Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2022-23 Season Part 3: Drop the puck!

[g00n]

As I said in the offseason Eller and Carlson should've been unloaded by the draft. We're stuck with them now, probably until the TDL and even then I don't see them moving Carlson unless we're completely tanking and rebuilding. Eller going out is still a possibility in some other kind of cap space move to deal with the LTIR situation.

 

[twabby]

The silver lining is that Boston and Toronto are legitimately two of the best teams in the East and two of the best defensive teams in the league, so them having trouble putting together an attack is understandable if disappointing. Though a disorganized power play isn’t acceptable at this point given what happened last year.

They need to get McMichael into the lineup. Nothing appears to have changed from Eller’s game last year and as someone who doesn’t figure into the long-term picture they can’t have him blocking a higher upside player. Let Kuznetsov or Protas be the PK2 center. I don’t care which one.

Credit to Johansson. He’s earned his lineup position so far and is the one keeping the third line afloat.

Hopefully Connor Brown shows up soon. I’m not going to blame him for the slow starts from Ovechkin or Kuznetsov but I also haven’t seen much disruption from him yet either.

 

[Devil Dancer]

You know you're in trouble when your early season silver lining is that 32 year old Marcus Johansson has been better than expected.

 

[ClevelandCapsfan]

 

[g00n]

That was horrid, and Eller also had the lead pass on a TOR breakaway.

 

[Langway]

FWIW. Not sure this is unwaiveringly steadfast and a lock or else it likely would have happened already. As much as they may like the overall body of work you probably need to give it a month or two to make sure it's still viable. What other card can they play if things don't pick up? The trade market? Even if they're willing to move picks and prospects to shake things up it it's not going to make much of a difference if the core is decidedly mediocre.

Much better at this stage to hold back and reassess in a few months. Given the strength of the 2023 draft this is also an opportunity (again, if the core doesn't look to have IT) to be patient and let things run their course if that's the hand they're dealt. That can be dangerous to do as a GM, one perhaps under ownership pressure to keep things on the rails, so if they are struggling for some time I don't doubt they'll make some shake-up trades at least. But I'm not sure that should be their only available remedy.

 

[Misery74]

FWIW. Not sure this is unwaiveringly steadfast and a lock or else it likely would have happened already. As much as they may like the overall body of work you probably need to give it a month or two to make sure it's still viable. What other card can they play if things don't pick up? The trade market? Even if they're willing to move picks and prospects to shake things up it it's not going to make much of a difference if the core is decidedly mediocre.

Much better at this stage to hold back and reassess in a few months. Given the strength of the 2023 draft this is also an opportunity (again, if the core doesn't look to have IT) to be patient and let things run their course if that's the hand they're dealt. That can be dangerous to do as a GM, one perhaps under ownership pressure to keep things on the rails, so if they are struggling for some time I don't doubt they'll make some shake-up trades at least. But I'm not sure that should be their only available remedy.

Puke. 3-8 in the postseason. This guy is a dinosaur and needs to go.

 

[marcel snapshot]

Who had Dowd and Gustafson as our leading scorers after 2 games, and MoJo as our best player?

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I’m not overly apocalyptic about the first two games. Half the top six is new from last year and you can tell they’re still learning how to play with each other. You could tell Brown zigged when Kuzy thought he would zag a few times. They still went back and forth with two of the top teams in the league. The PK has a new coach and system and is adjusting. The goaltending has been mostly solid. Or maybe my bar is so low from the Commanders bullshit that being watchable and competitive is enough for me at this point

There are concerning trends however. Eller and Carlson have been atrocious. Eller has no place in the lineup and McMike should be in immediately. The PP is terrible, though they should have scored on the first one last night. This also looks like the year that Oshie succumbs to Father Time. The first line hasn’t been a threat at all at evens.

Get a win on Saturday against Montreal and a goal from Ovi and all will be right with the world.

 

[HecticGlow]

They need to switch up everything. Those first two games, aside from brief flashes (mostly from the fourth line), have been hard to watch.

Ovi-Kuzy-Sheary (spark plug)
Mantha-Strome-Brown
Protas-Dowd-Hathaway (give them third line minutes)
Johansson-CMM-Oshie (double shift the other centers as appropriate)

Orlov-Jensen
Fever-TVR
Gustaffson-Carlson (5 minutes a game at 5v5)

Bump Mojo and Mantha to PP1 with Oshie, Ovi and Carlson; put Kuzy and Strome with Brown (chemistry in preseason), Orlov and Protas (big net front presence).

 

[kicksavedave]

I miss Tom Wilson. I think the Caps do too.

 

[Cappy76]

I wanna see a CMM for Eller switch but my money is on Protas getting scratched for CMM unfortunately. Lavi just won’t come off his vets and 100% why I was worried about some of them still being on the team going into the season it’s his crutch.

I was also a voice of moving on from Carlson after the last 3 years of his playoff brain deadness even more so now if the first two games is any indication of that play seaping into the regular season now.

All that said it is just game 2 of 82 and like others have mentioned we have a completely revamped top 6 might take some time.

 

[Langway]

The silver lining is that Boston and Toronto are legitimately two of the best teams in the East and two of the best defensive teams in the league, so them having trouble putting together an attack is understandable if disappointing. Though a disorganized power play isn’t acceptable at this point given what happened last year.

The issue is they look to be fairly easy to play against defensively as well....so you wonder what the strength projects to be here? What gets them in? What gets them rallying, on a roll and confident? I don't expect fundamentally consistent high level play from the top line. Each game makes it less likely the top pair is remotely capable of it either. It's probably unrealistic to expect it from the third line, even if they swap McMichael in for Eller. Add in the PP not doing much and there's not enough there to drive success. Orlov/Jensen, goaltending, 2nd/4th lines and perhaps in time a decent PP? I think that may be too awkward structurally to deliver.

They can shake up the lines and D pairs but I'm not sure it changes the bigger picture too much. Getting Wilson back will help for sure but any upstart team in the East has to be licking their chops. There's so much to exploit athletically and structurally. They'll tighten up to some extent with more reps but athletically it may be a challenge even if mental engagement and timing comes around. This is a fairly limited veteran team that's slow, not overly creative/skilled nor overly cohesive. Best-case they fix the PP for some more easier goals and work just hard and effective enough to win. But the margins seem to be shrinking by the day.

 

[Rayquaza64]

FWIW. Not sure this is unwaiveringly steadfast and a lock or else it likely would have happened already. As much as they may like the overall body of work you probably need to give it a month or two to make sure it's still viable. What other card can they play if things don't pick up? The trade market? Even if they're willing to move picks and prospects to shake things up it it's not going to make much of a difference if the core is decidedly mediocre.

Much better at this stage to hold back and reassess in a few months. Given the strength of the 2023 draft this is also an opportunity (again, if the core doesn't look to have IT) to be patient and let things run their course if that's the hand they're dealt. That can be dangerous to do as a GM, one perhaps under ownership pressure to keep things on the rails, so if they are struggling for some time I don't doubt they'll make some shake-up trades at least. But I'm not sure that should be their only available remedy.

unfortunate news for everyone under the age of 26 in the organization

 

[Maryland17]

Didn't realize everyone besides Carlson and Fehervary are UFAs at end of season on D. Eller being traded or just letting him walk end of season, frees up 3.5 million, you think that money can get Orlov and Jensen back on extensions? In all honestly, somehow unload Carlson would give us a lot of breathing room, but highly unlikely.

At least we have a cheap top 10 tandem under 6.5 million over the next 2+ seasons.

 

[pman25]

I'd start Gus/Orlov/Mantha/Johansson on the PP and put Ovi in the Oshie spot. Just do something else. Amazes me that we just stick with this every time. Keep your same set up if you want but change the personnel, move guys around, and bench guys that don't get it done. 0/9 so far, its not working

 

[Capsman]

As I said in the offseason Eller and Carlson should've been unloaded by the draft. We're stuck with them now, probably until the TDL and even then I don't see them moving Carlson unless we're completely tanking and rebuilding. Eller going out is still a possibility in some other kind of cap space move to deal with the LTIR situation.

This is the old "is it the GM and the coach is stuck with it or the coach's desire and the GM acquiesces".

 

[Jags]

I’m not overly apocalyptic about the first two games. Half the top six is new from last year and you can tell they’re still learning how to play with each other. You could tell Brown zigged when Kuzy thought he would zag a few times. They still went back and forth with two of the top teams in the league. The PK has a new coach and system and is adjusting. The goaltending has been mostly solid. Or maybe my bar is so low from the Commanders bullshit that being watchable and competitive is enough for me at this point

There are concerning trends however. Eller and Carlson have been atrocious. Eller has no place in the lineup and McMike should be in immediately. The PP is terrible, though they should have scored on the first one last night. This also looks like the year that Oshie succumbs to Father Time. The first line hasn’t been a threat at all at evens.

Agree with all of this. The first line is terribly one-dimensional with Ovi now, and he's still a turnover machine at evens. I'll say it again, loading the Ovi howitzer is yeoman's work. Kuznetsov is a creative, unpredictable guy that's saddled with the league's most predictable first line. Separate them.

Carlson has been dogshit. Gonna have to eat salary to move him, but we better do it while he may have some worth to someone. He'll probably straighten up some, but the negatives have far outweighed the positives in this small sample.

Eller should have been moved for whatever months ago. He's standing in the way of progress. I don't care if CMM is the answer in that spot. Try whoever. Those are talented wings with a center that's completely incapable of leveraging their offensive strengths.

And hearing that Lavi might be looking at an extension boggles my mind. Between the pretty terrible personnel decisions, continuing to not address the slowest and most predictable power play in the world, and not making in-game adjustments worth a damn, I fail to see what this guy is bringing to the table. I'm seeing the same thing with him that I do with Ron Rivera -- old school coaching in a league that has vastly transformed and passed him by.

Look at Toronto on the PP last night. The cohesion, speed, and crispness; the dynamic rotation and equal distribution on both sides of the unit. We don't have anything going on like that anywhere in our systems. We look far less talented than we are. Age is a factor, but coaching tops the list.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

heads will blow!

 

[kicksavedave]

View attachment 593982
heads will blow!

Its only slightly less funny than the headline "Blaine Forsythe being groomed to take over for Laviolette next year".

 

[g00n]

Regarding cycling Protas and CMM as speculated by myself and others, IMO it would clearly be a huge mistake and Eller should be odd man out.

Protas has worked his ass off and it shows. He had promise before and most here liked him but WOW is he ever poised to break out as a total package.

I haven't seen that kind of pop in a skillset over one offseason in a guy like that since Wilson went from pure crusher to crushing rusher a few years back.

 

[Hivemind]

Its only slightly less funny than the headline "Blaine Forsythe being groomed to take over for Laviolette next year".

"Scott Murray promoted to Assistant GM, Head of Player Development"

 

[Cappy76]

Regarding cycling Protas and CMM as speculated by myself and others, IMO it would clearly be a huge mistake and Eller should be odd man out.

Protas has worked his ass off and it shows. He had promise before and most here liked him but WOW is he ever poised to break out as a total package.

I haven't seen that kind of pop in a skillset over one offseason in a guy like that since Wilson went from pure crusher to crushing rusher a few years back.

I agree it would be a huge mistake I just don’t think lavi thinks of it as an option. In his mind I firmly believe his only thought is switching Protas and CMM

 

[SherVaughn30]

#Fraudsythe
#FireLavi
#TradeCarlson
#BenchOshnEller
#FreeCMMnSnively
#McCarthyIsADinosaur

Scott Allen did a lot of good things with a thin Hershey roster last season. Allen could finish the year coaching the Caps as an interim.

LeBrun's tweet sounds more like an opinion then something factual that a new contract for Lavi is imminent. I think BMac will approach Lavi's contract like Trotz. Trotz got lucky ending his contract with a Cup win. I don't see the same thing happening with Lavi and he'll be gone if they don't even make the playoffs, let alone have another 1st round exit.

 

[Jags]

Yeah, I'd swap CMM in for Eller in a heartbeat. Wouldn't mind seeing Snively play, either. Too bad it'll likely take Oshie blowing a tire or whatever other injury because of the logjam.

It still weirdly feels natural to say that we should sit/waive MoJo, but he's been good, and he was a rare bright spot for us late last year, too. I still wouldn't have signed him to make room for the kids, but it's hard to argue against him when he's one of very few guys making things happen right now.

Same thing with Gus. I'd have liked to see a kid in that spot, but he's looked as good as you'd have any right to expect from a 6D. Might just feel that way because our best D guys haven't shown up much yet.

It's early and I've got patience, but the things going wrong so far are pretty much exactly the things we were bitching about all offseason...