Speculation: Tank or no Tank!

[MW6]

What to do with this season?

Caps/GMGM are IMO at a crossroad right now. This season is slipping through their fingers and some decisions needs to be made!

Should the Caps?

A) Accept the idea of tanking, hope for a high pick in the draft and trade away their current UFA's to restock the prospect-pool and give young players valuable playing time. Players like Ribeiro, Poti, Hamrlik, Erskine, Hendricks, Crabb could draw some interest come trade deadline and hope that this core still can get it done with enough time to learn Oates system.

B) Tank and re-tool. Admitting this core that has failed to move past the 2nd round in the playoffs isn't going to get it done and trade 1-2 of the young guns for young(er) promising pieces and any pending UFA that draws interest. Then hope to have an even greater chance at the Cup when recent 1st rounders are getting comfortable in the NHL together with the already younger players in this team.

C) Trade some of the futures to try to get this team back on track, hoping that Caps will learn what Oates preaches on the fly and rally like the Kings did last year in the playoffs.

D) Ride it out, not risking anything while thinking that the team they have will fight back make a run and then evaluate after the season (like most of the times).

Click to read more...

 

[fedfed]

Tank and trade UFAs with one little exception: Mike Ribeiro. Well, prolly Hendricks, too.

 

[Halpysback*]

At this point not tanking is stupid. 2 months of """"pain"""" for a Backstrom caliber player for the next decade. Seriously, just do PX90 or something to pass the time.

 

[Koized]

I think tanking this season would be in the best interest of the club.

I have always supported GMGM but I think the time has come to move on. The scary thing is who to replace him with, which has always been my concern. I don't think GMGM is a great GM but he's also a lot better than many. However, I can't ever see him putting together a Cup winning team and that is what it comes down to.

I would trade Rebeiro which should bring back a good return, which I would hope would be equivalent to the loss of Eakin who is playing really well this year. And I would also entertain the idea of trading Ovechkin and Green depending on the potential returns. This club needs a new core.

 

[MW6]

What gives, why did my poll get moved? I'd like a thread purely about what direction this team should be taking!

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

If the Caps trade Ovechkin, Leonsis might as well sell the team to Balsillie and get the relocation paperwork started.

 

[Koized]

Fans will come out for a winning team with or without Ovechkin. Ovechkin is a 60 point 9.5 million dollar player now who is poor defensively. If the team can move him for a solid return this would be the time before his value is zero or negative.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Fans will come out for a winning team with or without Ovechkin. Ovechkin is a 60 point 9.5 million dollar player now who is poor defensively. If the team can move him for a solid return this would be the time before his value is zero or negative.

You overestimate the DC market.

Check the attendance numbers when they had a winning team without Ovechkin.

 

[MW6]

Fans will come out for a winning team with or without Ovechkin. Ovechkin is a 60 point 9.5 million dollar player now who is poor defensively. If the team can move him for a solid return this would be the time before his value is zero or negative.

I agree! Ovechkin was a symbol of hope, a hope of winning. If Leonsis/GMGM/Caps ice a team with a chance of winning there's no way the fans are bailing ship. Trading Ovechkin though will not be easy, the key to trading him is of course to make this team better all around in the long run!

 

[Ajax1995]

You overestimate the DC market.

Check the attendance numbers when they had a winning team without Ovechkin.

Yeah I don't think too many of the 'trade Ovechkin' posse are from around here...

 

[EroCaps]

Tank, pick-up another blue-chipper, replace McPhee and re-tool.

 

[Atlas]

#1 Get rid of George McPhee
#2 Hire the right GM
#3 The Caps don't have much choice about tanking. They're a weak team.

 

[Mickstix]

Tank and do something.. What other choice do they have? W/O 8, 19, & 52 pulling their weight, every other player on the ice needs to overachieve to win a game.. Team lacks the basic talent one needs to succeed in a professional sport.. Then there's that Cup caliber blue line GM's been building for 15 years..

Now if anyone thinks Ovi, Nick and Mike are just on multi year slumps and will surely turn back into superstars, well then stay the course and see if anyone sells McPhee some beachfront in Iowa..

 

[sycamore]

You overestimate the DC market.

Check the attendance numbers when they had a winning team without Ovechkin.

Problem is, Ovechkin is no longer Ovechkin. I'm not going to see Jagr just because he was great in the early/mid 90s. If I'm going to see a superstar, he better be in his prime.

 

[RandyHolt]

Moved: Spank or Tank


Other: Trade someone George covets, to right the ship

 

[SimplySensational]

Re-tooling.

The future could be

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer
Forsberg-Barkov/Lindholm-Kuznetsov

 

[Ajax1995]

Why do we have 2 of the exact same polls just in different threads?

 

[BTCG]

You overestimate the DC market.

Check the attendance numbers when they had a winning team without Ovechkin.

Confusing... the other day, you said that losing is all it would take to make attendance fall.

Today, it's losing AO?

Which is it?

 

[BTCG]

Tank, pick-up another blue-chipper, replace McPhee and re-tool.

I realize this thread is all in fun, but how do you start that type of process... it is a team game, eh?

 

[swimmer77]

I'd like to vote for which ever one guarantees a Stanley Cup. Which option is dat?

Thanks!

 

[EroCaps]

I realize this thread is all in fun, but how do you start that type of process... it is a team game, eh?

The process of tanking? I don't know that they can get away with it this go around. It'd be too obvious with the talent they have to start playing Matthew Yeats. They might start by moving expensive non-core vets like Ribeiro and Ward.

 

[BTCG]

Why do we have 2 of the exact same polls just in different threads?

I think that one of the things you used to accuse/predict is actually happening: some are enjoying our demise.

For the record... I'm not.

And I think we'll win our fair share (starting with the Debbies: we will win BOTH games)... and we WILL make the playoffs.

It'll be by the skin of our teeth (quick aside: do teeth actually have skin? And if the reader has skin on their teeth currently, please... DON'T provide the details of how it happened).

We're out in 5 games... but we make the playoffs.

Ted will tell us that it's all because of the shortened season, and we're right back where we are right now next season.

 

[BTCG]

The process of tanking? I don't know that they can get away with it this go around. It'd be too obvious with the talent they have to start playing Matthew Yeats. They might start by moving expensive non-core vets like Ribeiro and Ward.

The talent we have? Can you elucidate?

Mean it Ero... always enjoy your posts. Please expand on that.

OH... maybe that post was sarcasm? Sorry, I'm slow sometimes. (correct response: sometimes? )

 

[BTCG]

I'd like to vote for which ever one guarantees a Stanley Cup. Which option is dat?

Thanks!

Sir... you need to ascend at a slower rate after you're that deep for so long.

 

[BTCG]

Re-tooling.

The future could be

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer
Forsberg-Barkov/Lindholm-Kuznetsov

SS,

Not to rain on your parade, but success in the lower leagues is no indicator of how well a player will do in the NHL.

Example: Martin Lapointe was an AHL version of Wayne Gretzky... but in the NHL, his main value was being a grinding forward.