Speculation: Caps Roster General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2023 Off-season

[Jags]

I'm all for keeping Backstrom here til the end and working around him and his contract, I mean what else can you do at this point, but Kuznetsov has contributed more than Backstrom both last year and even this much maligned whipping boy year.

Loyalty is earned. The Caps haven't appeared to penalize him all that much for being a pretty constant headcase. Lots of drama with that guy. Backstrom has been among the most steady and stalwart players ever to wear our colors. The Caps owe him a ton of leeway to go out on his own terms.

Kuznetsov has always gotten paid fairly and has been wildly inconsistent. Of course there'll always be great memories, but the Caps currently owe him jack shit.

I like him a lot and wish him well. Won't bug me too much if he stays. But if a deal comes along that's good for the club, the exit's thataway...

 

[YippieKaey]

Maybe they could get away with the 40th pick and one of those future seconds they picked up. But, I agree, that extension will be pretty ugly. As much as they need goal-scoring I'd probably pass if that's the big top six move. If they dump both Kuznetsov & Mantha there could be room enough for someone else but...I dunno. They need a top six refresh but the bar needs to be high and being younger alone can't be the main reasoning. It's still about tools and ideally versatility. The chemistry angle with Strome makes it somewhat interesting but Strome is already a solid fit with 8. Can those three play together? Seems doubtful defensively.

The toughest part of being well structured next season is not having to rely on Backstrom at 2C while getting rid of Kuznetsov. They could just let CMM/Lapierre battle it out and perhaps draft Moore or maybe Dvorsky in the belief either may not be terribly far off if all goes right. But structuring around Backstrom under the circumstances is a tough one. Are he and Oshie even fast enough to play together in a soft depth scoring role? They could try to sign a cheaper value UFA to compete but hard to see how it all comes together minus quite a few big changes.

I feel like the Sens are gonna get Mantha and two 2 rounders and we'll get Debrincat and Mantha will find his form and be great whilst Debrincat becomes a 20 g 50 p second line winger with limited defensive effort.

Just a feeling.

 

[Cappy76]

I feel like the Sens are gonna get Mantha and two 2 rounders and we'll get Debrincat and Mantha will find his form and be great whilst Debrincat becomes a 20 g 50 p second line winger with limited defensive effort.

Just a feeling.

This will happen to any top 6er we bring in that plays Ovies role on the PP. they’re not going to get that time in Washington. They need to be smart about who they bring in and be sure they can be added to the PP setup and not be left out of it. Even more so if we’re paying a premium price for said piece to be brought in.

 

[trick9]

Mantha is no doubt going to be a good addition for someone. They are buying low and likely getting a motivated guy playing for his next contract. Feed him easy minutes, on a favourable match-up's and lots of PP time at his preferred role so you'll get a haul for him @ 50% on the trade deadline.

Who can give him that role? Blackhawks maybe?

 

[Raikkonen]

A Nicklas Backstrom buyout spans 4 years, has a cost of $4,666,667 and savings of $2,333,333. Just food for thought.

next year maybe better

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Mantha is no doubt going to be a good addition for someone. They are buying low and likely getting a motivated guy playing for his next contract. Feed him easy minutes, on a favourable match-up's and lots of PP time at his preferred role so you'll get a haul for him @ 50% on the trade deadline.

Who can give him that role? Blackhawks maybe?

Or they can just not trade him and give him what you just described here. Forsythe is gone so the PP should be different and there’s no reason Mantha can’t play the same role that Kucherov plays in that setup. They have three top six forwards right now in Strome, Wilson, and Ovi. Kuznetsov could maybe possibly if you squint get there again but his defensive game is so bad it’s hard to see a viable path. Backstrom is cooked. Oshie still has the talent but he’s probably good for half the season and is best suited as a scoring third line winger played in manageable situations. Trying to get half a new top six is going to be hard and Mantha is a good insurance policy for the team. He’s probably 1.5M overpaid for who he is right now but it’s not egregious. As frustrating as he was last season he’s still a decent enough two-way forward.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Or they can just not trade him and give him what you just described here. Forsythe is gone so the PP should be different and there’s no reason Mantha can’t play the same role that Kucherov plays in that setup. They have three top six forwards right now in Strome, Wilson, and Ovi. Kuznetsov could maybe possibly if you squint get there again but his defensive game is so bad it’s hard to see a viable path. Backstrom is cooked. Oshie still has the talent but he’s probably good for half the season and is best suited as a scoring third line winger played in manageable situations. Trying to get half a new top six is going to be hard and Mantha is a good insurance policy for the team. He’s probably 1.5M overpaid for who he is right now but it’s not egregious. As frustrating as he was last season he’s still a decent enough two-way forward.

I’d probably keep Mantha and reap the benefit of a guy looking for his next contract.

 

[Calicaps]

Dr. Evil! never gets old.

I hope Jake's troubles are behind him for good. Whatever was going on with him, he obviously needed the wake-up call of the past couple of years. And if Mantha stays and doesn't suck, Caps get to win that trade anyway.

 

[g00n]

A stable Vrana could be a good spark for this team next year.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

A stable Vrana could be a good spark for this team next year.

They moved on once….can’t see management wanting that back.

 

[Calicaps]

They moved on once….can’t see management wanting that back.

I mean, if he really was battling a demon and has overcome it, who knows?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I mean, if he really was battling a demon and has overcome it, who knows?

You can’t guarantee that, so the risk to an already fragile roster isn’t worth it IMO.

What, are we really paying for him in a trade to reacquire him? Sounds like an egg on your face GM move to me.

 

[Calicaps]

You can’t guarantee that, so the risk to an already fragile roster isn’t worth it IMO.

What, are we really paying for him in a trade to reacquire him? Sounds like an egg on your face GM move to me.

that to me would be the bigger barrier

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

You can’t guarantee that, so the risk to an already fragile roster isn’t worth it IMO.

What, are we really paying for him in a trade to reacquire him? Sounds like an egg on your face GM move to me.

BMac doesn’t strike me as a guy that holds a grudge. If he thinks Vrana would help and he’s available for a price he’s willing to pay (and there’s nothing to indicate St Louis would be willing to part with him) then I don’t see why he wouldn’t.

The roster isn’t fragile. It’s just not very good. And if bringing in a guy like Vrana implodes the room with vets like Ovi, Backstrom, Oshie, and Carlson still there then they should just blow it up.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

BMac doesn’t strike me as a guy that holds a grudge. If he thinks Vrana would help and he’s available for a price he’s willing to pay (and there’s nothing to indicate St Louis would be willing to part with him) then I don’t see why he wouldn’t.

The roster isn’t fragile. It’s just not very good. And if bringing in a guy like Vrana implodes the room with vets like Ovi, Backstrom, Oshie, and Carlson still there then they should just blow it up.

Not even about a grudge, at all….it’s about not even having to deal with it because there are options. Why bring a headache possibility back…..massive hell no. And to have to trade for the guy back?! Embarrassing.

I’d be leaning towards the move on from GMBM camp if that was as imaginative as he gets this offseason.

 

[DWGie26]

I think Mantha has value in a trade. Not sure why people think we need to pay to move him. I think GMBM will still shop him and if he finds the right deal, then he’ll move him and get a second top 6.

Much more likely they move Kuzy out. Just need to change up the top 6 And Kuzy makes the most sense given his Cap hit (And term).

Lastly, I think it is highly likely there is a hockey trade that none of us see. BMAC is good like that. He‘ll do something big where everyone goes whoa! Could be Oshie. TVR/Jensen. Maybe Lindgren. Some big piece.

 

[Monsterrain]

Or they can just not trade him and give him what you just described here. Forsythe is gone so the PP should be different and there’s no reason Mantha can’t play the same role that Kucherov plays in that setup. They have three top six forwards right now in Strome, Wilson, and Ovi. Kuznetsov could maybe possibly if you squint get there again but his defensive game is so bad it’s hard to see a viable path. Backstrom is cooked. Oshie still has the talent but he’s probably good for half the season and is best suited as a scoring third line winger played in manageable situations. Trying to get half a new top six is going to be hard and Mantha is a good insurance policy for the team. He’s probably 1.5M overpaid for who he is right now but it’s not egregious. As frustrating as he was last season he’s still a decent enough two-way forward.

Dude you keep defending this hunk of shit. He stinks. Does he have some naughty pics of you or something?

 

[DWGie26]

Dude you keep defending this hunk of shit. He stinks. Does he have some naughty pics of you or something?

Nobody is saying we love him. But look at his numbers and analytics. He is a solid 2-way player who was severely miscast and from the sounds of it, mentally abused so bad he had to seek help. The creator(s) of that pain are gone. He is in a contract year and he said just last week he wants to play in this league for a long time so he knows he needs to ball out.

Someone is going to want that one year contract to evaluate an extension. That could fetch a good return and I’d take it. But we’re not going to pay to move him or buy him out. He could be a “new” top 6 since he was never really deployed there even though he should have.

 

[Hivemind]

NHL needs full cages already

 

[trick9]

Or they can just not trade him and give him what you just described here. Forsythe is gone so the PP should be different and there’s no reason Mantha can’t play the same role that Kucherov plays in that setup. They have three top six forwards right now in Strome, Wilson, and Ovi. Kuznetsov could maybe possibly if you squint get there again but his defensive game is so bad it’s hard to see a viable path. Backstrom is cooked. Oshie still has the talent but he’s probably good for half the season and is best suited as a scoring third line winger played in manageable situations. Trying to get half a new top six is going to be hard and Mantha is a good insurance policy for the team. He’s probably 1.5M overpaid for who he is right now but it’s not egregious. As frustrating as he was last season he’s still a decent enough two-way forward.

Possibly, sure.

I can just see Backstrom stapled to that PP role for the entire season.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Dude you keep defending this hunk of shit. He stinks. Does he have some naughty pics of you or something?

You sure solved the mystery Scooby Doo. Take the rest of the day off, nice work.

When healthy, Mantha was scoring at a 20-goal, 50-point pace through December and he did it exclusively at even strength. He was second or third on the team through the end of 2022 in goals, assists, and points per 60 at even strength and he had really good shot suppression metrics. He also did all that dragging the corpse of Lars Eller with him and having really unlucky shooting luck for both him and his teammates when he was on the ice.

He struggled in 2023, no doubt, but so did the rest of the team. His dive coincided with Wilson and Backstrom coming back and thus him falling down Laviolette’s pecking order. He got a few injuries and was in and out of the lineup and his confidence and game nosedived. He certainly sucked to finish the year but he was one of their three or four best forwards the first half of the year.

I think he’s worth seeing with a new coach. He has one year left and they have multiple other holes to fill and I think they have a better chance at having a bounce back year from Mantha than they do in finding three new top six forwards.

 

[twabby]

You sure solved the mystery Scooby Doo. Take the rest of the day off, nice work.

When healthy, Mantha was scoring at a 20-goal, 50-point pace through December and he did it exclusively at even strength. He was second or third on the team through the end of 2022 in goals, assists, and points per 60 at even strength and he had really good shot suppression metrics. He also did all that dragging the corpse of Lars Eller with him and having really unlucky shooting luck for both him and his teammates when he was on the ice.

He struggled in 2023, no doubt, but so did the rest of the team. His dive coincided with Wilson and Backstrom coming back and thus him falling down Laviolette’s pecking order. He got a few injuries and was in and out of the lineup and his confidence and game nosedived. He certainly sucked to finish the year but he was one of their three or four best forwards the first half of the year.

I think he’s worth seeing with a new coach. He has one year left and they have multiple other holes to fill and I think they have a better chance at having a bounce back year from Mantha than they do in finding three new top six forwards.

I think this is where I am at with Mantha too. Certainly if his cap hit stands in the way of a legitimate upgrade I’d be open to moving him but I don’t think they should dump him to dump him.

Kuznetsov on the other hand? He’s gotta go. Find a true top 6 center.

 

[crazy8888]

I think Mantha has value in a trade. Not sure why people think we need to pay to move him. I think GMBM will still shop him and if he finds the right deal, then he’ll move him and get a second top 6.

Much more likely they move Kuzy out. Just need to change up the top 6 And Kuzy makes the most sense given his Cap hit (And term).

Lastly, I think it is highly likely there is a hockey trade that none of us see. BMAC is good like that. He‘ll do something big where everyone goes whoa! Could be Oshie. TVR/Jensen. Maybe Lindgren. Some big piece.

I disagree. I think that if he is not part of some bigger trade then Caps will have to part with some late picks in order to trade this useless plug with almost $6M salary.

It would be an abomination if they trade somebody like Oshie but keep this poor excuse for a hockey player.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Let’s not pretend that players don’t get better/perform differently for different coaches/systems/schemes.

Look no further than the Bruins right now. And Cassidy was/is purported to be a very good coach.

I think it’s Carberry. I think he wanted Murray (not sure why), and I’d wager GMBM AND Carberry might both want to see how a lot of these players do under a “players coach”.

I’m sure trades will be made, I’d just be surprised to see like 3 of them. One big one, some side one, and a couple of signings. That’s my guess.