Rumor: Gretzky in talks with Caps & three others

[amjay13]

I think it is pretty unfair to put the entire Coyotes franchise debacle on Gretzky. That franchise was a dumpster for pretty much the entire 2000s. I'm willing to give it a chance.

 

[Hivemind]

And Gretzky was an owner for essentially the entire decade. The franchise was a dumpster because of his ineptitude and cronyism.

 

[PuckBuddy]

And Gretzky was an owner for essentially the entire decade. The franchise was a dumpster because of his ineptitude and cronyism.

Those are two of the three job requirements.

 

[Atlas]

The Capitals have always been such a backwards franchise. Plumb pitiful. I love Hunter, Stevens, Haworth, Bengt, Rod, Dino, Rids, Miller to Berube, Gonchar, Tinordi, Olie, to Ovie and Alzner. But holy hell the management as a whole has been sorry.

Gretzky isn't my first choice. I can see why you guys think he will fail. If he didn't learn from his PHX days then he will fail. But, he cannot be worse than 17 yrs of McPhee because he won't stay very long if it's going badly. And I can imagine him being much better than McPhee.

Gretzky or no Gretzky, the Caps need to stuff the organization with people who know what it takes to win the Cup. That eliminates virtually all past Caps players.

 

[Roughing]

And Gretzky was an owner for essentially the entire decade. The franchise was a dumpster because of his ineptitude and cronyism.

They were really good the year after 99 left. The problem was the owner firing Wayne 10 years into his 11 year plan.

 

[BobRouse]

The Capitals have always been such a backwards franchise. Plumb pitiful. I love Hunter, Stevens, Haworth, Bengt, Rod, Dino, Rids, Miller to Berube, Gonchar, Tinordi, Olie, to Ovie and Alzner. But holy hell the management as a whole has been sorry.

Gretzky isn't my first choice. I can see why you guys think he will fail. If he didn't learn from his PHX days then he will fail. But, he cannot be worse than 17 yrs of McPhee because he won't stay very long if it's going badly. And I can imagine him being much better than McPhee.

Gretzky or no Gretzky, the Caps need to stuff the organization with people who know what it takes to win the Cup. That eliminates virtually all past Caps players.

Yes he can certainly be worse. There is no indication that he couldn't be. All we have to go on is the debacle in Phoenix (notice how that franchise got alot better when he left suddenly?)

Also what makes you think he won't stay long if it's going badly? It certainly won't be because Ted will fire him or anything. Ted don't play that.

 

[Atlas]

The Capitals are a rock bottom organization. As it stands, we have zero chance to win the Cup. If Gretz does his worst, we go from 0 chance to 0 chance.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

The Capitals are a rock bottom organization. As it stands, we have zero chance to win the Cup. If Gretz does his worst, we go from 0 chance to 0 chance.

Exactly. We've gone from President's trophy to 5th in ROW in 4 years. Our prospect pool is middling at best. Our coaching pipeline is barren. The bar is set on the floor.

 

[BobRouse]

The Capitals are a rock bottom organization. As it stands, we have zero chance to win the Cup. If Gretz does his worst, we go from 0 chance to 0 chance.

Wait...this year was the first time we missed the playoffs in 7 years.

We are the 7th youngest team in the league as it stands.

We are by no means in salary cap hell and have tons of cap space open going forward.

I'm curious to as how you define that we are a "rock bottom" organization? What are the qualifications for "rock bottom"?

The idea that "hey ...lets hire whoever and give them a shot...it can't get worse!" is simply nonsense.

It can get worse. It ALWAYS can get worse (in any walk of life not just a hockey team).

 

[Atlas]

Bob, how can you and so many Caps fans miss what is right in front of your eyes?

The Caps have zero chance at a Cup right now. They flirted with becoming a contender very briefly in 09-10 and immediately crashed and burned. We all need to face the facts: the Caps are not contenders.

Can Gretzky change the culture? I don't know and I have my doubts. I don't have the time or resources to investigate and interview NHL GM candidates. I know something about Gretzky's character and I can imagine him turning this place around. If I were the owner I would turn the franchise upside-down until I found a management staff that could build a proper, winning franchise.

 

[um]

i agree with Bob, no reason to panic and completley tear down the franchise, we did make the playoffs 7 of the last 8 years, we have the best goal scorer in the world, we have youth in all 3 parts of the game, and we have a proof of being contenders with this very core (2009-2011). changes are needed no dout but theres no reason to think we have no chance with this core. i know there isnt much hockey coverage in DC but it gest a lot ****ing worse than this. im not sure what atlas was suggesting since he tip toed around that but i know that a complete rebuild is not necessary, a good president would be a hell of a good start though.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Saying the Caps are rock bottom is absurd. They're a good coaching staff away from the playoffs without any changes in player personnel.

 

[Atlas]

We were not serious contenders (haha!) from 09-11. Our only sniff was snuffed by Halak. TB embarrassed us. The Rags beat us soundly in Game 7 which included the most pitiful 3rd Period power play in NHL playoff history. Contenders? You are just dreaming. It simply is not true that we were a threat to win the Stanley Cup. And we are even further away right now.

My standard is to compete for the Cup. Anything less is a failure.

 

[Atlas]

Saying the Caps are rock bottom is absurd. They're a good coaching staff away from the playoffs without any changes in player personnel.

I disagree. The coaching staff is just a start. This current line-up has no chance at a Cup. It's not even close to a Cup contender as it is.

 

[Hivemind]

Anyone who thinks the Capitals are a rock bottom organization clearly isn't a fan of other DC/Baltimore sports franchises.

 

[g00n]

The playoffs are a 2 month grind. When was the last time this team showed consistent top level ability for more than a few games, nevermind a few months? That'll tell you the last time this team had any chance at all.

 

[Atlas]

Anyone who thinks the Capitals are a rock bottom organization clearly isn't a fan of other DC/Baltimore sports franchises.

Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, Paul Blair, Mark Belanger, Eddie!!!, Boog, Bumbry, Singleton, Mike Curtis, Ted Hendricks, Toni Linhart, Bert Jones, Lydell Mitchell, Roger Carr, the Sack Pack, Ogden, Ray Lewis, Denis Maruk, Gaetan Duchense.


^

I love em' all.

 

[BobRouse]

Bob, how can you and so many Caps fans miss what is right in front of your eyes?

The Caps have zero chance at a Cup right now. They flirted with becoming a contender very briefly in 09-10 and immediately crashed and burned. We all need to face the facts: the Caps are not contenders.

Can Gretzky change the culture? I don't know and I have my doubts. I don't have the time or resources to investigate and interview NHL GM candidates. I know something about Gretzky's character and I can imagine him turning this place around. If I were the owner I would turn the franchise upside-down until I found a management staff that could build a proper, winning franchise.

Atlas,

First off what um and NTBW said are to be heeded.

Ofcourse we have more than "zero" chance at a Cup. And since when does "not being contenders"="rock bottom"? And what it will take to be a contender is not a total tear down by any stretch.

What you say does smell like panic.

Ever been on Facebook and some Diva will make a post like "OMGZ! I just got a speeding ticket!! FML!!!!" Happens all the time. These people completely lose perspective due to frustration. Don't be one of them.

Gretzky was a great player. The best ever and perhaps the most dominant player in any team sport ever.

His track record in management is not good. Its not good as a coach either for that matter.

Adam Oates was a great player. Hall of Famer. That doesn't mean he would be a good coach.

Is there a chance Gretzky could be good here when he certainly wasn't in Phoenix? Sure.

But there are plenty of other more qualified candidates out there.

The playoffs are a 2 month grind. When was the last time this team showed consistent top level ability for more than a few games, nevermind a few months? That'll tell you the last time this team had any chance at all.

How about 2012-2013 and 2008-2009? 1 game away from ECF.

 

[ChibiPooky]

In Burnside's article on ESPN today, he says he doesn't think Gretzky to Caps is happening. No idea if he's connected at all or just speculating.

 

[um]

We were not serious contenders (haha!) from 09-11. Our only sniff was snuffed by Halak. TB embarrassed us. The Rags beat us soundly in Game 7 which included the most pitiful 3rd Period power play in NHL playoff history. Contenders? You are just dreaming. It simply is not true that we were a threat to win the Stanley Cup. And we are even further away right now.

My standard is to compete for the Cup. Anything less is a failure.

why was 2010 so different than 2009 and 2011, especially considering they got farther in those years. 2009 we were 4th in the league, 2010 we were 1st, than 2011 we were 2nd. and i think you got your years off, rangers loss in 7 came in 2012 and 2013.

 

[Atlas]

I don't call for a "tear down" but rather a build up. I want Ted to build a foundation of intelligent decision-makers who make choices only in the service of winning Stanley Cups.

 

[Atlas]

why was 2010 so different than 2009 and 2011, especially considering they got farther in those years. 2009 we were 4th in the league, 2010 we were 1st, than 2011 we were 2nd.

It wasn't much different—we lost again. That's my point. We were not as close to the gold as many here seem to think. 2010 was our high water mark. That team was as confident and experienced as we have been in the Ovie years. And it still was not good enough.

The team lost all its confidence after that. They played great against BOS and then collapsed against the Rangers. We've been a pushover (except the BOS series) since the Montreal debacle and we weren't all that great before that.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Shanahan giving early returns for the "Hiring a famous ex-player as president of hockey operations doesn't always work" crowd.

 

[um]

It wasn't much different—we lost again. That's my point. We were not as close to the gold as many here seem to think. 2010 was our high water mark. That team was as confident and experienced as we have been in the Ovie years. And it still was not good enough.

The team lost all its confidence after that. They played great against BOS and then collapsed against the Rangers. We've been a pushover (except the BOS series) since the Montreal debacle and we weren't all that great before that.

so dropping 1 spot in the standings and making farther in the playoffs was a drop off? are you even reading what your writing?

 

[um]

I don't call for a "tear down" but rather a build up. I want Ted to build a foundation of intelligent decision-makers who make choices only in the service of winning Stanley Cups.

what exactly are you proposing? sounds like your happy with the team but unhappy with the president, GM,coaches, and so on.