Washington wins the lottery

[StarsPensFan]

The lotto is good for the game if you ask me. It keeps the crappy teams from dumping any talent they have just to come in last place, ala Pittsburgh in Lemieux's draft year.

Pittsburgh wouldn't have been able to afford Ovechkin anyways. Well maybe they could, at least for 24 games and then before his bonuses kicked in at game #25 send him to the farm or back to Russia, then tank and hope for Crosby. What a joke of a franchise.

Pittsburgh had no talent to dump 20 years ago.
If any team is a joke in that regard, its the Caps this season. What a coicidental little fire sale they held at the trade deadline, eh?

Pens have 2 SC's more than most teams in the league...yeah, what a joke of a franchise...you're an idiot.

 

[Mobos1228]

Pittsburgh had no talent to dump 20 years ago.
If any team is a joke in that regard, its the Caps this season. What a coicidental little fire sale they held at the trade deadline, eh?

The Caps' firesale did not coincide with their drop to the bottom five. Even with their stars the Caps were at the very bottom of the league--they've been there since the start of the year.

 

[Profet]

the one rangers fan who said "glad he didn't goto a small market"...why is that? I can stomach him going to wsh, cbj, or pho. Its a good thing he didn't end up in NY where he'd be run into the ground just like every other prospect there.

I'm glad you decided to take a pot shot at the Rangers. I hope the comment left you with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.


My comment was not directed at any team in particular but at the league as a whole. Quite frankly, the NHL isn't strong enough to have all their up and coming superstars on small market teams. The more young, gifted, press worthy players on larger market teams, the better the league will do.

Once the NHL reaches a comfortable level, then those smaller market teams can have all the young up and comers that they want.

Like it or not, and I'm not mentioning any teams specifically, the league needs to be contracted by 4 teams. I think everyone can agree on that provided you don't mention their team as one of those on the list of possible cuts.

Please note that I didn't use this space to sink to the level of "roast." I chose not to take a pot shot at the Pens. Why? Because I am a better person.

 

[Vagrant]

This kind of gets my goat a little. Washington, already spoiled by the likes of Jagr, Bondra, Gonchar, and Kolzig now land Ovechkin. The thing that hurts about this is that the Capitals were obviously tanking the last half of the season. I don't like to see any team get rewarded for that type of thing. To me, it's like the Rangers getting the top selection would have been. They have a team full of superstars that can't click together and they blow the team up and start tanking. It's just a little sad to me. I would have much rather seen a team like Chicago or Pittsburgh get it, who both can't compete in the free agent market and have to build through talent at the draft. However, there were rumors that Pittsburgh tanked to get Lemieux a few years back, so i'm kind of mixed about this.

Here's hoping that Malkin turns out to be ten times better than Ovechkin. And Chicago's pick turns out just as good as Malkin.

 

[supermann_98]

Pittsburgh had no talent to dump 20 years ago.
If any team is a joke in that regard, its the Caps this season. What a coicidental little fire sale they held at the trade deadline, eh?

Pens have 2 SC's more than most teams in the league...yeah, what a joke of a franchise...you're an idiot.

2 SC's? Maybe I am an idiot because I don't know what that is. Yes they are a joke of a franchise. Hockey experts even call them an AHL team. Not one guy on that team could crack the lineup of Detroit or the Leafs or some of the other good teams.

Anyways, I'm kind of glad Pittsburgh didn't win the lottery because if you think its coincidetal that Washington had that little "fire sale", what do you call what the Pens have done for the past 2 seasons?

Lemieux, you are a great player, please don't ruin your legacy and come back to the ice next year.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

this would be much easier to take if malkin didn't have 2 concussions already.

 

[Jacob]

The Caps' firesale did not coincide with their drop to the bottom five. Even with their stars the Caps were at the very bottom of the league--they've been there since the start of the year.

So how will Ovechkin help them?

 

[Team_Spirit]

1. Washington
2. Pittsburgh
3. Chicago
4. Columbus
5. Phoenix
6. NYRangers
7. Florida
8. Carolina
9. Mighty Ducks
10. Atlanta
11. Los Angeles
12. Minnesota
13. Buffalo
14. Edmonton

No Canadian team in the top 10 for the first time in a while ...

 

[SwOOsh*]

This kind of gets my goat a little. Washington, already spoiled by the likes of Jagr, Bondra, Gonchar, and Kolzig now land Ovechkin. The thing that hurts about this is that the Capitals were obviously tanking the last half of the season. I don't like to see any team get rewarded for that type of thing. To me, it's like the Rangers getting the top selection would have been. They have a team full of superstars that can't click together and they blow the team up and start tanking. It's just a little sad to me. I would have much rather seen a team like Chicago or Pittsburgh get it, who both can't compete in the free agent market and have to build through talent at the draft. However, there were rumors that Pittsburgh tanked to get Lemieux a few years back, so i'm kind of mixed about this.

Here's hoping that Malkin turns out to be ten times better than Ovechkin. And Chicago's pick turns out just as good as Malkin.

Other then Lang who have the Caps signed as a free agent?

 

[Jeff Goldblum]

The Caps' firesale did not coincide with their drop to the bottom five. Even with their stars the Caps were at the very bottom of the league--they've been there since the start of the year.

It bothers me to see that the same fans that once harassed us for trading away all of our stars will now be able to watch one of the best offensive talents in recent draft history every game because they did what we did in an extremely condensed period of time.


But, this should continue the heated pens-caps rivalry (with the pens continually winning in the playoffs against the caps ofcourse ). Both of these teams will be extremely talented and should be among the top in the east in a few years.


Ovechkin-Eminger-Ouellet

OR

Malkin-Whitney-Fleury

 

[SwOOsh*]

So how will Ovechkin help them?

By making are prospect pool that much deeper. If you haven't noticed we are re-building, and the addition of Ovechkin plus 3 more picks in the top 33 picks of the draft is HUGE.

 

[Enoch]

This kind of gets my goat a little. Washington, already spoiled by the likes of Jagr, Bondra, Gonchar, and Kolzig now land Ovechkin. The thing that hurts about this is that the Capitals were obviously tanking the last half of the season. I don't like to see any team get rewarded for that type of thing. To me, it's like the Rangers getting the top selection would have been. They have a team full of superstars that can't click together and they blow the team up and start tanking. It's just a little sad to me. I would have much rather seen a team like Chicago or Pittsburgh get it, who both can't compete in the free agent market and have to build through talent at the draft. However, there were rumors that Pittsburgh tanked to get Lemieux a few years back, so i'm kind of mixed about this.

Here's hoping that Malkin turns out to be ten times better than Ovechkin. And Chicago's pick turns out just as good as Malkin.

 

[db23]

Pittsburgh deserved Ovechkin bcause they were easily the worst team in the league. But remember, Malkin is almost a full year younger than Ovechkin and he will grow to be a fair bit bigger. I don't think it's any sort of a given that Ovechkin will be the better player over the long haul. As for the other Washinngton prospects, Semin is the only outstanding one. The rest are quite marginal.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

2 SC's? Maybe I am an idiot because I don't know what that is. Yes they are a joke of a franchise. Hockey experts even call them an AHL team. Not one guy on that team could crack the lineup of Detroit or the Leafs or some of the other good teams.

Anyways, I'm kind of glad Pittsburgh didn't win the lottery because if you think its coincidetal that Washington had that little "fire sale", what do you call what the Pens have done for the past 2 seasons?

Lemieux, you are a great player, please don't ruin your legacy and come back to the ice next year.

the pens traded their stars because they couldn't afford them anymore. any of us would take them back in a second and be gearing up for the playoffs instead of staying in the basement.

the caps have a filthy rich owner, had a star studded team, and still couldn't win. give all that money to the pens and they'd be a cup contender.

i would have liked to see him go to chicago or phoenix if not the pens. not some rich owner who can't put together a team.

 

[Grave77digger]

the Pens were 12-5-3 in there last 20 i believe... so no... they werent an AHL team... this thread is full of ignorant statements from people who have no business on commenting on a franchise they havnt seen play more than 1 game... heres tip no more personal attacks or talks of contraction

 

[bleedgreen]

my problem with wash is that a while ago they sent down oullette and a couple other prospects that any other team wouldve kept up to get experience (in that situation). they then proceeded to say it was to "help" the AHL team in their playoff run - who are they tryin to kid? who puts their ahl team before the nhl team? they then take an AHL goalie who is not a prospect (yeats) and have him split time with kolzig down the stretch. that in my opinion is tanking.
fwiw, i think columbus did its fair share by signing a college player to a "tryout contract" and giving him some pretty good ice time during at least one game i saw. i know tryouts are there for the ahl, but the NHL? this guy wasnt even getting paid and he was in the nhl getting ice time - somethings fishy about that.
i think pitt was the only team to really even try to win games, so its unfortunate they didnt win, though as a canes fan i have no real sympathy after they won the lottery away from the canes last year - they canes had earned that pick, not that im complain about getting staal.

 

[Profet]

the caps have a filthy rich owner, had a star studded team, and still couldn't win. give all that money to the pens and they'd be a cup contender.

Glen Sather...is that you?

 

[Jeff Goldblum]

2 SC's? Maybe I am an idiot because I don't know what that is. Yes they are a joke of a franchise. Hockey experts even call them an AHL team. Not one guy on that team could crack the lineup of Detroit or the Leafs or some of the other good teams.

It's a Stanley Cup.

This is the same AHL team that had the best final 20 games of the season in franchise history save for the 92-93 President's Cup winning team that went 17-2-1 or something. Sure, a season is 82 games long. Sure they lost 18 in a row. But noone ever expected them to finish that well, or do that well for any stretch during a season, especially without Lemieux. It is my opinion that a team finishing as well as the pens did can be just as important to the future as drafting a stud like Ovechkin is.

I personally don't care what you think about the subject, because by reading a mere two posts of yours, I have concluded that you are not a knowledgeable fan of hockey, and are merely looking for trouble. You can say what you want about our team, our players, because it's all been said before. I can name quite a few players on our roster that any team would love to have, such as that 50 pt. defenseman or that rookie 20 goal scorer who could develop into a PF. Or maybe a team looking for intensity may want that young Belarussian forward who could skate on his native country's Olympic speed skating team. Or maybe the rookie defenseman who was second in hits by a defenseman only to Zdeno Chara (this was correct the last time i looked at the hits stat by using the loophole in nhlpa.com. I can't seem to get through to the stats anymore. If anyone can, would you be kind enough to tell me if he's still in 2nd?).

But none of this will get through to you. Nor will it reach many fans. It's sad that a thread about the draft lottery must turn into a pens bashing thread(I know its only 1-2 posters though).


I wish people could take of their respective team colored glasses and just be a hockey fan sometimes.

 

[txpd]

tanking?
the caps had points in 3 of their final 4 games.

yeats gaa and sv % were better than charpentier and stana and is gaa was better than ouellet's. ouellet's sv% .910 was better than yeats .908.

frankly i dont see the tanking there.

they were tanking so bad that jeff halpern was nhl's offensive player of the week the last week and kolzig defensive player of the week the first week of march.

 

[Jeff Goldblum]

though as a canes fan i have no real sympathy after they won the lottery away from the canes last year - they canes had earned that pick

Florida won that lottery, we traded to get the 1st overall.

 

[roast]

Before all the penguins fans start going nuts, take a step back and realize we still get a good pick. If anything, this will renew the heated pens / caps playoff rivarly. Both these guys can be impact players. Both teams have potential franchise goalies, centers, d-men, etc. These teams, with the addition of the new players are both up and coming teams that will again rise to the top of the heap. I would say next 2-4 season, the pens and caps will be back at it.

 

[XX]

If the Caps win Crosby, then it will be an injustice to hockey and a disgrace. He should go to Chicago or Phoenix, who are in need of their "superstar." I wouldnt say its destiny, but Gretzky seems to like Crosby A LOT...........

The lockout will give the top 5 teams picking this year the same picks basically, with the exception of the lottery. I think that these teams will skyrocket in a few years, alreayd being well into their respective rebuilding proccesses.

 

[Jacob]

I was pretty steamed an hour ago, but I've simmered dahn since.

I'm not upset at not getting Ovechkin. Sure, he'd be great, but the pessimist in me had already penciled Malkin into the roster. I really like what both bring to the table, and was satisfied when the Penguins locked up one of the two.

I guess the frustrating part is that the team that had been allegedly-tanking along with the Penguins wins it. A so-called rival of the Penguins. But I've said several times, the Caps are horrible. They are definitely worse than the Penguins right now, there's no question about it, and probably need the help more than Columbus or Pittsburgh.

 

[Drake1588]

This has been rehashed to death... but it is worth noting that the Caps were 30th and 29th in the league most of the season before they traded their stars. They were also losing tons of money, so it was the right time to tear it all down and start over, building through the draft. Leonsis acknowledged that building with Jagr as a centerpiece was a mistake. He is trying to rectify that error. It will take time and patience from the team's fans.

The Caps then played better as a team, morale improved, and in a key late-season game against the Penguins, put up four quick goals en route to a decisive win. That was not a team tanking. Matt Yeats may not have been a proven netminder, but he played very well nonetheless, and earned his starts. Kolzig was playing poorly at the time, while Yeats was winning the Caps points in their last two weeks of the season. What is more, the team's remaining leader, Jeff Halpern, had one hell of a week to close out the season, taking home player of the week honors.

I know the Caps are hardly the darling team of observers around the league, nor many people's second-favorite team, but to say that any one team "deserves" to draft a player more than any other is absurd.

 

[EroCaps]

If the Caps win Crosby, then it will be an injustice to hockey and a disgrace. He should go to Chicago or Phoenix, who are in need of their "superstar." I wouldnt say its destiny, but Gretzky seems to like Crosby A LOT...........

The lockout will give the top 5 teams picking this year the same picks basically, with the exception of the lottery. I think that these teams will skyrocket in a few years, alreayd being well into their respective rebuilding proccesses.

How quickly we all forget the hard-working, solid, low-payroll teams Washington put together through the 80s and 90s.

Before Jagr came, everyone whined that the Caps would never contend, they didn't have the superstar, so they nabbed him, and supplied him with the biggest UFA signing and bargain player in Robert Lang; Of course, Jagr commands too much attention and $ to gel with a a team-oriented system, so we failed against Tampa last year in the playoffs, and droves of analysts recommended a complete overhaul.

We drafted or obtained our core, Bondra, Kolzig, Gonchar, Witt, all home-grown...with ONE UFA, and we're a disgrace?