Salary Cap: Salary Cap & Roster Building | Still July (Cap Details + Links in First Post)

[Gurglesons]

I don’t care how they play until February or March, as long as they are in PO striking distance....if the forwards want to dog it defensively, fine...

I just want health and Sprong playing and playing like a top 6 forward...is that too much to ask?

I’d honestly prefer they get the players playing the right way and winning the division.

I’m tired of them thinking they can flip a switch. They’re lucky they won in 2017 playing that way against Nashville.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

I'm not seeing how this D looks bad to people. In addition, almost every single D has the potential to be better this year. Letang is a clear bounce back candidate, Maatta has his first healthy offseason in a good while, Olek will have his first camp and first full season with Gonch/Martin, and I'm not sure how much room for improvement there is but Dumo and Schultz have been getting better every year. JMFJ is clearly a potential bounce back guy but I expect him to struggle a bit in the first half as he adjusts, learns the system, and Gonch/Martin work on him.

Our biggest problems last season were TEAM defense and transition. We lost to the cup champs with the same 6 D... plus we added JMFJ who is a very good transition player. Cullen solidifies the 4th line and these guys allow us to spread the minutes across 4 lines and 3 pairings. This is a recipe for success.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

I’d honestly prefer they get the players playing the right way and winning the division.

I’m tired of them thinking they can flip a switch. They’re lucky they won in 2017 playing that way against Nashville.

Theyre lucky they flipped the switch 4 rounds into the playoffs? Seriously by that point it was as flipped as it was getting.

 

[Turin]

There was no switch in 2017, they just played without Letang and for the most part, Hagelin and Hornqvist which made life hard on everyone.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

I really don’t want to see “how quickly can we fix the bad habits we’ve spent most of the season cultivating?” again. If the forwards can’t be assed to play defense in November it’s going to be a problem in March because it’s not going from 90% to a playoff style. It’s going from doing **** all to a playoff style for a run and putting Murray and the D through more abuse for months.

Agreed. I fully expect Sully to drive this point home in camp.

There is either playing to win a Cup or playing to collect a paycheck. There is no middle ground switch flipping. Sully made a big point in his developmental job to emphasize developing mental speed. I think part of the reason we looked slower last season is that rather than cultivating good habits to the point of being instinctual, there was hesitation/over-thinking in our play. And then you get guys trying to do too much to compensate.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

Agreed. I fully expect Sully to drive this point home in camp.

There is either playing to win a Cup or playing to collect a paycheck. There is no middle ground switch flipping. Sully made a big point in his developmental job to emphasize developing mental speed. I think part of the reason we looked slower last season is that rather than cultivating good habits to the point of being instinctual, there was hesitation/over-thinking in our play. And then you get guys trying to do too much to compensate.

I think they were mentally exhausted, weren't as deep as they needed to be, and getting used to new players and then getting used to their replacements.

 

[Peat]

I really don’t want to see “how quickly can we fix the bad habits we’ve spent most of the season cultivating?” again. If the forwards can’t be assed to play defense in November it’s going to be a problem in March because it’s not going from 90% to a playoff style. It’s going from doing **** all to a playoff style for a run and putting Murray and the D through more abuse for months.

Flip side - you're not going to win a cup if you go full bore all season and are tired out by April.

I'm okay with them dogging the first half of the season and putting the right habits into place in January. That seems a decent balance to me.

 

[Gurglesons]

Theyre lucky they flipped the switch 4 rounds into the playoffs? Seriously by that point it was as flipped as it was getting.

I mean, did you watch the first two games of that series?

We had no right winning any of the first four games. Our efforts in Ottawa and Washington were also not inspiring.

My point is our core has a tendency for getting complacent. They let teams back in games they shouldn’t regularly.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Flip side - you're not going to win a cup if you go full bore all season and are tired out by April.

I'm okay with them dogging the first half of the season and putting the right habits into place in January. That seems a decent balance to me.

Or, you go at 90% instead of dogging it. Murray is coming off a bad season and has injury concerns. Letang is coming off a f***ing mess and the D in general looks geared towards helping the forwards generate offsense. How about not throwing those things to the wolves? Just spend the season building the right habits that aren’t psychotic shot blocking and taking massive hits to make a play.

 

[Peat]

I mean, did you watch the first two games of that series?

We had no right winning any of the first four games. Our efforts in Ottawa and Washington were also not inspiring.

My point is our core has a tendency for getting complacent. They let teams back in games they shouldn’t regularly.

I think you two are talking at cross purposes. He thought you were saying the team flipped a switch against Nashville - I don't think you're saying that.

That said...

I think you're overegging our difficulties against Ottawa and Nashville. We controlled the play against Ottawa, just it took us a while to figure out how to beat their trap and Andersen had a great series. Nashville controlled a lot of the puck, but we had the better scoring opportunities.

Washington was a minor miracle though.

Or, you go at 90% instead of dogging it. Murray is coming off a bad season and has injury concerns. Letang is coming off a ****ing mess and the D in general looks geared towards helping the forwards generate offsense. How about not throwing those things to the wolves? Just spend the season building the right habits that aren’t psychotic shot blocking and taking massive hits to make a play.

I'm not sure there's a significant difference between 90% and dogging it under Sully's system.

That is to say - I think the instant decision making and workload involved in Sully's system means if you're not going at 100%, you're not going at the effort level needed. to make it work smoothly.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I'm not sure there's a significant difference between 90% and dogging it under Sully's system.

That is to say - I think the instant decision making and workload involved in Sully's system means if you're not going at 100%, you're not going at the effort level needed. to make it work smoothly.

Then Sullivan needs to come up with a similar system they can run for a chunk of the season that won’t kill them but won’t let the bad habits get ingrained.

 

[BigEezyE22]

I think the depth upgrade makes it easier to manage their system compared to last year. The big thing is having 4 lines of ice worthy players.

 

[pistolpete11]

Flip side - you're not going to win a cup if you go full bore all season and are tired out by April.

I'm okay with them dogging the first half of the season and putting the right habits into place in January. That seems a decent balance to me.

I think you can build good habits without being hard on your body. Make good decisions, skate hard, be responsible defensively, etc., but you don't have to always be hitting, blocking shots, going hard to the net, etc. There's a balance for sure, because you have to do some of that stuff at least some of the time in order to win even regular season games, but that's part of the coach's job IMO. Knowing when to dial it back and when to push the guys.

 

[Turin]

Yea the Pens went from Sheary/Kuhn-Cullen-Rust/Fehr on their fourth line to the worst, least used fourth line last year. It’ll go a long way to have 4 lines again.

 

[Andy99]

I’d honestly prefer they get the players playing the right way and winning the division.

I’m tired of them thinking they can flip a switch. They’re lucky they won in 2017 playing that way against Nashville.

I get the sentiment...I just think it’s too hard to play balls to the wall consistently, and back check, forecheck hard etc....it’s takes too much out of you to do it for 82 games, especially with all the players we have over age 30...rather them be fresh for the POs...
If you’ll notice, the Caps didn’t start playing their tough defensive system until the second half of the year, and that was done deliberately....just saying

 

[Tom Hanks]

I don’t care how they play until February or March, as long as they are in PO striking distance....if the forwards want to dog it defensively, fine...

I just want health and Sprong playing and playing like a top 6 forward...is that too much to ask?

Wins early in the season can really set things up. You might not have to go as hard down the stretch being fresher for the playoffs. Takes the strain off Murray and D as well. The young wingers can get more rope if they are playing up the lines.

Don’t want to see the up and downs of last season. More consistency. Allows to tweak things at the deadline instead of needing a big deal.

 

[Riptide]

I think they were mentally exhausted, weren't as deep as they needed to be, and getting used to new players and then getting used to their replacements.

We lost because we had no secondary scoring. Our defensive issues certainly didn't help, but even then as glaring as they were, had we received any sort of offensive support, we should have been able to outscore those issues. As for our "depth", on paper we had excellent depth. The issue is that the very skilled depth we had wasn't producing when we needed them to.

 

[Andy99]

Wins early in the season can really set things up. You might not have to go as hard down the stretch being fresher for the playoffs. Takes the strain off Murray and D as well. The young wingers can get more rope if they are playing up the lines.

Don’t want to see the up and downs of last season. More consistency. Allows to tweak things at the deadline instead of needing a big deal.

We have some of the greatest forwards in the league...as we have in the past, we’ll win some game 7-6 and cheating for offense...we always have...no reason to grind into Sully’s taxing system before February imo....

 

[BigEezyE22]

I get the sentiment...I just think it’s too hard to play balls to the wall consistently, and back check, forecheck hard etc....it’s takes too much out of you to do it for 82 games, especially with all the players we have over age 30...rather them be fresh for the POs...
If you’ll notice, the Caps didn’t start playing their tough defensive system until the second half of the year, and that was done deliberately....just saying

But that's not all necessary if you're playing the right way. Sound decisions at the blue lines, puck management, and support, there's enough talent to win plenty of games with smart hockey. Look at 2016-2017, they were hardly balls to the wall during the regular season and wound up with the 2nd best record in the league. Last year, the inability to fill in for the roster turnover left them playing with a short bench chasing games too often and it caught up to them in barely making it in to the playoffs.

 

[Andy99]

But that's not all necessary if you're playing the right way. Sound decisions at the blue lines, puck management, and support, there's enough talent to win plenty of games with smart hockey. Look at 2016-2017, they were hardly balls to the wall during the regular season and wound up with the 2nd best record in the league. Last year, the inability to fill in for the roster turnover left them playing with a short bench chasing games too often and it caught up to them in barely making it in to the playoffs.

Maybe re last year...what’s the excuse for the rest of the Sid-G era?

Did you just put Penguins and “smart hockey” in the same sentence?

 

[Gurglesons]

Maybe re last year...what’s the excuse for the rest of the Sid-G era?

Did you just put Penguins and “smart hockey” in the same sentence?

The Penguins have consistently been successful by possessing the puck and moving the puck to their forwards while having forward support in the defensive zone.

 

[Andy99]

The Penguins have consistently been successful by possessing the puck and moving the puck to their forwards while having forward support in the defensive zone.

I guess you have better memories of their RS play since 2009 than I do, with the exception of the tremwndous 2015-16 Cup run....

 

[Ugene Magic]

I'm not seeing how this D looks bad to people. In addition, almost every single D has the potential to be better this year. Letang is a clear bounce back candidate, Maatta has his first healthy offseason in a good while, Olek will have his first camp and first full season with Gonch/Martin, and I'm not sure how much room for improvement there is but Dumo and Schultz have been getting better every year. JMFJ is clearly a potential bounce back guy but I expect him to struggle a bit in the first half as he adjusts, learns the system, and Gonch/Martin work on him.

Our biggest problems last season were TEAM defense and transition. We lost to the cup champs with the same 6 D... plus we added JMFJ who is a very good transition player. Cullen solidifies the 4th line and these guys allow us to spread the minutes across 4 lines and 3 pairings. This is a recipe for success.

The same six D-men last year were a mess, and part of that is they counted on guys who shouldn't be regulars or counted on in the first place.
The lack of offensive push and over use of the top two pairs, they simply didn't add any depth whatsoever. If an injury came to light the next man up took their place and actually filled that void. They didn't have any.

Let's put it this way, your depth is Ruh if someone is injured. That's another exit in the playoffs. They basically traded out JJ for Hunwick moving Ruh to #7. That's not depth, not the kind of depth that won them two straight Stanley cups.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

If they are going to win it all again these next few years, Murray has to become a star in this league. Where we thought he was heading going into last season.

Team needs to play better, but his play is more important.

 

[ImporterExporter]

If they are going to win it all again these next few years, Murray has to become a star in this league. Where we thought he was heading going into last season.

Team needs to play better, but his play is more important.

Absolutely. And after seeing how MAF was treated here as the years went on I expect people to trash Murray if he continues to play like he did this past year. I for one won't put up with people making typical yinzer excuses if he has another season where he's like 35th in the league in save % and below 50% in quality starts, etc. I got on him pretty good, but wasn't a jerk about it because he had injuries and obviously his dad passing didn't help things. He had a lot going on, plus the back to back Cups gives you a certain amount of leeway.

But, with that being said, he needs to rebound. And I have faith he will with a full offseason to rest up and move past his dad's death.

No more excuses, for him or Letang now. If those guys both trend upwards, we'll be right back in the thick of a deep playoff run.