Post-Game Talk: Caps vs NBCSNd

[hockeykicker]

So who's it gonna be?

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Must be Graovac, no?

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[trick9]

Beagle can't handle the puck to save his life.

I counted about 10 times in this game alone where he turned the puck over in the neutral zone alone. Few times it looked like a beer-league player were lost out there. His face-off abilities are a big asset but it's not worth nearly 2m cap hit in todays NHL. Especially on a team that's already going to have to think carefully on where they put their money.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Huh. Guess I was wrong.

 

[Calicaps]

Huh. Guess I was wrong.

They said yesterday (or was it Tuesday?) that Burt could potentially play against the Rangers.

 

[um]

Beagle can't handle the puck to save his life.

I counted about 10 times in this game alone where he turned the puck over in the neutral zone alone. Few times it looked like a beer-league player were lost out there. His face-off abilities are a big asset but it's not worth nearly 2m cap hit in todays NHL. Especially on a team that's already going to have to think carefully on where they put their money.

Beagle has been playing like a 3C for the past few years and now he looks like a 4C again, it sucks but he still has his uses as a player.

 

[Raikkonen]

Beagle for 1M would be nice. But if he thinks he's better than that... Trade him at deadline.
At least, there should be only one of them with Eller next year.

Releasing Eller is questionable also. I mean, is Stephenson that good? Doubtfully. Eller is big, strong and experienced. His bad side is that he's another europlayer.

So the decision is to sign UFA Backlund from Calgary obviously

PS: Having to play in post-season without Beagle can open some facts about defensive capabilities of other players. I believe they can trade Beagle and then sign him again in the summer, with some probability.

 

[Ridley Simon]

IMO it's skating with Beagle. He's never been the most agile and as the game speeds up it becomes even more important that he takes better angles. A huge part of why he's not as effective a forechecker are those angles and it's also shown up in some of his defensive play. Sure, he's nails on faceoffs and PKs hard but there's a limit to how much that's worth alone. If forced to choose between 20/83, I keep 20 assuming the numbers are slightly team-friendly. Beagle at a slight discount is maybe tolerable but he's only likely to get worse so term could be an issue. If he's not dealing with a lower body injury then I think the drop-off may be here. He's currently got the worst raw Corsi & Fenwick among NHL regulars. Some of that's usage but it's not just linemates. Linemates can help but Stephenson and one of DSP/Chiasson or even both DSP/Chiasson are probably not going to change how infrequently that line attacks effectively. Maybe better structure and shift-to-shift engagement puts that line on better ground to do good things similar to the past two seasons but I think Beagle just may be on his way to becoming a chase-the-game type player. It's a fine line.

In general my concern remains whether 19/92 shoot enough/are reliable enough finishers and whether 65/13 can be playoff-style interior type presences. The defense is fine for the time being...they've tightened up as a group. They just need to keep hammering away at the dirty areas. They did a decent job of keeping Chicago to the perimeter and need to keep the lapses in those areas down.

I def think they need to keep Eller. He's been as advertised (if he had Beagles hands, he'd be a 7m a year player, minimum, and be close to point/game). If they can lock him up w term for around 4m, they absolutely should. Stephenson slots into the 4C (or Boyd).

Jettison Orpik to allow them to resign Carlson. Then sign a vet to a low $$ to back up Djoos and Bowey. Or just go with another kid and have Carlson/Orlov/Niskanen as their big 3.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[brachyrynchos]

Beagle for 1M would be nice. But if he thinks he's better than that... Trade him at deadline.
At least, there should be only one of them with Eller next year.

Releasing Eller is questionable also. I mean, is Stephenson that good? Doubtfully. Eller is big, strong and experienced. His bad side is that he's another europlayer.

So the decision is to sign UFA Backlund from Calgary obviously

PS: Having to play in post-season without Beagle can open some facts about defensive capabilities of other players. I believe they can trade Beagle and then sign him again in the summer, with some probability.

Get rid of Eller, Beagle, Carlson, DSP, Chiasson, and Chorney for whatever picks we can get. Try to move Connolly and his $1.5M. Get Stephenson some reps at center, or is the plan to play him at wing then throw him into the 3c/4c spot next year? Makes no sense. BMac has to figure out what to do with Grubauer, he's Restricted, how much money needs to be tied up by a backup? Wilson is gonna get more $, too. You mention Backlund, he's solid, and could fit in well. Personally, I'd like Athanasiaou, who's still young (25?) and could be UFA this summer. Detroit has alot of salary tied up in guys with NMC/NTC, and maybe they won't be able to keep him. Either way, I like your thinking.

 

[brachyrynchos]

I feel like you have never watched Alex Ovechkin play a game before, only checked out some negative highlights. But hey to each his own I guess.

Sorry for the late response. I've watched plenty to know that he skates harder into the offensve zone, than he does skating back. I feel comfortable enough to say that as great as Ovechkin is offensvely, defensively, he's not that good. Last yrs game 7 is an example, both Penguin goals were scored with him on the ice, and him not being able to clear it. He's the Captain, the face of the franchise, and someone that is supposed to lead by example. He's lazy on the backcheck, and sometimes I honestly believe that hecould care less about defense. Mine is my own.

 

[txpd]

Get rid of Eller, Beagle, Carlson, DSP, Chiasson, and Chorney for whatever picks we can get. Try to move Connolly and his $1.5M..

The team is 2pts off the division lead and climbing. The Caps are definitely going to trade off a third of its roster for picks at the deadline. Makes perfect sense

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Boom! Shots fired for Rangers game!

 

[brachyrynchos]

The team is 2pts off the division lead and climbing. The Caps are definitely going to trade off a third of its roster for picks at the deadline. Makes perfect sense

What makes no sense, is false hope. As the deadline approaches, BMac is going to need to decide if this team is actually good enough, and whether he should risk giving up assets. I don't think that this team has improved enough (tactically and mentally) to win the Cup this year, and to have the majority of those guys walk for free this summer while getting nothing back, does nothing for this team. And if the plan is to not keep them after this season, then I think it would make alot of sense to get something for them and start getting Stephenson the NHL experience at center now, that way he's better prepared and also knows what to work on this summer, just like any other Hershey kids.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Boom! Shots fired for Rangers game!

Truth hurts. If I was a Caps detractor, I'd say that everyone thought that the Caps were the best team in the league headed into the playoffs but they really weren't, they were a little lower.

I don't hate Shattenkirk, I think the guy tried his best to fit in but it just didn't work. That being said, I'll enjoy Ovi and Wilson crunching him Mike Green style on the forecheck.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Get rid of Eller, Beagle, Carlson, DSP, Chiasson, and Chorney for whatever picks we can get. Try to move Connolly and his $1.5M. Get Stephenson some reps at center, or is the plan to play him at wing then throw him into the 3c/4c spot next year? Makes no sense. BMac has to figure out what to do with Grubauer, he's Restricted, how much money needs to be tied up by a backup? Wilson is gonna get more $, too. You mention Backlund, he's solid, and could fit in well. Personally, I'd like Athanasiaou, who's still young (25?) and could be UFA this summer. Detroit has alot of salary tied up in guys with NMC/NTC, and maybe they won't be able to keep him. Either way, I like your thinking.

I’d like to be the first, to poop on this. Triumph the insult comic dog style....

 

[Langway]

I don't hate Shattenkirk, I think the guy tried his best to fit in but it just didn't work.

I thought he kind of had a foot out the door from the get-go, at least when adversity hit and he came across as just some bystander. It's tough to integrate a rental ideally without it being the perfect fit and he wasn't outside of the PP setup.

Thankfully it sounds like they don't plan on being big buyers like that again. It should be a rare occurrence unless, again, it's a perfect fit. Even then you never know in practice whether it lines up how you might have imagined. It's a lot more understandable, and reasonable IMO, to target younger players like Justin Schultz types that could stick around for a while, develop and be key contributors beyond one quick run. I'm not sure they'll have the cap space to be active at the deadline anyway and if it turns out they add nothing that's probably a better deadline than they've had a few years.

 

[brachyrynchos]

I’d like to be the first, to poop on this. Triumph the insult comic dog style....

Bouncy screen. And for DSP, Chias.....whatever picks. Carlson will be highly sought at the deadline, and to clarify, no , not just picks for him. Eller obviously fetches less than Carlson,but more than Beagle, they should be all moved. If you still want to poop on this, by all means, be free to do so.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Shattenkirk was similar to Tocchet, they had no plans of staying around. Both worth it though.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I thought he kind of had a foot out the door from the get-go, at least when adversity hit and he came across as just some bystander. It's tough to integrate a rental ideally without it being the perfect fit and he wasn't outside of the PP setup.

Thankfully it sounds like they don't plan on being big buyers like that again. It should be a rare occurrence unless, again, it's a perfect fit. Even then you never know in practice whether it lines up how you might have imagined. It's a lot more understandable, and reasonable IMO, to target younger players like Justin Schultz types that could stick around for a while, develop and be key contributors beyond one quick run. I'm not sure they'll have the cap space to be active at the deadline anyway and if it turns out they add nothing that's probably a better deadline than they've had a few years.

He was more distant than the other players who played the full season with us, but I'm wondering if he felt like an intruder or not. After all, he took Carlson's PP minutes and bumped Schmidt and Alzner out of the lineup.

I'm still wondering why we weren't able to shelter him on the 3rd pair like the Blues used to do. I thought the reason Shattenkirk could excel was that Pietrangelo and Parayko were handling all the tough assignments. With Niskanen and Carlson handling all the pressure, he still failed to deliver. Maybe Shattenkirk would've played better in the playoffs if we traded for him earlier in the season with more time to adapt.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Get rid of Eller, Beagle, Carlson, DSP, Chiasson, and Chorney for whatever picks we can get. Try to move Connolly and his $1.5M. Get Stephenson some reps at center, or is the plan to play him at wing then throw him into the 3c/4c spot next year? Makes no sense. BMac has to figure out what to do with Grubauer, he's Restricted, how much money needs to be tied up by a backup? Wilson is gonna get more $, too. You mention Backlund, he's solid, and could fit in well. Personally, I'd like Athanasiaou, who's still young (25?) and could be UFA this summer. Detroit has alot of salary tied up in guys with NMC/NTC, and maybe they won't be able to keep him. Either way, I like your thinking.

Wow. No chance. Dismantle the team, when it could very easily be a top 3 in the Metro? Have you been blind to their last 7 games or so? They've beaten the top teams in the East (Tampa, Columbus, Toronto..as well as San Jose, Chicago and Ottawa) and done it convincingly. Even with the 5-2 loss to LA, they have scored 28 goals and given up 16. Almost 4-2 each game. The 6 wins were 26-11. 4.3G/game to 1.8GA/game.

Team is starting to find itself, and you want to jettison their #3 and #4 C's, and their top 4 D (could be argued best D).

Dont give me the fools gold crap either. Ovechkin and Backstrom are playing at a high level. Carlson maybe his best play ever. Wilson, Vrana, Stephenson, Djoos, and Bowey are new elements that give the team speed and skill and youthful energy.

If you cant root for this team, maybe you need to find another team. I am completely serious, and I hate that type of comment. But for you....it seems warranted

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Get rid of Eller, Beagle, Carlson, DSP, Chiasson, and Chorney for whatever picks we can get. Try to move Connolly and his $1.5M. Get Stephenson some reps at center, or is the plan to play him at wing then throw him into the 3c/4c spot next year? Makes no sense. BMac has to figure out what to do with Grubauer, he's Restricted, how much money needs to be tied up by a backup? Wilson is gonna get more $, too. You mention Backlund, he's solid, and could fit in well. Personally, I'd like Athanasiaou, who's still young (25?) and could be UFA this summer. Detroit has alot of salary tied up in guys with NMC/NTC, and maybe they won't be able to keep him. Either way, I like your thinking.

This team isn't built to win next year or the year after. We have an outside chance of winning (p>

Backlund is one of the best defensive centers in the league and Calgary needs him badly. How do you plan on getting him?

 

[brachyrynchos]

Wow. No chance. Dismantle the team, when it could very easily be a top 3 in the Metro? Have you been blind to their last 7 games or so? They've beaten the top teams in the East (Tampa, Columbus, Toronto..as well as San Jose, Chicago and Ottawa) and done it convincingly. Even with the 5-2 loss to LA, they have scored 28 goals and given up 16. Almost 4-2 each game. The 6 wins were 26-11. 4.3G/game to 1.8GA/game.

Team is starting to find itself, and you want to jettison their #3 and #4 C's, and their top 4 D (could be argued best D).

Dont give me the fools gold crap either. Ovechkin and Backstrom are playing at a high level. Carlson maybe his best play ever. Wilson, Vrana, Stephenson, Djoos, and Bowey are new elements that give the team speed and skill and youthful energy.

If you cant root for this team, maybe you need to find another team. I am completely serious, and I hate that type of comment. But for you....it seems warranted

If this team is not a real cup contender at the deadline, then they should sell whoever isn't going to be here next season.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

What makes no sense, is false hope. As the deadline approaches, BMac is going to need to decide if this team is actually good enough, and whether he should risk giving up assets. I don't think that this team has improved enough (tactically and mentally) to win the Cup this year, and to have the majority of those guys walk for free this summer while getting nothing back, does nothing for this team. And if the plan is to not keep them after this season, then I think it would make alot of sense to get something for them and start getting Stephenson the NHL experience at center now, that way he's better prepared and also knows what to work on this summer, just like any other Hershey kids.

That’s just NOT the way pro sports works dude.

As a GM when your team is in playoff position, you don’t weigh and measure a team each year and decide in your head that you can tell the future and pretend to know if they can make some noise in the postseason, or even win it all.

He can only do what he can to provide the best roster for the coaching staff so they can qualify for then do something in the playoffs.

OF the names you listed, Carlson is the only guy they can’t afford to let walk for nothing IMO. Eller I could see them trying to extend. The others are cannon fodder in terms of return in a trade. A few late round picks maybe?