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Caps 2019-20


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#1 JeremyStrain

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Posted 14 June 2019 - 08:14 AM

Interesting trade this morning.

 

Niskanen dealt to PHI for Radko Gudas.

 

And right about now you all go who? Is he a prospect?

 

He's a veteran stay at home defenseman (they learned their lesson after having 5 offensive D-men at one time for a bit there), in the last year of his contract. Making 3.35m. So we save almost $2.5m just straight up in this move this year AND the full 5.75m next year.

 

For anyone who saw him play this past year, that's a solid move before things get worse. Freed up money to secure young players and get some more balance on Defense. Now they've got 3 D-first guys (Kempny, Gudas and Jensen) and 3 Offense guys (Carlson, Orlov and Siegenthaller).

 

With guys like Hagelin hitting UFA (would be a solid resign at the right price), Connolly who probably priced himself out of our range like Beagle last year with a great year, and Burakovsky and Vrana both RFA, they need that $12.5m in cap space they have right now. Then you've got Nicky coming up on a new deal next year, Ovi and Holtby after that.

 

Interesting start to the new year, it's nice to see they aren't just going to ride things out and let them fall apart on their own. Nice to see a competently run franchise in our area.


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#2 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 14 June 2019 - 08:16 AM

You gotta love the job MacLellan has done. Not everyone was necessarily sold on him at the time we hired him, but he has clearly proven to be decisive and efficient in addressing weaknesses. 

 

I'm looking forward to next season. Miss hockey already.



#3 JeremyStrain

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Posted 14 June 2019 - 08:21 AM

You gotta love the job MacLellan has done. Not everyone was necessarily sold on him at the time we hired him, but he has clearly proven to be decisive and efficient in addressing weaknesses. 

 

I'm looking forward to next season. Miss hockey already.

 

Yeah it's always scary to see a guy you don't really recognize get the big role like that, but then you think back at one point Theo Epstein was an intern for the Orioles. Had they kept him in house how different could things have been (ok probably not much cause Angelos was still here, but still). I've been really impressed with his ability to create some room and make some moves despite being backed right up to the cap.

 

His solid minor moves have been spot on pretty much every time. Jensen was so clutch last year, seeing the need for more balance on the blue line and a steadying presence, AND extending him before he went and had a great end of the year and jacked his price up.

 

This is another really solid, physical move. Guy hits without taking a ton of stick penalties, and blocks a lot of shots. For a 3rd pair guy, it's pretty genius AND he got PHI to eat 30% of his salary so we actually saved $3.5m this year and have $1m than I thought.

 

Kudos to Isabelle for getting so many details so fast, but if you haven't followed Tarik El-Bashir you should too, he was on the Caps beat years back and really good. Having both of them is going to make for an amazing season, we really get spoiled with our reporting here.


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#4 JeremyStrain

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Posted 16 June 2019 - 03:54 PM

So they used most of the money saved from trading Matt to resign Hagelin. SOLID move, he was a piece they were sorely lacking, and at less than $3m a year it's a pretty good value. Speedy, great on the PK, that's a really good move.

 

Now they've gotta figure out Bura. Find a value for Vrana, and start thinking about next year's UFAs.


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#5 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 17 June 2019 - 10:36 AM

Isn't Gudas going to be the 7th defenseman and essentially not play? Was Niskanen just a cap move? I liked the idea of adding another stay at home defenseman, but he'll be pretty low on the depth chart. I like that we were able to parlay that money into retaining Hagelin. 



#6 JeremyStrain

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Posted 17 June 2019 - 12:30 PM

Isn't Gudas going to be the 7th defenseman and essentially not play? Was Niskanen just a cap move? I liked the idea of adding another stay at home defenseman, but he'll be pretty low on the depth chart. I like that we were able to parlay that money into retaining Hagelin. 

 

No he'll play a lot. Ignore the whole "7th defenseman" thing cause rarely do teams have a pair that's so far down below the other 2 that there's a strict, this pair gets less time. We had it for a while cause our top 4 were playing all the PK and PP time and were head and shoulders above the bottom couple, but there's more balance now. 3 stay at home, physical guys, and 3 offensive scorers.

 

It'll come down to how much they care about the R/L shot thing. Right now you've got Kempny, Jensen and Gudas as your defense first guys, 2 RH, 1 LH. Then you've got Carlson, Orlov and Siegenthaller who are also 2 RH, 1 LH. So either one pair is probably going to be RH/RH. I think that matters a LOT less than if you are trying to get 2 offensive D to stay back and play defense. So we'll see, but this is really similar to how our D was built back in the 80/90s and it worked fine. I think they only had 1 LH D for a while back then.

 

Nisk, a lot of it was salary cap, but he was pretty awful last year. He and Orlov were terrible all year, and he said something about his knee and losing a step was part of the problem.

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the 3 D-first guys kind of interchangeable. Orlov is a liability out there defensively, so they'll want someone that can make up for that. Carlson is probably the most 2 way of the offensive guys, so you could get away with the lesser of the Defense guys with him, but he's going to get the most minutes so do you want that lesser player out as much? And then Siege is still a rookie, so you'll need someone that can help with that and cover for mistakes he'll make too. I expect they will all rotate around a bunch til they find chemistry and then they'll stick.

 

Djoos isn't playing over any of these guys. He's not as good offensively as any of those 3 and not as good defensively as those 3 either. He's your 7th D-man.


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#7 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 17 June 2019 - 12:36 PM

How can we get Orlov back on track.

#8 JeremyStrain

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Posted 17 June 2019 - 12:43 PM

How can we get Orlov back on track.

 

Not playing next to another offensive guy should do it. The pressure was on him to get back and cover for mistakes with Nisk slowed down last year, it wasn't his style and it just didn't go well. I could see Orlov and Jensen as a good pair. Jensen is a pretty good skater for being a defensive guy.

 

The Jensen deal I think was aimed at moving things around, but then Kempny got hurt and scrapped those plans too.


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#9 McNulty

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Posted 17 June 2019 - 01:17 PM

Interesting trade this morning.

 

Niskanen dealt to PHI for Radko Gudas.

 

And right about now you all go who? Is he a prospect?

 

He's a veteran stay at home defenseman (they learned their lesson after having 5 offensive D-men at one time for a bit there), in the last year of his contract. Making 3.35m. So we save almost $2.5m just straight up in this move this year AND the full 5.75m next year.

 

For anyone who saw him play this past year, that's a solid move before things get worse. Freed up money to secure young players and get some more balance on Defense. Now they've got 3 D-first guys (Kempny, Gudas and Jensen) and 3 Offense guys (Carlson, Orlov and Siegenthaller).

 

With guys like Hagelin hitting UFA (would be a solid resign at the right price), Connolly who probably priced himself out of our range like Beagle last year with a great year, and Burakovsky and Vrana both RFA, they need that $12.5m in cap space they have right now. Then you've got Nicky coming up on a new deal next year, Ovi and Holtby after that.

 

Interesting start to the new year, it's nice to see they aren't just going to ride things out and let them fall apart on their own. Nice to see a competently run franchise in our area.

 

Gudas has a reputation as a goon type, and he's prone to suspensions and penalties.  But he does drive play surprisingly well, and he takes a TON of low percentage shots. 

 

Most Flyers fans, myself included, are not a big fan of this deal.  Plus I have always hated Niskanen.  


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#10 JeremyStrain

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Posted 17 June 2019 - 08:24 PM

Gudas has a reputation as a goon type, and he's prone to suspensions and penalties.  But he does drive play surprisingly well, and he takes a TON of low percentage shots. 

 

Most Flyers fans, myself included, are not a big fan of this deal.  Plus I have always hated Niskanen.  

 

I kinda had a feeling they wouldn't be a fan. I really didn't know much about him at all until I looked him up. I think I VAGUELY remember him from a few games, but figured he was just one of those under the radar guys.

 

Matt's contract is going to be brutal next year as bad as he was this year. He'll be good leadership for the younger D, but he's going to be a liability back there too.

 

Now we are down to one former Penguin on the roster...but Hagelin I can get behind.


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#11 DuffMan

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Posted 18 June 2019 - 05:30 AM

I'm not a fan of Gudas either, let's not forget the playoffs when he picked a fight with Burky, real tough guygoing after a young skilled winger. I get the reasons they made the move though and if it's just for one year I can live with it.

 

Caps have some guys that need new deals and any Cap space they can get is a plus.

 

Speaking of Burky, I'm trading or releasing him, use that money to extend Vrana.



#12 ivanbalt

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Posted 18 June 2019 - 10:57 AM

Gudas is a thug, but the Hagelin signing was good.



#13 JeremyStrain

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Posted 18 June 2019 - 12:23 PM

Gudas is a thug, but the Hagelin signing was good.

 

So is Wilson.

 

Sometimes you need a thug. No one is going to beat teams like STL without some muscle, and when Ovi is your second most physical player, it's a problem. As long as he doesn't take stupid stick penalties, I'm ok with it. Throw some checks, block some shots, take some heat off our skilled players.

 

One of the all time best thugs just won a Stanley Cup with STL. Miss you Berube.


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#14 ChaosLex

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Posted 22 June 2019 - 06:26 AM

Welcome to D.C., Connor McMichael!

 

https://www.nbcsport...-2019-nhl-draft


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#15 DJ MC

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Posted 25 June 2019 - 08:43 AM

NBCSports.com: Brooks Orpik retires after 15 seasons, two Stanley Cups


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#16 DuffMan

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Posted 28 June 2019 - 05:32 PM

Burky to the Avs for a 2nd and 3rd rounder

#17 JeremyStrain

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Posted 29 June 2019 - 02:08 PM

Burky to the Avs for a 2nd and 3rd rounder

 

That's a better return than I thought they were going to get. I figured at first they'd just get a 3rd. He requested the trade, so it is what it is, he deserved and needed more room. He's a top 6 guy playing bottom 6 here, and he's young. Again I feel like they could have made moves with Vegas that could have helped both teams a lot, but because of GMGM it wasn't going to happen. There could be something when SEA hits expansion time too though, keep your eye on that.

 

Getting Connolly back now would be clutch with that money, but really that money is going to pay for Vrana's raise (he's going to get like $3-3.5m per year) and half of a 3RW. Connolly will get more than we can afford like Beags did. He may take a little less for a cup shot and to keep the band together, but I think someone will offer more than that's worth. We may just see a lot more of Axel (Rose) next year.


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#18 JeremyStrain

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Posted 01 July 2019 - 01:42 PM

So filling out the depth spots on the team, they signed Panik from ARZ, and Hathaway from CGY.

 

Panik got $2.25 for 4 years. Hathaway got $1.5 for 4 years. I'm not 100% sure on the term limits, but the prices are decent for what they are. Both are physical players, good on the PK. Panik is pretty decent offensively too, good advanced stats there, but not a PP guy, which works cause we have plenty of those. Both led their team in hits last year, if you're looking for physical and defense, you see where they have gone this offseason. Should be a more balanced team, but not going to put up the offensive numbers they have in the past, and an injury to the wrong person is going to be devastating.


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#19 FlavaDave10

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Posted 12 August 2019 - 05:52 PM

So filling out the depth spots on the team, they signed Panik from ARZ, and Hathaway from CGY.

 

Panik got $2.25 for 4 years. Hathaway got $1.5 for 4 years. I'm not 100% sure on the term limits, but the prices are decent for what they are. Both are physical players, good on the PK. Panik is pretty decent offensively too, good advanced stats there, but not a PP guy, which works cause we have plenty of those. Both led their team in hits last year, if you're looking for physical and defense, you see where they have gone this offseason. Should be a more balanced team, but not going to put up the offensive numbers they have in the past, and an injury to the wrong person is going to be devastating.

 

4 years is fine for Panik. Hathaway for 4 years is interesting, but it's worth noting Brian MacLellan has proven he's a step ahead of everyone else when it comes to trades. I have confidence if those deals go sideways, he can find a way to get rid of them. Can't recall the last time one of my teams has had a GM I trust as much as I trust MacLellan. He gets his coaches the right ingredients. 

 

Hathaway's a great PK guy. In fact, I think the Hathaway signing (and Hagelin re-signing) tells me they're going to try to be more aggressive on the PK. Tried that early last season, didn't have the guys to do it. Hagelin and Hathaway can do damage if you let them be aggressive.

 

I think the Capitals are deeper overall than they were last year. The drop off in goals concerns me a little bit, but the defense is definitely better. If the Capitals aren't a Stanley Cup contender this year (and it's not because of injuries), I think it's time to have a discussion about firing Todd Reirden. Because he has the right ingredients to have a contender.


"We're not going to be f***ing suck this year" - Alex Ovechkin

 

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#20 JeremyStrain

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Posted 13 August 2019 - 01:04 PM

4 years is fine for Panik. Hathaway for 4 years is interesting, but it's worth noting Brian MacLellan has proven he's a step ahead of everyone else when it comes to trades. I have confidence if those deals go sideways, he can find a way to get rid of them. Can't recall the last time one of my teams has had a GM I trust as much as I trust MacLellan. He gets his coaches the right ingredients. 

 

Hathaway's a great PK guy. In fact, I think the Hathaway signing (and Hagelin re-signing) tells me they're going to try to be more aggressive on the PK. Tried that early last season, didn't have the guys to do it. Hagelin and Hathaway can do damage if you let them be aggressive.

 

I think the Capitals are deeper overall than they were last year. The drop off in goals concerns me a little bit, but the defense is definitely better. If the Capitals aren't a Stanley Cup contender this year (and it's not because of injuries), I think it's time to have a discussion about firing Todd Reirden. Because he has the right ingredients to have a contender.

 

Yeah I mean I've seen the reservations of people about going 4 years on these deals. But none of them break the bank, and they are all multiple spot guys. Speed and PK, PK and faceoffs, shot blocking and hits. I can see the value in the deals, and these types of guys usually degrade slower than say a skilled top 6 winger.

 

They did a good job of filling in around the seams with caulk. Now it's a matter of them doing it, but I like the moves.

 

Next year is a big one. Holtby stays or goes. Probably prices himself out, but only if we have a goalie that could step up to be a no. 1. Backstrom is gonna want a ton of money, will he keep putting up the assists to make it worth it? What are you looking at for OVI when he comes up? He's going to start to lose a step soon, has to with that style of play.


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