Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2021 "Season" Pt. 3

[Kuznetsnow]

Kind of underwhelmed with Dillon so far. Not that he's sinking the team but having Ekholm in that spot would be insane

 

[Misery74]

Palmieri has been awful this year. I’ve always been a fan but I have no interest in this year’s version of the player.

He plays with nobodies. I think he could be an effective third line player for us.

 

[um]

Kind of underwhelmed with Dillon so far. Not that he's sinking the team but having Ekholm in that spot would be insane

I think Carlson has been way better since being paired up with Dillon, I'm happy with him.

 

[Melkor]

i wasnt saying he is part of the leader group or whatever. Like i said im on board using his caphit better. Just dont think this is the right time for it.

And he isnt some sort of an outcast either, that nobody cares to see go. Laviolette has expressed it few times that he likes what Panik brings for the team. He plays Panik over Sprong and Sheary who both have been more efficient with their ice time.

Every new guy entering and old face leaving changes dynamics on the locker room. Every move needs to have a reason. If there isnt someone who we really believe to make a difference over Panik, then just making a trade to make a trade or just doing something to see if something else happens is a bad move for a team who looks like getting it together.

The grande ole cliche; ”sometimes the best move is the one you dont make”

I disagree with this. Having worked for almost a decade in the same company I can say that a lot of people didn't leave any mark on the company or on a working crew. They come and go and nobody gives a shit. That's just how life works. Not everyone is Orpik or Joel Ward. Most of the time it's just a random guy and people blow his role way out of proportion because the team looks good. It does look good but that doesn't mean he personally looks good and his contribution on and off the ice is irreplaceable.

I agree with the rest of the post. I didn't say they need to get rid of him just for the sake of it, they indeed need to upgrade him. It's not like the guy is a locker room cancer or a complete joke on the ice. He's just not good enough.

 

[Roshi]

I disagree with this. Having worked for almost a decade in the same company I can say that a lot of people didn't leave any mark on the company or on a working crew. They come and go and nobody gives a shit. That's just how life works. Not everyone is Orpik or Joel Ward. Most of the time it's just a random guy and people blow his role way out of proportion because the team looks good. It does look good but that doesn't mean he personally looks good and his contribution on and off the ice is irreplaceable.

I agree with the rest of the post. I didn't say they need to get rid of him just for the sake of it, they indeed need to upgrade him. It's not like the guy is a locker room cancer or a complete joke on the ice. He's just not good enough.

Normal working environment is not the same as a hockey team. Because of cycles. Long term anyone is replacable, but in hockey you need immediate results. Sure we will not miss Panik couple years from now, or we might not miss him tomorrow, but theres a risk changing him to someone who doesnt adjust to the system in this seasons cycle ends up costing us a goal or couple in the playoffs.

In normal company even any Orpik and Ward are easily replacable. It can take a short or longer period of adjusting but that doesnt matter because its all about the long run. Companies still try to keep their good workers because it costs a lot of money and time to fully replace them. In sorts it applies to hockey too. It might take goals and bounces before the change has been succesfully completed. Thats where the cycle plays in. We dont have a year or two to make up for missed opportunities.

So the problem is the adjusting period. Season might be over before the new guy has adjusted. Small things might cost you a game, a series. In company life small things can cost you a deal or two or whatever, but the cycle is different.

 

[Calicaps]

I think Carlson has been way better since being paired up with Dillon, I'm happy with him.

Agreed. 74 does well with a stabilizing defense-first partner.

 

[twabby]

Dillon has been anything but a stabilizing force on the back end. He and Carlson are easily the worst of the 3 regular pairings right now, and while it's reasonable to assume that Carlson is dragging Dillon down some, Dillon still hasn't been great away from Carlson and Carlson has been better away from Dillon.

I'm going through the names on the blueline right now and Dillon is easily the #6 at this point. That's a tough pill to swallow for $3.9 million a year.

 

[Kuznetsnow]

Dillon has been anything but a stabilizing force on the back end. He and Carlson are easily the worst of the 3 regular pairings right now, and while it's reasonable to assume that Carlson is dragging Dillon down some, Dillon still hasn't been great away from Carlson and Carlson has been better away from Dillon.

I'm going through the names on the blueline right now and Dillon is easily the #6 at this point. That's a tough pill to swallow for $3.9 million a year.

You'll probably get crapped on for this but yeah, he has not been a defensive rock at all. I guess people associate him with Orpik because he has a gritty rep and associate Orpik with gritty cup winning team (even though that happened once he was firmly on the third pairing) but we already have an Orpik who can play top 4 quality hockey in Chara.

The one time Carlson really excelled all around he had Kempny who was a solid transitional puck mover himself (yes he had that insane pointwise season next to Siegenthaler and having all the offense run through him but he was not doing well defensively). Ekholm effectively made a career out of babysitting Nashville's Carlson like players in Ellis, Subban and Fabbro and has usually been the best overall D on his pairing throughout it all.

 

[Corby78]

Orlov has really stepped up the last couple weeks. Both defensively and offensively. Love his game lately.

 

[Calicaps]

txpd/gOOn: Having discussion on roster development.

Twabby: Doesn't post stats, but posts three large gifs about math, throwing txpds post into the glass.

txpd: Gets very confused and disoriented, then needs assistance off the thread.

Calicap: After thorough review, it was determined that while at worst Twabby's post was borderline, we had to take into account Twabby's post history and the fact that txpd's thread was harmed. Therefore we are suspending Twabby for 7 days.

Twabby: Does not appeal because he feels there is no point.

Ridley Simon: Voices support for Twabby on HFboards.

Havemind: Blasts Ridley on the next thread for supporting someone who will not change his posting game.

I really feel like the role of DoPs would have been better played by @hockeykicker here. Just sayin'.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

He plays with nobodies. I think he could be an effective third line player for us.

Correct me if I'm wrong but he's played most of the year with Zacha or Hischier as his center, yeah?

 

[kicksavedave]

I disagree with this. Having worked for almost a decade in the same company I can say that a lot of people didn't leave any mark on the company or on a working crew. They come and go and nobody gives a shit. That's just how life works. Not everyone is Orpik or Joel Ward. Most of the time it's just a random guy and people blow his role way out of proportion because the team looks good. It does look good but that doesn't mean he personally looks good and his contribution on and off the ice is irreplaceable.

I agree with the rest of the post. I didn't say they need to get rid of him just for the sake of it, they indeed need to upgrade him. It's not like the guy is a locker room cancer or a complete joke on the ice. He's just not good enough.

In this job of yours, whether it was cleaning toilets or installing nuclear reactors, doesn't really matter what it actually was, but there are some questions: Did they have a daily competition against a similarly staffed competitor where the winner got more money? Did employees regularly fight each other when someone from a competing company did something physically offensive to one of them? Did employees with different job descriptions routinely have to perform the work of other employees who held different roles, sometimes higher and sometimes lower paid? Did the employees routinely have thousands of people yelling at them to do better (or worse depending on the venue)? Did employees at your company risk serious injury or even death as the one poor kid in Russia recently did? Did your company have a clause in the employment agreement which governed what you could not speak about outside of your workplace? Was a trophy awarded each year to the best company in your field of work, which had the names of its winner engraved on it for eternity?

No? Then your job was nothing like an NHL team and the comparison doesn't work.

 

[Raikkonen]

And call me crazy but Jensen is sneaking into the 3rd protection slot for defensemen.

Easy to believe. Dillon is number 6, so he's exposed. Carlson is dragging him down. Could be considered as bust. Chara is too old. Jensen is top-10 in the game or smth, ofc you keep him over scrubs.

Ps: if they want to clear Dillon's salary I can see keeping Jensen. N

 

[DWGie26]

Dillon is not having a great year, but he still has a unique skill set (physical, nasty, will fight). Now @twabby won’t like that because everyone should be a gentleman, but there is a place for it. But maybe we expose Dillon and protect Orlov so we can trade him. but reality is BMAC loves Dillon or he wouldn’t have given him that contract.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Dillon may be struggling a bit now but perhaps he'll be a different animal come playoffs when things get rougher and tougher.

 

[txpd]

Looks like "sleeping giant" was correct. And having a goaltender competition is the necessary solution.

Maybe. This run extends well past the return of Sammy though

 

[txpd]

The only flaw I see with the team (other than young goal tending) that I could see tripping us up is the lack of a versatile forward that could play spot or emergency center. We've been playing too many games double shifting our other centers or using Oshie there during the times where just one of our centers go down or is out because of Covid. I guess we could always call up Pinho but with our salary cap as tight as it is, it's always a juggle depending on who's out and how long they are out.

But honestly this is just a really minor nit pick right now.

Thats a salary cap thing. Right?

 

[g00n]

Maybe. This run extends well past the return of Sammy though

It started right about when Sammy got back to active duty and went to Hershey, mid-February. I think Vanacek felt the heat and started playing better.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Last 11 games - only 1 loss. And of the 10 wins only 2 weren't in regulations, so only gave away 2 loser points.

Looking ahead, a 5 day break coming up - March 21 to 26. Good chance for some guys to rest up (Chara).

Next 10 games - 4 against the Devils, 4 against Rangers, 2 against the Isles.
Hopefully our much improved team won't have the same problems we've had with the Rangers when we played them earlier (lost both games).
There are a lot of points to be had from those next 10 games.

 

[Misery74]

Correct me if I'm wrong but he's played most of the year with Zacha or Hischier as his center, yeah?[/QUOTE


No. Hischier has played 5 games this year.

 

[Misery74]

Sorry, Hischier has only played 5 games this year.

 

[DWGie26]

Thats a salary cap thing. Right?

Yes. We don’t get any Cap relief on a suspension and so unable to move someone to roster (Pinho, CMM, Pilon). Not sure how the emergency callup works like we did when Russians out for COVID. Can probably only do it so much. so we dressed 7 dee. Our full Roster at Cap includes one extra forward (Sheary, Sprong or other) and 2 extra dee (Siege and TVR). We’d have to put someone on waivers and that is probably viewed as too risky right now. You could consider Panik but Caps won’t want to take the risk that he gets claimed. At 2.5M he would be attractive to some.

 

[DWGie26]

Last 11 games - only 1 loss. And of the 10 wins only 2 weren't in regulations, so only gave away 2 loser points.

Looking ahead, a 5 day break coming up - March 21 to 26. Good chance for some guys to rest up (Chara).

Next 10 games - 4 against the Devils, 4 against Rangers, 2 against the Isles.
Hopefully our much improved team won't have the same problems we've had with the Rangers when we played them earlier (lost both games).
There are a lot of points to be had from those next 10 games.

Plus Wilson is back for second NYR game! yeah!

 

[DWGie26]

Holy cow! Rangers beating Flyers 9-0 to finish the second! Mercy rule!

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Holy cow! Rangers beating Flyers 9-0 to finish the second! Mercy rule!

Yeah it's awesome. Seems like the Rangers have backed off in the 3rd which is a shame. Would love to see a double digit score...