Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2021-22 Regular Season Part 4

[twabby]

If I remember correctly last season Sprong was playing really well at the end of the regular season and once the playoffs started he was a healthy scratch. Im not a huge Sprong fan but he definitely deserved a jersey over some other players. With that said, I would expect the same this playoffs.

He was certainly producing at the end of last season.

Sprong actually played 3 of 5 games against Boston and generally was decent in those games. He certainly deserved ice time in the postseason over Michael Raffl and Conor Sheary based on how they were playing at the time. I hope he gets an opportunity to play down the stretch. He's not a complete player by any means but he should be a good fit on the middle 6 even in the postseason. I think I'd prefer him on the third line getting actual third line minutes like Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly did under Trotz, but I could see him doing well on the second line as well.

 

[YippieKaey]

Those still don’t scream playoff success to me.

No they don't. I agree. But you know, some guys get hot and some good goaltending. Not having the worst pp in the league.

The puck is roundisch, anything can happen.

 

[Misery74]

Dream lines would be:

Ovi-Kuzy-Wilson
Sheary-Backy-Oshie
McMichael-Eller-Sprong
Protas-Dowd-Hathaway

My Dream lines:

8-92-43
Giroux-19-39
24-20-77
73-26-21

 

[YippieKaey]

My Dream lines:

8-92-43
Giroux-19-39
24-20-77
73-26-21

Hmm i don't know. I feel like the lethargic style of Mantha is the last thing this team needs in the playoffs. I like 73 on the 4th and Giroux would be cool. But i'd easily trade Mantha and/or Schultz for a more solid top-4 D. Chiarot or something like that

 

[txpd]

Hmm i don't know. I feel like the lethargic style of Mantha is the last thing this team needs in the playoffs. I like 73 on the 4th and Giroux would be cool. But i'd easily trade Mantha and/or Schultz for a more solid top-4 D. Chiarot or something like that

More solid than who in the top 4?

 

[YippieKaey]

More solid than who in the top 4?

True. What i meant was a real solid shutdown guy capable of playing in the top-4. Schultz doesn't really bring much other than offense that Orlov can provide and with an added defender he can be given less time on the pk and more on the pp

 

[txpd]

True. What i meant was a real solid shutdown guy capable of playing in the top-4. Schultz doesn't really bring much other than offense that Orlov can provide and with an added defender he can be given less time on the pk and more on the pp

Orlov and Schultz offense dont really overlap. I would be very happy if the Caps got a defenseman that can defend the crease but that isnt going to happen

 

[Ridley Simon]

Could. I am just inclined to see Sheary Eller Sprong like earlier this season with Sheary and Sprong getting the minutes that Sheary and Sprong got back then. McMichael time. Call me crazy. Laviolette has a track record. Just yesterday he said he needed to see a 200ft game from Sprong. I dont think anything has changed

I wasn’t a huge fan of that line, honestly. Seemed more a hodge podge of “what’s left”?

IF all healthy, I think they need one of Mantha or Oshie on the 3rd line. Spread it out. I’ve liked Sheary w Backstrom. I’d like to see Mantha w Eller. Both are decent at holding the puck in traffic and with someone draped on them. Play both are very strong on the puck (same thing as what I said above, I suppose).

if all healthy:
8-92-43
73-19-77
10-20-39
62-26-21

that’s my ticket. Right there.

unless they get another F and Mantha can’t make back anytime soon.

then trade for MAF (Sammy & Hags for MAF and a 2nd). Plug AJF into Hags spot.

off we go

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Hmm i don't know. I feel like the lethargic style of Mantha is the last thing this team needs in the playoffs. I like 73 on the 4th and Giroux would be cool. But i'd easily trade Mantha and/or Schultz for a more solid top-4 D. Chiarot or something like that

I thought Mantha was their best forward and maybe their best player against Boston. He was a few posts away from potentially changing the outcome of that series. I don’t really understand the Mantha hate around here.

 

[Langway]

True. What i meant was a real solid shutdown guy capable of playing in the top-4. Schultz doesn't really bring much other than offense that Orlov can provide and with an added defender he can be given less time on the pk and more on the pp

Worth mentioning that Schultz has fewer points than both TVR & Jensen this season. He ranks last in D Point Shares among the regular six while having the third-highest cap hit. They'll probably just let him play out his deal but he's some potential fat to cut if need be (along with you know who).

 

[twabby]

Worth mentioning that Schultz has fewer points than both TVR & Jensen this season. He ranks last in D Point Shares among the regular six while having the third-highest cap hit. They'll probably just let him play out his deal but he's some potential fat to cut if need be (along with you know who).

Matt Irwin has actually acquitted himself pretty well aside from letting up that breakaway goal the other game, so I could get on board with letting Schultz go for cap purposes if Irwin keeps up his level of play. Schultz has cleared a relatively low bar by playing above replacement level this year, but he still hasn't really added anything noteworthy at ES or on the PP. For $4 million, he'd be on my list of fat to cut in order to make a bigger deal work, though after Irwin I don't really see a good option to play 6D. They'd probably need to get a legit depth D if they trade Schultz because Kempny and Cholowski are pretty much unplayable, even in limited roles.

If I had to guess it's going to be Kempny who is traded, perhaps at a cost, if they need cap space to make a move. The Kempny deal was sensible at the time and he was playing well until his injuries, so it's hard to blame management for that one. But the Schultz contract was bad from day 1 and I'd hate to see it prevent or dissuade the team from making a move to make them better.

 

[YippieKaey]

Orlov and Schultz offense dont really overlap. I would be very happy if the Caps got a defenseman that can defend the crease but that isnt going to happen

I'd just like to do something more useful with Schultz 4 mil cap hit

 

[YippieKaey]

Worth mentioning that Schultz has fewer points than both TVR & Jensen this season. He ranks last in D Point Shares among the regular six while having the third-highest cap hit. They'll probably just let him play out his deal but he's some potential fat to cut if need be (along with you know who).

Indeed. Just not worth it. Maybe rebuilding Montreal will take him & Hagelin for Chiarot + Gallagher

 

[YippieKaey]

I thought Mantha was their best forward and maybe their best player against Boston. He was a few posts away from potentially changing the outcome of that series. I don’t really understand the Mantha hate around here.

It's not hate. But he's a pretty skilled 6'4 230 pound winger who instead of using that plays like a poor mans Bäckström or something. It's pretty dissapointing at times. And we already have both Bäcky and Oshie playing that slow style(with success).

What the Caps need above all else is speed and intensity and Mantha brings neither.

 

[traparatus]

I think it’s about maximizing depth and matching styles of play. Sprong has the best snap shot on the team except for maybe Ovi so pairing him with a distributor like Nick makes sense. Nick can also mask some of his defensive deficiencies while Sprong’s speed and pace will compliment Nicky who is… not fast. Sprong was terrific last night but he’s not without his warts in the defensive zone. Oshie is great but he’s slow and I worry about 19 and 77 being able to keep up in the playoffs if they’re a line. Mantha is also a monster along the boards and has a tremendous release so you have Nick in between two guys who can flat out shoot.

I see the Sheary-Eller-Oshie line as a line that would excel at puck retrieval and cycling. They’re also all responsible defensively and would be able to match up well in a shutdown role.

I find that when Sprong is not in the line up there is an offensive element completely missing from Caps game. Between the straight line speed and that lethal shot, feels like the opposing defenders have to pay special attention when he is on the ice.

I have a feeling that when Sprong's contract expires, he'll get picked up by someone like the Panthers for dirt cheap to be the next Anthony Duclair and I'll be left reading a million lengthy explanations of why this would have never been possible with the Caps.

 

[txpd]

I have a feeling that when Sprong's contract expires, he'll get picked up by someone like the Panthers for dirt cheap to be the next Anthony Duclair and I'll be left reading a million lengthy explanations of why this would have never been possible with the Caps.

What does Florida have that Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington don't?

 

[Misery74]

Replacing Hagelin cap hit with AFJ is a $2m cap savings.

Replacing Kempny cap hit with LuJu is a $1.75m cap savings.

I would rather have AFJ and LuJo, plus $3.75m. If this team is fully healthy, none of these guys should be in the lineup anyway.

$3.75m could become $7.5m in cap space if your trading partner is willing to eat 50% of the player to be acquired.

Obviously, there is a cost of moving these two players that I am willing to pay.

 

[um]

My Dream lines:

8-92-43
Giroux-19-39
24-20-77
73-26-21

I've always been a big fan of Giroux but I wonder if it would be a mistake to acquire another slow player.

That whole 2nd line is very slow.

 

[Hivemind]

What does Florida have that Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington don't?

The best goal differential in the NHL? A core in their prime? A multiple time Vezina winner?

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Also youth that’s valued.

 

[HTFN]

What does Florida have that Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Washington don't?

Apparently the time to coach their players and gameplan around them instead of mashing everyone in the same holes.

isn’t it weird how “needing to see a 200 foot game” never applies to the guys who suck on the offensive end of the ice?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Apparently the time to coach their players and gameplan around them instead of mashing everyone in the same holes.

isn’t it weird how “needing to see a 200 foot game” never applies to the guys who suck on the offensive end of the ice?

weird how that’s applied in the hockey world right? It’s always been associated with the defensive end. I guess hockey players by nature try to score, but don’t do the same on the defensive side.

 

[twabby]

Don’t think this was posted. Congrats to Kuzy!

 

[HTFN]

weird how that’s applied in the hockey world right? It’s always been associated with the defensive end. I guess hockey players by nature try to score, but don’t do the same on the defensive side.

or maybe "trying" and "supplying" just aren't the same thing for all players equally.

 

[TheLegendOfPatPeake]

My Dream lines:

8-92-43
Giroux-19-39
24-20-77
73-26-21

A.) This team does not need to get slower. Anyone they acquire needs to have wheels.

B.) I doubt Giroux would waive to come here. I assume he would want to go to a team with a better chance at a cup e.g. Colorado, Tampa Bay, Carolina, etc