CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
- 64,388
- 19,089
They also get fired when they make poor bets on the future when that futures blows up on them and they're left with minimal cap flexibility or are forced to trade better/younger players. There are a lot of ways people get canned and it's mostly about being irresponsible and making poor decisions. That goes both ways along the safety/risk spectrum. Some bets really aren't as safe as they're believed to be. There may be a middle ground with Oshie for both sides but in all likelihood this will be his last big contract. I certainly wouldn't hold it against him if he cashed out in UFA. And, yes, the Caps will survive if that happens. No, it's not certain BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN. They survived letting Ribeiro go and they'd survive letting Oshie go. Vrana isn't Kuznetsov barring a breakout year but he can be serviceable with stable play around him (or better). Iginla and Sharp come to mind immediately as two veteran options with less term required that would be in the Williams mold (if not Williams himself). And there will be others. There always are. This is not some do-or-die player.
I get it. Fans get attached to players but GMs can't operate that way to the point where judgement is clouded. It's about what's best for the organization and re-signing Oshie may not be realistic (or necessarily smart). Generally I'd concentrate more on retaining and acquiring elite to prime players than retaining older ones on the downside. Today's game is more about the former than the later than ever.
Again, I don't think it would be the worst thing if they take a step back at some point and focus more on skill development across the board. If that comes with lowered expectations for a season so be it. I'm not saying next season will be that year, or that they have the right people in place to try it necessarily, but I don't think it would be a disaster. Mowing down teams in the regular season gets kind of stale when they learn nothing from it (or arguably learn the wrong things because of it). Some adversity and more youth being relied upon wouldn't be the worst thing. It's easy for me to say but if they're truly an elite organization then it should be manageable. Elite franchise across all sports do this at times when prudence dictates it and the idea of it need not be so terrifying because it's not truly about any one player.
Who gets fired first, the GM who has no plan or the GM follows the wrong plan? The Caps already are projecting what he's going to cost, that I have no doubt of. I bet they would love to sign him to a 4 year deal. I think ultimately it comes down to the term he's willing to settle on. If he has a solid year teams will be lining up. This decision isn't about surviving, it's about exceeding expectation when you win it all. I just don't think letting him walk gets this team any closer to winning a Cup. This team with him is closer. They can take a step back after Ovy is gone...