What do the Caps need in order to get to the next level?

[Zen Arcade]

You mean the one and a half years they were bad? Compared to the 5 your franchise didn't try to ice a winning team?

3 years that would've been 4 without a lockout are now a year and half?

I wouldn't even care, but it's pretty comical seeing that coming from a Caps fan of all people.

 

[canadianguy77]

They probably should've picked Malkin.

 

[VirginiaBob]

You mean the one and a half years they were bad? Compared to the 5 your franchise didn't try to ice a winning team?

Both teams finished in 5th place in their division the exact same number of times since 2000. Both teams tanked the same number of regular seasons. The Caps went above and beyond though and tanked through the playoffs as well, where the Pens won 2 cups.

 

[Zen Arcade]

Both teams finished in 5th place in their division the exact same number of times since 2000.

Yeah, but the Caps did it more honorably because reasons.

 

[Drakon]

3 years that would've been 4 without a lockout are now a year and half?

I wouldn't even care, but it's pretty comical seeing that coming from a Caps fan of all people.

The year before the lockout was a half year of bad after the team couldn't gel and management decided to blow it up. The year after the lockout was a bad team. They made the playoffs the following year. A year and a half that would've been two and a half if not for the lockout. Your franchise deserves every bit of scorn it gets from literally every other franchise except the Oilers.

 

[zero8771]

The year before the lockout was a half year of bad after the team couldn't gel and management decided to blow it up. The year after the lockout was a bad team. They made the playoffs the following year. A year and a half that would've been two and a half if not for the lockout. Your franchise deserves every bit of scorn it gets from literally every other franchise except the Oilers.

yea cause all of us following the team just was really watching and hoping that the penguins sucked. don't be bitter. get over it

 

[MadLuke]

Lot of those year elimination they did play very well, sometime they dominated in a ridiculous fashion (against Halak for example), they outshouted the Habs 290 to 193, lot of puck luck, the Habs had .931 save percentage, Caps had .902 and still went to a game 7, lost by one goal with Halak making 41 save on 42 shot.

This year they also had many good start against the pens, and Fleury did extremelly well. They did had some low moment in those 60 minutes, but often after some domination with nothing to show for it.

Get more lucky is probably a good part of what they need.

 

[Zen Arcade]

The year before the lockout was a half year of bad after the team couldn't gel and management decided to blow it up. The year after the lockout was a bad team. They made the playoffs the following year. A year and a half that would've been two and a half if not for the lockout. Your franchise deserves every bit of scorn it gets from literally every other franchise except the Oilers.

The Caps didn't make the playoffs in 06-07 and they drafted 5th overall.

This is silly, it's like saying the Pens were only bad for a quarter of a season in 01-02 because they only fell apart down the stretch due to injuries.

 

[Drakon]

yea cause all of us following the team just was really watching and hoping that the penguins sucked. don't be bitter. get over it

Did I say the fans wanted it? The fans aren't the franchise. No one is bitter.

 

[VirginiaBob]

The Caps not only tanked all those regular seasons...they also stink it up in the playoffs!

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

You make it seem like Ovechkin is in trouble off the ice or fighting with coaches/teammates all the time.

He has had one team violation in 12 years, has done everything the coaches have told him to do while continuing to score goal after goal.

Any and every person who has played hockey knows that this kind of guy, clowning around and desperately doing everything to stand out (man, are those yellow laces ridiculous) is probably not mister leadership.

Hockey is one of the last team sport where the collective spirit is still embraced by most of its members. You're supposed to blend in. And the true leaders make the light shine on others as much as themselves, and will only draw attention when someone has to take the blame.

Ovechkin ? He's still at the 17 year-old stage of skating in the opposite direction of his teammates on a lot of the goals he scores instead of celebrating with them.

It's not a crime. It doesn't make him a bad player. But captain of his team ? That tells you a lot about the state of this team mentally and character-wise. And it shows on the ice.

 

[General Disarray]

Their top players don't take their game to a next level.

 

[canadianguy77]

Any and every person who has played hockey knows that this kind of guy, clowning around and desperately doing everything to stand out (man, are those yellow laces ridiculous) is probably not mister leadership.

Hockey is one of the last team sport where the collective spirit is still embraced by most of its members. You're supposed to blend in. And the true leaders make the light shine on others as much as themselves, and will only draw attention when someone has to take the blame.

Ovechkin ? He's still at the 17 year-old stage of skating in the opposite direction of his teammates on a lot of the goals he scores instead of celebrating with them.

It's not a crime. It doesn't make him a bad player. But captain of his team ? That tells you a lot about the state of this team mentally and character-wise. And it shows on the ice.

He sold/sells a lot of tickets and jerseys.
Leonsis enabled and encouraged that behavior in the early years and his directives trickled down to management and coaching.

At some point, when winning a Stanley Cup became a real objective, (because Crosby and Malkin had won one) it was pretty much too late. Ovechkin wasn't a kid anymore. No coach could tell him to change his ways because he was already set in them.

So Leonsis, never really wanting to alienate OV, (hence the fired coaches who wanted OV to play actual defense) decided that the best bet was to just stack the team so much in OV's favor that it would be almost impossible to lose. It was all supposed to take care of itself.

It never did because a modern NHL team can't have a lazy Brett Hull making 10 millions dollars a year as it's captain, and expect to win.

Something went awry somewhere over the years, and there's plenty of blame to be laid. I blame the owner as much as I blame AO and his agent/mgmt team.

 

[Cletus Marley]

They simply need to step up when it's needed.

 

[harmonica]

Both teams finished in 5th place in their division the exact same number of times since 2000. Both teams tanked the same number of regular seasons. The Caps went above and beyond though and tanked through the playoffs as well, where the Pens won 2 cups.

Hahahaha.

 

[illpucks]

Sutter.

 

[Russian Factor]

Both teams finished in 5th place in their division the exact same number of times since 2000. Both teams tanked the same number of regular seasons. The Caps went above and beyond though and tanked through the playoffs as well, where the Pens won 2 cups.

 

[66-30-33]

Bad losers in here, I love it!

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

He sold/sells a lot of tickets and jerseys.
Leonsis enabled and encouraged that behavior in the early years and his directives trickled down to management and coaching.

At some point, when winning a Stanley Cup became a real objective, (because Crosby and Malkin had won one) it was pretty much too late. Ovechkin wasn't a kid anymore. No coach could tell him to change his ways because he was already set in them.

So Leonsis, never really wanting to alienate OV, (hence the fired coaches who wanted OV to play actual defense) decided that the best bet was to just stack the team so much in OV's favor that it would be almost impossible to lose. It was all supposed to take care of itself.

It never did because a modern NHL team can't have a lazy Brett Hull making 10 millions dollars a year as it's captain, and expect to win.

Something went awry somewhere over the years, and there's plenty of blame to be laid. I blame the owner as much as I blame AO and his agent/mgmt team.

Totally spot on !

Backtracking now would be so much work that at this point, the best course of action is for the Caps and Ovechkin to go their separate ways.

 

[Riptide]

He has had one team violation in 12 years, has done everything the coaches have told him to do while continuing to score goal after goal.

Unbelievable.

Except in the playoffs.

 

[tom_servo]

The Pens didn't give away a player who'd just won his 4th straight Art Ross so they could have a shot at drafting Ryan Whitney. But that's for another thread.

As for the Caps, maybe better bottom six depth and less Orpik. Holtby's newfound mediocrity is a confounding factor.

 

[66-30-33]

Next level? I dunno.
Next round? Finish as WC1 and face the Atlantic until round 3.

 

[sr edler]

Malkin is a better player than Ovi. People should have recognized this way before but got caught up in the award counting hype and regular season goal totals stat watching. Ovi's always been a limited type of player and Bäckström is a shy low emotion guy. Yeah, Malkin's never been great defensively but at least he's a dirty player with emotions and a will to win.

They missed big time by drafting Backstrom over Toews.

Toews was picked before Bäckström so how did they even "miss" him? They didn't pick Bäckström over Toews, because Toews was no longer available with their pick. If any team missed picking Toews it was Pittsburgh. And St. Louis.

 

[carter333167]

Rebuild

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

He didn't? Check again, 14 points in 11 games.

he didn't play in the finals