Free Agency Episode 2 - The Attack Of The Plugs

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Couldn't you use the exact same logic, but substitute Oates' 1-3-1 system in place of Ribeiro?

Also, hopefully Laich/Johansson won't be the replacement for Ribs. It's more likely to be some combination of Erat, Perreault, and Johansson in that slot (hopefully mostly Erat and Perreault).

Absolutely. And we'll find out this season. I'm more partial to the idea that new talent drove the improvement as the same core PP ran several configurations from 2010-2012 and all were equally ineffective.

 

[BobRouse]

You never win when you don't.

Right. That was the criticism of GMGM in the past and justifiably so. He rolled the dice on Ribs. Results were mixed and in the end he didn't win a cup so you lost and his demands were not in line with the fit on the team. It happens.

Its not fair to say "well GMGM sucks because he didn't forsee EXACTLY how Ribeiro would fit on this team."

 

[Chokingdogs]

everybody is just micturating into the wind here WRT ribs and not signing.

for all we know makfi wanted him more than anything in the world, but teddy said do what you need to do, as long as the term isnt over X years and/or the yearly cap hit isnt over X million.

if that was the case, makfi would go to his grave before admitting or until he's no long employed by the caps, whichever comes first.

 

[BobRouse]

everybody is just micturating into the wind here WRT ribs and not signing.

for all we know makfi wanted him more than anything in the world, but teddy said do what you need to do, as long as the term isnt over X years and/or the yearly cap hit isnt over X million.

if that was the case, makfi would go to his grave before admitting or until he's no long employed by the caps, whichever comes first.

Well whoever made the decision to NOT give him $22 mil/4years+NMC should get a pat on the back. That is not a good contract for a player like him at this stage of his career.

 

[brs03]

everybody is just micturating into the wind here WRT ribs and not signing.

for all we know makfi wanted him more than anything in the world, but teddy said do what you need to do, as long as the term isnt over X years and/or the yearly cap hit isnt over X million.

if that was the case, makfi would go to his grave before admitting or until he's no long employed by the caps, whichever comes first.

Certainly a fair point, and I suppose the Caps' future spending habits could clear this up before long. Ted hasn't exactly been cheap but then he's now trying to build a media empire and maybe the math has changed...

I assume the Caps balked at that contract because it's what I would have done. Certainly doesn't make it reality, though.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

the drumbeat just gets tiring. getting ribeiro was stupid and not keeping him equally as stupid. choosing not to get him would have been criticized as happens often here as not having any interest or boldness to do the things required to win.

McPhee is a bad general manager now matter what happens. he wont make bold trades because he doesn't have the balls to make a move. he does make moves and he is roundly ripped for doing it. when he does something that just cant be criticized, the player involved gets ripped for agreeing to it.

ive said this before. if McPhee resigned his job, somebody here would complain that he was a coward for choosing resignation when suicide was the honorable option.

What's tiring is you constantly "dumbing down" the argument. It's not as simple as your position suggests. Besides....you know what cures all? WIN A CUP! Hell, show PROGRESS and McPhee would take little to no heat.

What DOES warrant criticism is 15+ years of falling on your face.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Both GM's you listed above...have won Cups.

Just pointing that out.

It's ONLY the MOST important fact that Tinner and TXPD like to ignore because it torpedos their position.

 

[txpd]

What's tiring is you constantly "dumbing down" the argument. .

ok, dude. I am certain that my dumbing down posts come close to equally the constant drumbeat of anti McPhee on this forum. sure. but, its a free country

 

[BobRouse]

It's ONLY the MOST important fact that Tinner and TXPD like to ignore because it torpedos their position.

Huh?

The initial assertion was that the Ribs trade was a mistake and the a good GM should have forseen that it would be. I disagree with this and brought up Chiarelli and Shero as recent examples of good GMs making the same type of "mistake" if you can even call it that.

Have Shero and Chiarelli, due to winning a cup, built enough equity and street cred to overshadow mistakes? Sure you can argue that and I'd have no problem with it.

But to say that a GM worth his salt should forsee the exact fit of player X prior to his acquisition then I disagree with that.

You have taken everything completely out of context as my argument was geared against other posters who brought that up.

I don't think letting Ribs go was a mistake. I think acquiring him was a good gamble at the time and its not like he flopped here. The contract he got combined with his fit on the team made it easy to pass upon.

I think good GMs make gambles such as these all the time that don't always work out. I don't think that, in order to be a good GM, you have to see into the future with percision and never make "bad" trades in hindsight.

 

[tmljeh19*]

Exactly...they make mistakes too. You don't always win when you roll the dice.

But they have won before. McMoron hasn't. There's a big difference with nothing you do works.

 

[strungout]

It's ONLY the MOST important fact that Tinner and TXPD like to ignore because it torpedos their position.

Ha!

Hell...Im one of the biggest Mafki supporters on this board...one of the best GM's in the NHL IMO...but he's running out of ****ing excuses.

 

[txpd]

But they have won before. McMoron hasn't. There's a big difference with nothing you do works.

nothing? ok

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Ha!

Hell...Im one of the biggest Mafki supporters on this board...one of the best GM's in the NHL IMO...but he's running out of ****ing excuses.

I was a McPhee supporter for a long time but I can't call him one of the best anymore. Not even close. We've had the same holes for 15 years (Top 4 D and top 2 C) and we've had 0 postseason success.

He's great at dismantling a team but the man can't build one.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

ok, dude. I am certain that my dumbing down posts come close to equally the constant drumbeat of anti McPhee on this forum. sure. but, its a free country

The problem is, you try to reduce the stance of anyone who is anti-McPhee to irrational fans or "they'll never be happy no matter what". The issue is 15+ years of failure.

How much is enough? Should the guy get 30 before fans start to get impatient? The goal is to win the Cup, not SE division titles.


HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Ha!

Hell...Im one of the biggest Mafki supporters on this board...one of the best GM's in the NHL IMO...but he's running out of ****ing excuses.

Absolutely. I agree....I think he's a good GM (as much as TXPD would like to paint McPhee critics as irrational haters). He can clearly rebuild a franchise from the ground up (sure lucking into a generational talent like Ovechkin helps), but how many failed attempts to progress in the postseason does he get?

McPhee said on Glen Hanlon once, something like "not everyone who started this journey will finish it". I can't help but think that's where we're at with McPhee. He's done an admirable job. It's time to hand over the reigns to someone who can take them to the next level. He hasn't gotten it done in a decade and a half.

 

[Liberati0n*]

Oh the drama.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Huh?

The initial assertion was that the Ribs trade was a mistake and the a good GM should have forseen that it would be. I disagree with this and brought up Chiarelli and Shero as recent examples of good GMs making the same type of "mistake" if you can even call it that.

Have Shero and Chiarelli, due to winning a cup, built enough equity and street cred to overshadow mistakes? Sure you can argue that and I'd have no problem with it.

But to say that a GM worth his salt should forsee the exact fit of player X prior to his acquisition then I disagree with that.

You have taken everything completely out of context as my argument was geared against other posters who brought that up.

I don't think letting Ribs go was a mistake. I think acquiring him was a good gamble at the time and its not like he flopped here. The contract he got combined with his fit on the team made it easy to pass upon.

I think good GMs make gambles such as these all the time that don't always work out. I don't think that, in order to be a good GM, you have to see into the future with percision and never make "bad" trades in hindsight.

Your stance was what about Shero and Chia-pet, they made trades and lost in the playoffs, so they should be fired too (by McPhee critic logic)? Sad truth, they've won Cups...simple enough. They get a LOT more leeway because of that.

The trade for Ribs was at best, a nice gap filler that wasted assets that should have been turned into a longer term member of the Capitals instead of a rental. It's just another in a long line of failures.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

nothing? ok

You've got 6 SE division banners hanging on your bedroom ceiling surrounded by a 4 ft x 6 ft McPhee poster don't you?

 

[Hivemind]

Someone of you seem to prefer a GM who's willing to drive a team into the ground following a "vision" than one who is willing to correct previous mistakes. While I wish we retained Ribeiro (or another legitimate offensive 2C), I like that McPhee is willing to correct actions that he deems didn't work as planned. If Ribeiro (or Wolski or Hannan or Hamrlik) didn't live up to the expectation they had of him, I'm glad McPhee was willing to walk away rather than continue digging a hole with a player that they didn't deem to be a fit.
I'm glad that McPhee is willing to change the direction of the team after one build repeatedly failed in the playoffs. If "run and gun" isn't going to get it done, why continue going down that path for year after year after year? Because it's his "vision" of the team? I'd rather have a GM that is willing to attempt to correct prior mistakes and issues in the build of the team.

Do I agree with all of McPhee's choices? Hell no. Not even close. But I agree with his philosophy of correcting his perceived issues with the team.

 

[Chokingdogs]

Huh?

The initial assertion was that the Ribs trade was a mistake and the a good GM should have forseen that it would be. I disagree with this and brought up Chiarelli and Shero as recent examples of good GMs making the same type of "mistake" if you can even call it that.

Have Shero and Chiarelli, due to winning a cup, built enough equity and street cred to overshadow mistakes? Sure you can argue that and I'd have no problem with it.

But to say that a GM worth his salt should forsee the exact fit of player X prior to his acquisition then I disagree with that.

You have taken everything completely out of context as my argument was geared against other posters who brought that up.

I don't think letting Ribs go was a mistake. I think acquiring him was a good gamble at the time and its not like he flopped here. The contract he got combined with his fit on the team made it easy to pass upon.

I think good GMs make gambles such as these all the time that don't always work out. I don't think that, in order to be a good GM, you have to see into the future with percision and never make "bad" trades in hindsight.

w/o him, this season, caps are probably picking in the top 10, if not top 5.

??

would that have been "worth it"?

i'm torn within myself on that one.

 

[Vladiator16*]

w/o him, this season, caps are probably picking in the top 10, if not top 5.

??

would that have been "worth it"?

i'm torn within myself on that one.

So... without Ribs, Semin and no major improvement, what position are we picking at next year?

 

[tmljeh19*]

nothing? ok

How can you even begin to compare 3 GMs making moves that didn't put their team over the top when 2 of the 3 have won cups and the third hasn't made it out of round 2?

 

[Ridley Simon]

Let me try.

Fedorov's drop in play was evident to everyone in hockey while he was in Columbus. In a move that flummoxed stat junkies everywhere, he looked like a completely different player in a Caps sweater under BB's system. I don't think there is a surefire way of knowing how a player will react to a new situation.

Nope.

Feds was on his last legs. Everyone knew it, and that didnt change in coming to DC.

Ribs is in his "prime". It was far easier to see his ceiling. Heck, it can be argued that Ribs reached his ceiling in DC. And yet still McPhee let him walk.

Stop defending George. I get that he is probably the only Caps GM you have ever known, but the flaws in his team building are well known, his inability to make a winner is obvious.

McPhee's Caps are the by product of one lucky Ping Pong ball (Ovechkin). His teams have won THREE playoff series in 14 years. That is absurd.

I simply shake my head at posters that continually blame everything but McPhee for the Caps failures. He is the freaking General Manager. Its his team, his choices, his everything.

Bad coach? George's choice
Bad draft? George's choice
Bad contract? George's choice
Bad trade? George's choice

ALL of it is his choice, with a mostly unlimited budget! 3 series wins in 14 years! I dont see a series win this year (probably wont even make the playoffs).

So us Caps fans get to celebrate one measly stinking series win every 5 years?

Any other industry...and I mean ANY, that track record gets you fired a long long long time ago.

So many blinders on.

 

[Mothra]

Ha!

Hell...Im one of the biggest Mafki supporters on this board...one of the best GM's in the NHL IMO...but he's running out of ****ing excuses.

I think that describes me as well.....but whether its excuses or not, change may be whats in order.

Is it me or does 19 seem to be flying under the radar in terms of shouldering responsibility? The Montreal series was a long time ago, and they lost anyway. You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of 19 but he needs to be a difference maker when it counts. I've seen MoJo catch heat but I dont think 19 has been anything special the last few springs....and he absolutely needs to be. I never thought I would think this but, not knowing the situation, I would at least keep an open mind if teams were interested.....He needs to be a top player, better than he has been recently, when it counts.

 

[Atlas]

Backstrom had 13 pts in his last 29 playoff games. That's bad even for a #2C.

I'm not sure what his value is but I'd trade him for a young and future legit 1C in an instant.