Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2019 Offseason Pt. 3: Free Agency Freak Out

[Calicaps]

Pt. 2

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[peterthegreat12]

It will be interesting to see what they can do to improve the fourth line. Stephenson, Dowd, and Boyd as of now may be one of the worst fourth lines in the league. Limited budget for any improvement so hopefully BMac has some magic up his sleeve.

 

[Charles Calvert]

I still think there's a good chance the QO is just to retain Burakovsky's rights and enter Free Agency with a backup plan.

What happens if Capitals just let Burakovsky walk, but all of a sudden you lose out on guys like Connolly (likely priced out), Donskoi (competitive market), Tanev (more of a 4th liner anyway but solid), Perry (going to be competitive AND a wildcard), Simmonds (past his prime but his reputation is going to get him paid well). Those are all guys who are probably better than Burakovsky [or in Tanev's case, worse, but guaranteed cheaper), but could all EASILY command more, AND with term.

You have guys like Pominville (who I don't think is better than Burakovsky at this stage) or maybe a guy like Acciari (a 27 year old who's never got more than 14 points!) as fallback options, but wow man, f'ing yikes!

My point is qualifying Burakovsky is prudent. Because the last thing youbwantnis just let an asset walk and all of a sudden you have 1) no one to replace even HIM have to go with someone worse OR overpay a guy who's only nominally better.

I trust GMBM. He's earned it. If we go into 2019 season with Burakovsky as the 3RW, we'll figure it out.

 

[Hivemind]

Dallas still has the ability to sign Hartman before July 1, which the Capitals do not.

 

[g00n]

Pt. 2

Go crazy? Don't mind if I do!

 

[txpd]

It will be interesting to see what they can do to improve the fourth line. Stephenson, Dowd, and Boyd as of now may be one of the worst fourth lines in the league. Limited budget for any improvement so hopefully BMac has some magic up his sleeve.

Ive got to think a veteran on a try out deal and one kid from Hershey are starting on the 4th line

 

[Silky mitts]

Tom Wilson and Gudas

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Matt Hendricks also retired today.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Burt qualified! Boom! One of the few who believed he could would be back!

Can’t give up on that talent yet.

Also awesome to see Gudas rep the Zarley Zalapski #....

 

[Brian23]

The "worst" 4th line in the league thing is kinda silly. If they just upgraded Stephenson to someone who has a pulse they'd probably be a pretty good offensive 4th line. I'd like to see Gersich take that spot, or someone from Hershey maybe. Stepehnson is just allergic to the most important aspect of Hockey.

 

[Charles Calvert]

The "worst" 4th line in the league thing is kinda silly. If they just upgraded Stephenson to someone who has a pulse they'd probably be a pretty good offensive 4th line. I'd like to see Gersich take that spot, or someone from Hershey maybe. Stepehnson is just allergic to the most important aspect of Hockey.

Exactly. Dowd is fine and Boyd has upside but probably needs to develop more of his game to be a more complete player.

Stephenson just seems like a career 13th forward and could be easily upgraded by someone like Gersich or a UFA

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Ive got to think a veteran on a try out deal and one kid from Hershey are starting on the 4th line

Id have zero problem with that.

 

[peterthegreat12]

The "worst" 4th line in the league thing is kinda silly. If they just upgraded Stephenson to someone who has a pulse they'd probably be a pretty good offensive 4th line. I'd like to see Gersich take that spot, or someone from Hershey maybe. Stepehnson is just allergic to the most important aspect of Hockey.

The Caps won the cup with the ability to play any kind of game you want. The bottom 6 as constructed doesn’t have much jam at all. They are lacking a physical presence.

 

[Calicaps]

Just noting that today really marks the end of an era. When BMac came in and promptly signed Nisky and Orpik to those massive deals a lot of hands were wrung around here and more than a few pundits mocked the moves. Well, they became the backbone of our first and (so far) only Cup team, and as of today, they're both gone. Can't thank them and GMBM enough.

 

[Sam Spade]

It will be interesting to see what they can do to improve the fourth line. Stephenson, Dowd, and Boyd as of now may be one of the worst fourth lines in the league. Limited budget for any improvement so hopefully BMac has some magic up his sleeve.

Stephenson in Hershey for someone else would be a good place to start.

 

[peterthegreat12]

Stephenson in Hershey for someone else would be a good place to start.

I can’t think of a forward in Hershey that is NHL ready.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

I just don't get why Barber and Pirnske want to be FA. Seems like both have a good shot of making the caps this year if they stayed.

 

[hockeykicker]

It will be interesting to see what they can do to improve the fourth line. Stephenson, Dowd, and Boyd as of now may be one of the worst fourth lines in the league. Limited budget for any improvement so hopefully BMac has some magic up his sleeve.

because dsp beagle and chiasson were so much better right? oh what did that line get us? if we are gonna worry about 4th line then we basically saying ovechkin, kuznetsov, vrana, backstrom etc will do nothing

lets compare:
cup winning year:
chiasson- 9 goals 9 asssists=61 games
beagle- 7 goals 15 assists=79 games
dsp- 7 goals 9 assists=75 games

last year:
boyd-5 goals 15 assists=53 games
dowd- 8 goals 14 assists=64 games
stephenson-5 goals 6 assists=64 game

so lets see- boyd had more points in less games then chiasson or dsp. dowd had the same number of points as beagle in 15 less games and stephenson playing another 11 games could likely have gotten to same production as dsp

 

[hockeykicker]

I just don't get why Barber and Pirnske want to be FA. Seems like both have a good shot of making the caps this year if they stayed.

priskie isnt going to beat out sigenthaler, johansen, hobbs, lewington, alexeyev etc

 

[traparatus]

The "worst" 4th line in the league thing is kinda silly. If they just upgraded Stephenson to someone who has a pulse they'd probably be a pretty good offensive 4th line. I'd like to see Gersich take that spot, or someone from Hershey maybe. Stepehnson is just allergic to the most important aspect of Hockey.

I don't think it's silly.

Talent wise you could do worse than our 4th line but one thing that they absolutely do not have is coach's trust. None of it and it's hurting us bad in important games. It was comical to watch in the playoffs considering that we were short handed and some of the top-6 guys were complete ghosts.

I think that line needs a major retool or we have to develop a plan based around playing 3 line hockey. After last season, I have nothing positive to say about Stephenson. What a disappointment. Boyd should be playing in top-6 of some rebuilding team as he is defensively clueless.

 

[Langway]

I still think there's a good chance the QO is just to retain Burakovsky's rights and enter Free Agency with a backup plan.

What happens if Capitals just let Burakovsky walk, but all of a sudden you lose out on guys like Connolly (likely priced out), Donskoi (competitive market), Tanev (more of a 4th liner anyway but solid), Perry (going to be competitive AND a wildcard), Simmonds (past his prime but his reputation is going to get him paid well). Those are all guys who are probably better than Burakovsky [or in Tanev's case, worse, but guaranteed cheaper), but could all EASILY command more, AND with term.

They should already have this pretty well flushed out during the UFA interview period, though, right? Plus, if they were to sign someone making a similar amount GMs will know Burakovsky has to go and their leverage erodes. Best-case maybe they line something up for 7/1 and deal Burakovsky beforehand. Absent that I think they're largely done. Maybe they do some small fourth-line business but that's about it I'm guessing and only if it comes at a very convenient price.

Their bigger questions are more fundamental anyway I suppose. Can they still get away with an approach that prioritizes quality chances when that may be harder than ever to produce/convert and limit? Is that still viable (at least insofar as the things they've tended to let slide previously)?

 

[peterthegreat12]

because dsp beagle and chiasson were so much better right? oh what did that line get us? if we are gonna worry about 4th line then we basically saying ovechkin, kuznetsov, vrana, backstrom etc will do nothing

lets compare:
cup winning year:
chiasson- 9 goals 9 asssists=61 games
beagle- 7 goals 15 assists=79 games
dsp- 7 goals 9 assists=75 games

last year:
boyd-5 goals 15 assists=53 games
dowd- 8 goals 14 assists=64 games
stephenson-5 goals 6 assists=64 game

so lets see- boyd had more points in less games then chiasson or dsp. dowd had the same number of points as beagle in 15 less games and stephenson playing another 11 games could likely have gotten to same production as dsp

Spin it however you want. The Caps fourth line was miserable this playoff season. They have no jam, try to play a skilled game and they were ineffective. It isn’t all about production. It’s about what you do when you aren’t scoring too.

 

[peterthegreat12]

priskie isnt going to beat out sigenthaler, johansen, hobbs, lewington, alexeyev etc

Which Hobbs have you been watching?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Just noting that today really marks the end of an era. When BMac came in and promptly signed Nisky and Orpik to those massive deals a lots of hands were wrung around here and more than a few pundits mocked the moves. Well, they became the backbone of our first and (so far) only Cup team, and as of today, they're both gone. Can't thank them and GMBM enough.

Those two signings were mocked or criticized, sadly by a lot of posters here as well as others.

They brought instant credibility to a D Corp that had lacked it for more than 10 years. I’d have to go back and look, might have been longer.

They were master strokes of GM’ing.

Everyone freaks out when term is given to older players. Oshie is that guy now. GMBM is proving a savvy GM can reap the early benefits from these types of signings and still move on from them gracefully if they have to early.

 

[Hivemind]

priskie isnt going to beat out sigenthaler, johansen, hobbs, lewington, alexeyev etc

Siegenthaler, Alexeyev, and Johansen are all LD.
Priskie could absolutely beat out Hobbs or Lewington.