow morning for the Pens to blow out the Caps!
That would increase our chances of getting Reirden fired!

I could never ever root for the Caps to be blow out or even lose for that matter. If they beat Pittsburgh then I would hope it’s the beginning of a turnaround.

 

[max21]

I’ve tried to stay out of the TR firing debate but if we lose tomorrow I don’t see how it’s not going to be a strong possibility.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

How would you feel if Reirden is replaced with Boudreau?

I'm fine with him or Lavi. Both are guys who get angry and swear and lose their tempers. That's what our team needs.
Todd just stands behind the bench and looks like he is wondering when the laxatives are going to kick in.

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

I'm fine with him or Lavi. Both are guys who get angry and swear and lose their tempers. That's what our team needs.
Todd just stands behind the bench and looks like he is wondering when the laxatives are going to kick in.

I'm pretty much of the same mind at this point (I'm old and usually happy to let the Brain Trust make the decisions).

If they do the Assistants have to go too, as the system they are running is way too passive and not forecheck heavy. Another solid D add might help here too (NOT Mike Green, more like a Josh Manson type), and being able to prevent entries like they did in the 2018 run, supports a strong forecheck.

If they did this I would love to see Orpik brought in as an Assistant as he is so familiar with most of the boys, has their respect, and especially would be a positive influence for Kuzy, who he is close to.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Why? Dude is only 40 and he's an all time player. Plus his style was always big savvy glacier with an aimbot for tape.

Hell take Marleau too. Hagelin Eller Boyd/Marleau Thornton Hathaway

Hmmmm...

 

[Kuznetsnow]

Hmmmm...

For an all time great in a small role that's not much

 

[AussieCapsFan]

I could never ever root for the Caps to be blow out or even lose for that matter. If they beat Pittsburgh then I would hope it’s the beginning of a turnaround.

That's a mighty big IF

This will be Sullivan in the locker room before the game: "You just got embarrassed by the Sabres. The Caps are on their knees so go out there and finish them off. You do that and they will be so effing demoralised they'll be scrambling to make the post season. And even if they do
you will once again own them in the playoffs."

This will be Rierden: "Well boys it was a close one against the Devils and it would have gone into OT if we hadn't taken a couple of bad penalties. The Pens have lost a couple as well so let's go out there and play our system. And let's make sure the
Pens are the ones who take the bad penalties and then we can beat them with the PP changes that Blaine's been working on. Oh and I'll be employing the new tactic of rolling the dice to see who gets benched when we give up goals. Just to keep things
fair and not single anybody out. Now let's get out there and see if we can get this thing to OT!"

 

[Kuznetsnow]

I’ve tried to stay out of the TR firing debate but if we lose tomorrow I don’t see how it’s not going to be a strong possibility.

T
E
D

 

[Kuznetsnow]

That's a mighty big IF

This will be Sullivan in the locker room before the game: "You just got embarrassed by the Sabres. The Caps are on their knees so go out there and finish them off. You do that and they will be so effing demoralised they'll be scrambling to make the post season. And even if they do
you will once again own them in the playoffs."

This will be Rierden: "Well boys it was a close one against the Devils and it would have gone into OT if we hadn't taken a couple of bad penalties. The Pens have lost a couple as well so let's go out there and play our system. And let's make sure the
Pens are the ones who take the bad penalties and then we can beat them with the PP changes that Blaine's been working on. Oh and I'll be employing the new tactic of rolling the dice to see who gets benched when we give up goals. Just to keep things
fair and not single anybody out. Now let's get out there and see if we can get this thing to OT!"

It hurts because it's true

 

[Sam Spade]

Serious question, where would this team be without Alex Ovechkin?

NHL Team Advanced Stats

Oh yeah, here when he doesn't score and no one picks up the slack:

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Boudreau doesn't work, he's never worked. He has literally only made it past the second round once. Why the f*** would we bring back a guy to fix a listless team who was notorious for f***ing listless teams? I swear the people advocating for BB seem like they never paid attention or watched in that era.


What are our problems now? Defense. Motivation. Staying with our assignments.


These are literally the three things that got BB run out of DC.


Y'all want to bring in a guy who couldn't accomplish anything here the first time. Or in Anaheim. Or in Minnesota?


Stupid.

If you're going to fire Reirden then at least try something new. Gerard Gallant is easily the best coach available, the list begins and ends with him. Not Bourdreau, not Laviolette, not Babcock.


GG took a team of bottom 6 players to the Cup.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

For an all time great in a small role that's not much

I just meant you acting like it's not crazy to be putting up decent stats at 40, even for an all time great, is pretty odd.


Even the best have dropped off hard

 

[illpucks]

Serious question, where would this team be without Alex Ovechkin?

Ovi needs to get more assists though. 1 assist in 18 games is really bad.

 

[Sam Spade]

Ovi needs to get more assists though. 1 assist in 18 games is really bad.

Please, if his teammates could ever finish he wouldn't have 700 when he did.

He should have ten more assists than he does and that is just me thinking off the top of my head on really good passes to wide open teammates he has made.

 

[SherVaughn30]

I'm fine with him or Lavi. Both are guys who get angry and swear and lose their tempers. That's what our team needs.
Todd just stands behind the bench and looks like he is wondering when the laxatives are going to kick in.

Just watch Kevin in the show The Office. That's how Reirden looks sometimes.

 

[SherVaughn30]

Serious question, where would this team be without Alex Ovechkin?

NHL Team Advanced Stats

View attachment 325283
View attachment 325285
Oh yeah, here when he doesn't score and no one picks up the slack:
View attachment 325287

In a dumpster that's on fire!

 

[Carlzner]

Watching Carolina/Toronto... in what world does this team beat Carolina? That’s a team that has all 4 forward lines totally buying into the system, and all 4 of them can put the puck in the back of the net

 

[SherVaughn30]

Boudreau doesn't work, he's never worked. He has literally only made it past the second round once. Why the f*ck would we bring back a guy to fix a listless team who was notorious for f*cking listless teams? I swear the people advocating for BB seem like they never paid attention or watched in that era.


What are our problems now? Defense. Motivation. Staying with our assignments.


These are literally the three things that got BB run out of DC.


Y'all want to bring in a guy who couldn't accomplish anything here the first time. Or in Anaheim. Or in Minnesota?


Stupid.

If you're going to fire Reirden then at least try something new. Gerard Gallant is easily the best coach available, the list begins and ends with him. Not Bourdreau, not Laviolette, not Babcock.


GG took a team of bottom 6 players to the Cup.

This team needs a coaching formula that has proven to win a Cup(Laviolette). Gallant had one magical season with a fairly good handed roster from all the other NHL teams! Before that '18 run to the Final, Gallant did pretty good coaching the Panthers, but not great. Gallant would be a definite upgrade over Reirden, but there is a hidden story that he doesn't get along with some players/management. Laviolette would be an upgrade over Gallant. His track record makes him the best available coach to hire and he has a lot of experience coaching against the Metro teams(Caps have been bad against their own division).

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Watching Carolina/Toronto... in what world does this team beat Carolina? That’s a team that has all 4 forward lines totally buying into the system, and all 4 of them can put the puck in the back of the net

We need to play the Leafs in the first round. I feel like we could win that series

 

[caps4cup]

Boudreau doesn't work, he's never worked. He has literally only made it past the second round once. Why the f*ck would we bring back a guy to fix a listless team who was notorious for f*cking listless teams? I swear the people advocating for BB seem like they never paid attention or watched in that era.


What are our problems now? Defense. Motivation. Staying with our assignments.


These are literally the three things that got BB run out of DC.


Y'all want to bring in a guy who couldn't accomplish anything here the first time. Or in Anaheim. Or in Minnesota?


Stupid.

If you're going to fire Reirden then at least try something new. Gerard Gallant is easily the best coach available, the list begins and ends with him. Not Bourdreau, not Laviolette, not Babcock.


GG took a team of bottom 6 players to the Cup.

Agree. Gallant made Vegas an extremely hard team to play against which is exactly what the Caps are missing. They played fast, heavy, and aggressive. The Caps aren’t any of those things right now. If they’re making a change I hope it’s Gallant.