GDT: Washington Mumbo Sauce vs Carolina weird mustard BBQ sauce - 7:08PM

[CapitalsCupReality]

This is where I’m at. It’s clear that this season at the very least is a wash for him. Given that, are they really just going to hold onto him and hope both that his confidence returns and that the next coach (if Laviolette isn’t extended) plays him? Seems like that parlay isn’t worth betting on especially with the clock ticking on Ovechkin. His value is clearly as a trade chip at this point and not utilizing that seems like a big mistake.

10 games in….the season is a wash ? Lol….act like you’ve been here before.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

10 games in….the season is a wash ? Lol….act like you’ve been here before.

No matter which way you slice it, they are handling his development poorly:I’m not even advocating for him to be in the line-up. He needs to go play hockey and build his confidence back-up. 6 minutes once in a blue moon ain’t gonna do it.

Hershey, wherever, he needs to play. Or hell, even trade him but this current holding pattern is beyond dumb.

 

[crazy8888]

10 games in….the season is a wash ? Lol….act like you’ve been here before.

Its not only that its 10 games. With major injuries to start the season i think even my cat figured CMM would naturally be given more minutes. Instead he was given mostly no minutes which is a bit shocking. Did he regress from last season, is this benching justified? Who knows. How can we possibly tell if we do not have a chance to watch him play.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

No matter which way you slice it, they are handling his development poorly:I’m not even advocating for him to be in the line-up. He needs to go play hockey and build his confidence back-up. 6 minutes once in a blue moon ain’t gonna do it.

I wonder what the fancy stats say about his play tonight? Play him a few shifts, he sucks, they don’t play him more (guessing)? I wasn’t watching closely enough to catch how he looked in limited time.

It’s not only that its 10 games. With major injuries to start the season i think even my cat figured CMM would naturally be given more minutes. Instead he was given mostly no minutes which is a bit shocking. Did he regress from last season, is this benching justified? Who knows. How can we possibly tell if we do not have a chance to watch him play.

Don’t we have to assume they make these choices based on his practice habits and success or failures? Maybe he’s regressed? Maybe he’s got something going on? I can’t figure it out either.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

I wonder what the fancy stats say about his play tonight? Play him a few shifts, he sucks, they don’t play him more (guessing)? I wasn’t watching closely enough to catch how he looked in limited time.


Don’t we have to assume they make these choices based on his practice habits and success or failures?

Hard to play great when you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for so long. That’s a tough ask and then your margin of error is tiny.

Let him go play in Hershey in that case. Why keep him here if the coach obviously isn’t a fan? I sense there is some disagreement amongst management and the head coach or else he’d be in Hershey.

 

[Hivemind]

@g00n Call it whining all you want but try to justify that

The Status Quo Brigade spent all of last season justifying the same treatment. It's a pointless debate at this point.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

This is where I’m at. It’s clear that this season at the very least is a wash for him. Given that, are they really just going to hold onto him and hope both that his confidence returns and that the next coach (if Laviolette isn’t extended) plays him? Seems like that parlay isn’t worth betting on especially with the clock ticking on Ovechkin. His value is clearly as a trade chip at this point and not utilizing that seems like a big mistake.

Or just send him to minors and let him play.

His value is not high now so it will be another trade like when caps traded Forsberg. I’m not comparing CMM to Forsberg by the way.. just saying you are likely to lose trade long-term

 

[twabby]

Or just send him to minors and let him play.

His value is not high now so it will be another trade like when caps traded Forsberg. I’m not comparing CMM to Forsberg by the way.. just saying you are likely to lose trade long-term

I’m probably in the minority but I don’t think the minors will do anything good for him. I don’t think he’s going to regain his confidence in Hershey and return in say 3 months and be a different player. Trust is a two-way street, and it’s just not there between Laviolette and McMichael. No stint in Hershey is going to make him a legitimate option in Laviolette’s eyes IMO.

I don’t know what his value is around the league. He’s a first round draft pick. Pedigree is worth a lot. I’d at least be exploring trades at this point. Washington could sure use a top 6 RW.

 

[DWGie26]

I like a performance based world and while CMM has been given chances, he hasn’t grabbed the opportunity, Protas did. Beck did.

So yeah in part send him down to play and some part to let someone else see what they bring. Pilon has been strong in Hershey and is a right shot (RW/C). they could also bring up Sonny. I’d like to see Snively play tomorrow and bring someone up from Hershey.

They will watch a game or two before they play But lets see some new blood. Could be surprised (again).

 

[HTFN]

I like a performance based world and while CMM has been given chances, he hasn’t grabbed the opportunity, Protas did. Beck did.

So yeah in part send him down to play and some part to let someone else see what they bring. Pilon has been strong in Hershey and is a right shot (RW/C). they could also bring up Sonny. I’d like to see Snively play tomorrow and bring someone up from Hershey.

They will watch a game or two before they play But lets see some new blood. Could be surprised (again).

f*** are you talking about? How is 6 minutes a chance? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy if you give an IQ player without a lot of true standout talents zero time to adjust mid-game and live and die by his first shift at game level in weeks.

 

[Rayquaza64]

I’m probably in the minority but I don’t think the minors will do anything good for him. I don’t think he’s going to regain his confidence in Hershey and return in say 3 months and be a different player. Trust is a two-way street, and it’s just not there between Laviolette and McMichael. No stint in Hershey is going to make him a legitimate option in Laviolette’s eyes IMO.

I don’t know what his value is around the league. He’s a first round draft pick. Pedigree is worth a lot. I’d at least be exploring trades at this point. Washington could sure use a top 6 RW at this point.

I mean, it cant be any worse than playing him 6 minutes a night can it? Either it boosts his confidence and lets him round out his game so that way lavi/next regime has more of a reason to give him more minutes, or he racks up points in the ahl as a young player and increases trade value. Keeping him up here seems to diminish both sides of the coin

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Hard to play great when you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for so long. That’s a tough ask and then your margin of error is tiny.

Let him go play in Hershey in that case. Why keep him here if the coach obviously isn’t a fan? I sense there is some disagreement amongst management and the head coach or else he’d be in Hershey.

I get it….this is the NHL. Shit is hard.

 

[DWGie26]

f*** are you talking about? How is 6 minutes a chance? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy if you give an IQ player without a lot of true standout talents zero time to adjust mid-game and live and die by his first shift at game level in weeks.

One shift at A time. He hasn’t done that. Others have.

 

[HTFN]

One shift at A time. He hasn’t done that. Others have.

that's not how it works unless you're literally devoted to growing the lowest common denominator. By this board's accounting he's being told to prove it and the pressure is so wildly high that every time he gets something resembling a chance, his whole career seems to ride on it.

that's not healthy.

 

[twabby]

I mean, it cant be any worse than playing him 6 minutes a night can it? Either it boosts his confidence and lets him round out his game so that way lavi/next regime has more of a reason to give him more minutes, or he racks up points in the ahl as a young player and increases trade value. Keeping him up here seems to diminish both sides of the coin

I agree that his current usage is the worst of all worlds, but I just don’t see sending him to Hershey as anything but lazy asset management either. It’s kicking the can rather than aggressively addressing problems.

 

[DWGie26]

that's not how it works unless you're literally devoted to growing the lowest common denominator. By this board's accounting he's being told to prove it and the pressure is so wildly high that every time he gets something resembling a chance, his whole career seems to ride on it.

that's not healthy.

That is exactly how it works.

 

[Rayquaza64]

I agree that his current usage is the worst of all worlds, but I just don’t see sending him to Hershey as anything but lazy asset management either. It’s kicking the can rather than aggressively addressing problems.

honestly any way you look at it is poor asset management, his trade value is at an all time low right now (presumably), considering the fact his trade value is at an all time low (basically a healthy scratch on a team that has 4 top 6 forwards on the sidelines injured), there isnt really a good position to put him in and hershey is likely the best way to potentially make that first round pick investment justified. but hell do i know, the first round pick pedigree might be able to carry his value enough that it can get a play driving top six forward or a top 4 defenseman to bolster the defense, its just the conclusion that seems best unless maclellan is ready to be agressive when it comes to trades (which his track record hasnt really shown much)
Regardless, its a shitty situation the caps are in with him and they dont really have anyone to blame but themselves

 

[HTFN]

That is exactly how it works.

It just isn't. Making mistakes and growing from them is a part of the process and you can't do that when you're never allowed a follow up.

think of it this way: there has never been a "f*** it, go for it" game for him. Not one time have they "gambled" two points on letting him go and get loose. Even when he succeeded the bench followed because now they had to "protect" that.

It's "be perfect" or be considered unready, and even when somewhat approaching perfect by actually producing there's a reason to sit him. That's just not right.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

that's not how it works unless you're literally devoted to growing the lowest common denominator. By this board's accounting he's being told to prove it and the pressure is so wildly high that every time he gets something resembling a chance, his whole career seems to ride on it.

that's not healthy.

Lol that‘s overly dramatic. These are high level athletes who are used to competing. He’s not pissing his pants over the pressure.

 

[Rayquaza64]

To add on, his movement to Hershey is likely imminent, especially with sonny milano heating up and alexeyev almost done with his conditioning loan, which the caps supposedly will be followed by him being added to the main roster and given a shot. we’ll see

 

[DWGie26]

It just isn't. Making mistakes and growing from them is a part of the process and you can't do that when you're never allowed a follow up.

think of it this way: there has never been a "f*** it, go for it" game for him. Not one time have they "gambled" two points on letting him go and get loose. Even when he succeeded the bench followed because now they had to "protect" that.

It's "be perfect" or be considered unready, and even when somewhat approaching perfect by actually producing there's a reason to sit him. That's just not right.

Learning from mistakes is critical. But it is how you respond to them and adjust. My critical talent eye isn’t strong enough to truly see that, but my amateur eye tells me he doesn’t move the needle when in.

But given 4 others have earned roles, and CMM has not, there is a reason for that. So send him to Hershey for free while you can.

 

[Hivemind]

One shift at A time. He hasn’t done that. Others have.

Except when he HAS done this, he hasn't seen his ice time increase. We've been over this countless times. There's no correlation between how well he does or does not play and the amount of opportunities Laviolette gives him.

 

[HTFN]

Learning from mistakes is critical. But it is how you respond to them and adjust. My critical talent eye isn’t strong enough to truly see that, but my amateur eye tells me he doesn’t move the needle when in.

But given 4 others have earned roles, and CMM has not, there is a reason for that. So send him to Hershey for free while you can.

all players aren't equal and flow can be important. Giving them a "response shift" is an occasional tool in a coach's repertoire but you don't often see CMM being given frequent or repetitive opportunities within the same game to adjust.

His game, again, seems to be one built around finding gaps and using his mind to generate quick opportunities. You can't build that rhythm over a <10min span every few games. They aren't doing enough to utilize the skillset of the player they actually have, and want to break him into something he may never be and hasn't been at any level.

Except when he HAS done this, he hasn't seen his ice time increase. We've been over this countless times. There's no correlation between how well he does or does not play and the amount of opportunities Laviolette gives him.

and this. It doesn't matter if he performs and scores or not, he get stapled for a different "prudent" reason then too.

 

[traparatus]

Hard to play great when you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for so long. That’s a tough ask and then your margin of error is tiny.

Let him go play in Hershey in that case. Why keep him here if the coach obviously isn’t a fan? I sense there is some disagreement amongst management and the head coach or else he’d be in Hershey.

I'd like to add that while this would be a tough situation for any player, it's especially difficult for a player like CMM. He doesn't have stand out skills that he can maximize in 4-5 shifts a game. He doesn't skate particularly fast, doesn't hit people, doesn't have a lethal shot. He is a balanced player who sees the ice well, can pass, can shoot.

It's an interesting situation because Caps really need a ~2nd line center of that description. All in all, none of this matters within the current system. Laviolette isn't going to play him, organization doesn't want to trade him. All other options are some kind of crappy.

 

[um]

I'd like to add that while this would be a tough situation for any player, it's especially difficult for a player like CMM. He doesn't have stand out skills that he can maximize in 4-5 shifts a game. He doesn't skate particularly fast, doesn't hit people, doesn't have a lethal shot. He is a balanced player who sees the ice well, can pass, can shoot.

It's an interesting situation because Caps really need a ~2nd line center of that description. All in all, none of this matters within the current system. Laviolette isn't going to play him, organization doesn't want to trade him. All other options are some kind of crappy.

I mean, the AHL route has worked for a thousand players before McMichael, I don't see why he's above it.