Confirmed with Link: Johansson (50% retention) to Capitals (Sprong + 2022 4th RD + 2023 6th RD)

[CapsFrontOffice]

Just reading the Caps fans reactions a moment ago and they are pretty pissed and feel like they lost this trade before the picks are even announced. The only "Caps won" are from people who are auto-naysayers. Sprong nearly had .5ppg last season with only 11min of ATOI, so he definitely is a good pick up.

You guys made out on this one....(we) the Caps took a step backwards today...every team in the metro improved but us. Sprong was not being utilized by Laviolette correctly and I believe he will excel with the Kraken. Johansson is our problem now.....for a 2nd time. At least I don't feel guilty about taking Vanecek back at the expansion draft anymore. We are even now and I'am sure you will enjoy Sprong much more than the Caps fan base enjoys Johansson.

Caps fans saying this was a good trade are just trying to keep their hopes high...You guys will see soon... Kraken made out here

 

[CapsFrontOffice]

Kraken got this

Caps got this





and this



I just hope he does not break Ovie's leg or something and kill the goal chase

 

[The Marquis]

We saw plenty of that from Johansson this year. There was a game where he had a couple insane wide open nets and failed.

 

[GrungeHockey]

The idea is to not depend on all the picks panning out but using them as capital to land roster players or prospects more advanced in their development stage. The draft generally is a gamble any way. Its just that the chances of a 1st round pick panning out are higher than the later rounds. But it is still a gamble with a higher success rate.

So you're saying the plan is to trade players away for picks that they will then use to trade for players? is that the Francis plan?

It looks to me like we botched the expansion build so now we are stripping it all away and going to tank for Bedard. Unless they plan to make huge moves in free agency this is going to be a slower build than most people thought.

 

[GrungeHockey]

Also, the thing with extra pics for a new expansion team is that it creates much needed competition with-in the farm.

Building up that system quickly and having more prospects increases the chances of some of them breaking out and hitting the league.

While I agree that normally, moving a lot of serviceable players out for long shot picks is risky business at best, for a team with no farm like Seattle I think it is actually a pretty good strategy.

Yes, this is true. A bevy of low picks should build up the farm. How many if any become NHL players is another story all together though.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

So you're saying the plan is to trade players away for picks that they will then use to trade for players? is that the Francis plan?

It looks to me like we botched the expansion build so now we are stripping it all away and going to tank for Bedard. Unless they plan to make huge moves in free agency this is going to be a slower build than most people thought.

If you have been following Francis for the last few months, the idea was to identify players he felt were core pieces and keep them. Then move out expiring pieces (no plan to renew their contracts) for assets. Those assets can then be used to get assets that are better suited for our team. Age, style, etc.

And Francis has also said that he plans to be better and competitive next season. Unless people know otherwise or Francis is flat out publicly lying, we can forget about Bedard/Mitchkov.

Also, people keep bringing up the botched expansion draft. This team was an expansion draft. What were the expectations from most folks here? I get that not many of us expected us to be bottom-3 but not many expected us to be in the playoffs either.

I also don't think Francis botched the expansion draft like others think. Infact, it seems like he targeted players he thought would be a fit but could offer flexibility if they did not work out. All those players were moved out. I don't know what else people want Francis to do at this point?

 

[wewantyoursoul]

Very well said @Fistfullofbeer

 

[Scomerica]

I didn't expect to be bottom 3 but I think this team is still better than it's record. I think the biggest mistake has been the Hakstol hiring. I think a better coach and we are at least mediocre.

I think the biggest dig from outsiders isn't at the expansion draft, more at throwing money at the likes of Grubauer. People think that move went against the approach taken at the expansion draft and was a move a play off team makes rather than a team building slowly.

 

[wewantyoursoul]

Trade grades: Johansson bolsters Caps' Cup chase

The former Capitals player returns to help Ovi & Co. Meanwhile, the Kraken continue to stockpile draft picks.

www.espn.com

Washington Capitals: B+​

Seattle Kraken: A-​

 

[GrungeHockey]

If you have been following Francis for the last few months, the idea was to identify players he felt were core pieces and keep them. Then move out expiring pieces (no plan to renew their contracts) for assets. Those assets can then be used to get assets that are better suited for our team. Age, style, etc.

And Francis has also said that he plans to be better and competitive next season. Unless people know otherwise or Francis is flat out publicly lying, we can forget about Bedard/Mitchkov.

Also, people keep bringing up the botched expansion draft. This team was an expansion draft. What were the expectations from most folks here? I get that not many of us expected us to be bottom-3 but not many expected us to be in the playoffs either.

I also don't think Francis botched the expansion draft like others think. Infact, it seems like he targeted players he thought would be a fit but could offer flexibility if they did not work out. All those players were moved out. I don't know what else people want Francis to do at this point?

To the first paragraph, better suited? I thought we were told this would be a hard working grinding physical team hard to play against? Exactly the type of players (aside from Johanson) that they got rid of.

To paragraph two, of course he's lying. Nobody ever admits to tanking.

Botched in terms of choosing too many D men and then letting several of them go for little return. Botched in a lack of creativity. I never expected Vegas 2, that wasn't going to happen, but there was something in between possible.

With all the cap room I simply believe he could have done more in terms of retention and/or taking on some bigger contract(s) from teams looking to add but up against the cap.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

To the first paragraph, better suited? I thought we were told this would be a hard working grinding physical team hard to play against? Exactly the type of players (aside from Johanson) that they got rid of.

To paragraph two, of course he's lying. Nobody ever admits to tanking.

Botched in terms of choosing too many D men and then letting several of them go for little return. Botched in a lack of creativity. I never expected Vegas 2, that wasn't going to happen, but there was something in between possible.

With all the cap room I simply believe he could have done more in terms of retention and/or taking on some bigger contract(s) from teams looking to add but up against the cap.

Show me a quote where he said that this would be a hard working grinding physical team? The idea was to be a good defensive unit with excellent goal tending. That is where the team/coaching/management did not deliver.

Actions speak louder than words. We will see what happens in the off-season and get a good idea if we are tanking for Mitchkov/Bedard or not. Generally when teams tank, they move their good players and keep their bad ones. We still have all the players we consider are our core and good.

Yes, something in the middle was possible. Which is exactly what he expected. Goaltending and team defense let him down massively. I think that is more to do with coaching than the personnel on the team to be honest. I am not giving him a pass here though because he is the one that hired Hakstol, but lets not pretend that he built this team to fail from the start.

He had to move his players out to get assets back and to maximize the return there, he used his retention spots to do that. There is only a max of 3 retention spots. Also, which contracts would you exactly take on? You do realize that it needs to work both ways. How many big contracts were moved at this TDL that Francis missed out on?

 

[HoseEmDown]

To the first paragraph, better suited? I thought we were told this would be a hard working grinding physical team hard to play against? Exactly the type of players (aside from Johanson) that they got rid of.

To paragraph two, of course he's lying. Nobody ever admits to tanking.

Botched in terms of choosing too many D men and then letting several of them go for little return. Botched in a lack of creativity. I never expected Vegas 2, that wasn't going to happen, but there was something in between possible.

With all the cap room I simply believe he could have done more in terms of retention and/or taking on some bigger contract(s) from teams looking to add but up against the cap.

He drafted 12 defensemen. He has since traded 3 of them for 3 2nd's, 3rd and 4th. 8 of them are still on the roster signed or RFA. The only one he lost was Bayreuther. I don't think he messed up his defensive selections.

 

[GrungeHockey]

He drafted 12 defensemen. He has since traded 3 of them for 3 2nd's, 3rd and 4th. 8 of them are still on the roster signed or RFA. The only one he lost was Bayreuther. I don't think he messed up his defensive selections.

Only if those picks amount to something.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Only if those picks amount to something.

Ok. So lets wait to pass a sentence till that happens then.

 

[GrungeHockey]

Ok. So lets wait to pass a sentence till that happens then.

Well that's fair if they make a ton of great picks it'll all go well. I did say in one of the threads I'm going to wait to see what they do in free agency before grading Francis. There's still potential for some big moves at that time. I don't believe in over paying old guys, but adding key pieces to build around and with is possible if you spend wisely, and they have the money.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Well that's fair if they make a ton of great picks it'll all go well. I did say in one of the threads I'm going to wait to see what they do in free agency before grading Francis. There's still potential for some big moves at that time. I don't believe in over paying old guys, but adding key pieces to build around and with is possible if you spend wisely, and they have the money.

And that is all we can do. Even in FA, I don't see Francis handing out 9M x 7 year contracts to players. I just don't. What I see him do is dangle draft picks, eat cap space, etc. to get us the best players we can find via trades. Not that I expect him to ignore FA completely but the Sharks for the longest time ran into issues attracting FA's and had to do a lot of trade and extend type deals instead. We are likely to be in the same situation.

The players he is likely to attract in FA are going to be middle of the ground FA's who could help us right away but are likely to be complimentary players. Which is fine because the idea is to have the likes of Beniers, Cooley/Slaf/whoever to be the core players.

 

[The Marquis]

And that is all we can do. Even in FA, I don't see Francis handing out 9M x 7 year contracts to players. I just don't. What I see him do is dangle draft picks, eat cap space, etc. to get us the best players we can find via trades. Not that I expect him to ignore FA completely but the Sharks for the longest time ran into issues attracting FA's and had to do a lot of trade and extend type deals instead. We are likely to be in the same situation.

The players he is likely to attract in FA are going to be middle of the ground FA's who could help us right away but are likely to be complimentary players. Which is fine because the idea is to have the likes of Beniers, Cooley/Slaf/whoever to be the core players.

I'd agree, unless the ownership has made it abundantly clear that they need to win NOW. At that point, a contract that'll be bad in 5 years isn't his problem. I don't think this is the case, but bet your ass if the Kraken are this bad next season it very well might be.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I'd agree, unless the ownership has made it abundantly clear that they need to win NOW. At that point, a contract that'll be bad in 5 years isn't his problem. I don't think this is the case, but bet your ass if the Kraken are this bad next season it very well might be.

Well if the Kraken are this bad next season, I genuinely don't think Hakstol is back. Could potentially be fired mid-season. Francis can choose to sink and swim with Hakstol since he was the one making the hire but by approaching the TDL the way he has, it shows me that he has been will to adapt and make changes sooner than later.

That being said, it would be unrealistic to see us make that massive of a jump next season. Jumping from bottom-5 to make the playoffs would require us to jump 12 positions (atleast). It's possible but even with the new additions there is no guarantee that Hakstol makes it work. I think the ownership may be ok seeing us get in the 10-16 range next season and then make a bigger leap in 2023-24.

 

[GrungeHockey]

And that is all we can do. Even in FA, I don't see Francis handing out 9M x 7 year contracts to players. I just don't. What I see him do is dangle draft picks, eat cap space, etc. to get us the best players we can find via trades. Not that I expect him to ignore FA completely but the Sharks for the longest time ran into issues attracting FA's and had to do a lot of trade and extend type deals instead. We are likely to be in the same situation.

The players he is likely to attract in FA are going to be middle of the ground FA's who could help us right away but are likely to be complimentary players. Which is fine because the idea is to have the likes of Beniers, Cooley/Slaf/whoever to be the core players.

Absolutely, the team's future success will rest on Beniers plus whoever else they draft. It's good to have solid character guys as leaders though to show the kids the right way to play, compete, train, and just behave. Leaders. Free agency might be a source for that.

 

[kihei]

I'll take cheap low picks. Sure they are like lottery tickets. But sometimes you win the lottery and come up with a serviceable player or, in rare instances, Henrik Zetterberg. If you have good scouts, a necessity anyways, your chance of picking a winner increases.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Mid round picks are good at using to move up in the draft. A 4th could move you up a few spots in the late 2nd to get the guy you want.

 

[Gniwder]

He drafted 12 defensemen. He has since traded 3 of them for 3 2nd's, 3rd and 4th. 8 of them are still on the roster signed or RFA. The only one he lost was Bayreuther. I don't think he messed up his defensive selections.

Cholowski was a mistake, though I suppose he's an useful AHLer for the new team.

 

[Irie]

Cholowski was a mistake, though I suppose he's an useful AHLer for the new team.

I think Cholowski was a target for Charlotte from the start, and Francis thought he could get him through waivers. I know you were as shocked as anyone when the Caps claimed him.

There were definitely better D available in the draft, but all of them you had to figure would not make it through waivers, so Francis had to target some guys for that purpose, and while they looked like bad picks during the draft, they actually were targeted for that specific purpose, which the org needed.

 

[Gniwder]

I think Cholowski was a target for Charlotte from the start, and Francis thought he could get him through waivers. I know you were as shocked as anyone when the Caps claimed him.

There were definitely better D available in the draft, but all of them you had to figure would not make it through waivers, so Francis had to target some guys for that purpose, and while they looked like bad picks during the draft, they actually were targeted for that specific purpose, which the org needed.

Stecher fetched a 7th, so barely better.

The pick should've been Namestnikov, though it's mainly hindsight. I didn't see him rebounding this season like he did. Apparently he's much better as a winger where he has more freedom than being a center in a defensive shell scheme. Not that it makes too much difference since he's basically a slightly tougher version of MoJo and only returned a 4th round pick. Basically the Wings didn't expose anything you couldn't pick up in free agency for $1M.

As for McLellan, I think he's got COVID dementia or something, he usually hates soft players like Cholo and MoJo.

 

[Irie]

Interesting pick-ups for the Caps, for certain.

Yeah, I had Namestnikov on my board, but the more I thought about it, and Francis needing to fill out Charlotte, I began to just except the Cholo pick for what it was, and figured it would fill a need so i didn't hate it as much as most.

I thought for sure C Fleury was going to get reclaimed by Montreal though, which influenced my valuation.