Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2021-22 Regular Season Part 5

[hockeykicker]

Continue

Click to read more...

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

I want you, Reeves.

 

[Misery74]

Crazy year in the East. Top 8, Bottom 8.

 

[twabby]

Crazy year in the East. Top 8, Bottom 8.

Yeah it's wild to see at the halfway mark. Usually there are at least 3 or 4 bubble teams and some uncertainty, but the top 8 are basically locked in at this point.

Micah and Moneypuck both have the Islanders with a 26-29% chance of making it, but even that seems a bit high to me. They're not a good team this year and I don't expect them to be able to thrive in a compressed schedule given some of the pieces of their roster being banged up and old.

You'd think this would also make for a more active trade deadline because there are more defined buyers and sellers, but this is the NHL after all where you can never be too conservative.

 

[g00n]

Has this ended the pinin' for the fjords/Trotz?

 

[Misery74]

Yeah it's wild to see at the halfway mark. Usually there are at least 3 or 4 bubble teams and some uncertainty, but the top 8 are basically locked in at this point.

Micah and Moneypuck both have the Islanders with a 26-29% chance of making it, but even that seems a bit high to me. They're not a good team this year and I don't expect them to be able to thrive in a compressed schedule given some of the pieces of their roster being banged up and old.

You'd think this would also make for a more active trade deadline because there are more defined buyers and sellers, but this is the NHL after all where you can never be too conservative.

That does seem high. I would put their chances at 10%. They have a lot of games in hand, but continue to lose.

Agree there should be way more sellers than in past years. If we can free up some money, we could be in great shape.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Has this ended the pinin' for the fjords/Trotz?

the silence has been too sweeeeeeeet!

 

[Misery74]

Has this ended the pinin' for the fjords/Trotz?

No. The Isles issues to me are way more Lou related. They replaced fast players with slow players.

 

[txpd]

Giroux waiving for Washington. He has a family. He can play in Washington, Boston and Rangers and effectively commute from home. I don't think its a wild idea at all. From reading comments that is why Chara wanted to play in DC and then held out for the NYI.

 

[g00n]

No. The Isles issues to me are way more Lou related. They replaced fast players with slow players.

Did Trotz win a Cup here with a very fast team overall? I seem to recall there was significant criticism of team speed, age, and defensive focus.

 

[Misery74]

Did Trotz win a Cup here with a very fast team overall? I seem to recall there was significant criticism of team speed, age, and defensive focus.

But in this instance Eberle for Parise, Leddy for Chara.

Those seem like major downgrades to me.

 

[txpd]

Did Trotz win a Cup here with a very fast team overall? I seem to recall there was significant criticism of team speed, age, and defensive focus.

Lets be fair. That Caps were supposed to suck in 2018. The analytics had them as suck. They were chosen to lose as a consensus in the first 3 rounds of the pllayoffs. Nobody liked them. They were supposed to lose.

 

[Peeri]

Giroux waiving for Washington. He has a family. He can play in Washington, Boston and Rangers and effectively commute from home. I don't think its a wild idea at all. From reading comments that is why Chara wanted to play in DC and then held out for the NYI.

Lifelong philly changes team only for 1 reason and it's to win a cup. Current Caps are not even in top 10 teams to win (Capitals are currently ranked 14th 2.4% on moneypucks to win a cup). I don't see why he would come here unless they pay him something silly, which again would be stupid by capitals to overpay.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Lifelong philly changes team only for 1 reason and it's to win a cup. Current Caps are not even in top 10 teams to win (Capitals are currently ranked 14th 2.4% on moneypucks to win a cup). I don't see why he would come here unless they pay him something silly, which again would be stupid by capitals to overpay.

On the flip side, if the Capitals are currently 14th favourites for the Cup, how much higher would they be with Giroux? Imagine a healthy top 6 that looks like this:

Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Giroux-Backstrom-Oshie

Then in the bottom 6 you could have:

Sheary-Eller-Mantha
Protas-Dowd-Hathaway
CMM as the extra forward

 

[txpd]

The Caps are 14th as a result of this dry spell. So either you think this is the real Caps and they suck or they are among the best 5 on 5 teams in the league looking for a little goaltending and a power play.

 

[txpd]

Lifelong philly changes team only for 1 reason and it's to win a cup. Current Caps are not even in top 10 teams to win (Capitals are currently ranked 14th 2.4% on moneypucks to win a cup). I don't see why he would come here unless they pay him something silly, which again would be stupid by capitals to overpay.

Being in the playoffs is better than playing golf. Being in the playoffs with Cup experienced teams like Boston and Washington is a lot better than playing golf. But ok. He would rather miss the playoffs and stay home than saddle up. Not very competitive.

BTW. When the Caps won the cup most around the league said the Caps had no chance.

 

[Peeri]

On the flip side, if the Capitals are currently 14th favourites for the Cup, how much higher would they be with Giroux? Imagine a healthy top 6 that looks like this:

Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Giroux-Backstrom-Oshie

Then in the bottom 6 you could have:

Sheary-Eller-Mantha
Protas-Dowd-Hathaway
CMM as the extra forward

You are not wrong, but every contending team is looking to strengthen their team as well and Giroux is one of the most desired players. Plenty of top teams are after him Capitals included, in the end it will come down to his own choice.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

 

[Peeri]

The Caps are 14th as a result of this dry spell. So either you think this is the real Caps and they suck or they are among the best 5 on 5 teams in the league looking for a little goaltending and a power play.

I don't think Caps suck, but I just don't see this team being a top 5 contender this year. There are teams that are just so much deeper than we are, and we have to remember also they will be adding on trade deadline.

Also I'm not sold on Lavi completely, he seems a bit stuck and fails to make adjustments. It will be crucial come playoff time, but we will see how we do this year.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

You are not wrong, but every contending team is looking to strengthen their team as well and Giroux is one of the most desired players. Plenty of top teams are after him Capitals included, in the end it will come down to his own choice.

Everything you said is correct. I think one other reason why the Caps could be an attractive option for him as a rental is how close DC is to Philly. He could basically commute in and out and not have to be away from his family for very long.

The Caps are 14th as a result of this dry spell. So either you think this is the real Caps and they suck or they are among the best 5 on 5 teams in the league looking for a little goaltending and a power play.

I usually disagree with you on most things, but you're bang on here. People are crazy if they think the Caps won't be a serious player towards the end of the season.

 

[Hivemind]

The proximity of DC to Philly argument would matter much more in terms of Giroux signing a contract with Washington (or elsewhere) for next season and afterwards. That's how it applies to Chara signing up to play for a full season closer to his family. But for Giroux waiving his NMC, it's less of an issue. Giroux as a playoff rental is only a few months. It's not uprooting his family, it's staying away from them at a rental property for a while, during which he's contending for a Stanley Cup.

 

[twabby]

I don't think Caps suck, but I just don't see this team being a top 5 contender this year. There are teams that are just so much deeper than we are, and we have to remember also they will be adding on trade deadline.

Also I'm not sold on Lavi completely, he seems a bit stuck and fails to make adjustments. It will be crucial come playoff time, but we will see how we do this year.

While I don't disagree with your assertion that Washington isn't in the top tier of contenders, I think they'll likely be in a better position to compete this year compared to subsequent years given the age of the core which makes being aggressive this season sensible.

 

[twabby]

Kind of crazy that Jensen went from week-to-week to healthy in a matter of what, 8 days? Usually it's a lot longer!

 

[hb12xchamps]

LuJo recalled to the practice squad. Hopefully they are able to send someone down to Hershey before Wednesday’s game. Hershey was playing a forward at D last evening.

 

[txpd]

I don't think Caps suck, but I just don't see this team being a top 5 contender this year. There are teams that are just so much deeper than we are, and we have to remember also they will be adding on trade deadline.

Also I'm not sold on Lavi completely, he seems a bit stuck and fails to make adjustments. It will be crucial come playoff time, but we will see how we do this year.

I would have thought you would have learned a lesson by now. The Caps had 2 straight juggernaut President's trophy teams. Cup favorites. They lost a bunch of players off that team and was immediately dismissed by the league for the next season. Which one of those won in the playoffs?

Backstrom is doing a point per game. Kuzy cares. Ov is having a Hart Trophy season and the defense is giving up the fewest shots against in the league. Sorry, I just can't feel the doom