581 replies to this topic

[FlavaDave10]

Imagine you've been handed the reigns to the Washington Capitals. Assume that Ted will approve everything that you do. What would you do this off-season? Go for an all-in season next year? Look more towards the future? 

[Oriole85]

Imagine you've been handed the reigns to the Washington Capitals. Assume that Ted will approve everything that you do. What would you do this off-season? Go for an all-in season next year? Look more towards the future? 

I wouldn't renew GMGM contract and start an expansive search for a new GM.

[FlavaDave10]

Here's what I'd do:
 

• Re-sign Mikhail Grabovski. By far the team's best possession skater. The hugest issue with the Capitals has been their possession stats. 
• Amnesty Laich, if possible.
• Sign Mike Cammallieri. Top 6 forward with very good possession stats. Again, I want to fix the Capitals' issue with possession numbers. 
• Trade Joel Ward. I love him, but there is no way in hell that Tom Wilson should be on the fourth line. Trade Ward while his value is extremely high. Wilson will be a better version of Ward if given legitimate line mates.
• Sign Ron Hainsey. He's a top 4 caliber defenseman who has good possession stats. He's a tad bit of a risk, but Orlov is on the verge of being a top 4 caliber defenseman, so I think it's worth the risk. WCS, Orlov can be paired with Carlson (Alzy-Green would be my first pairing) and Hainsey can be on the third pairing. 
• Sign Anton Stralman. Underrated defenseman who I hope will be undervalued. Extremely good possession numbers. More of a stay at home guy, so he's a natural partner for Orlov. 
• Fire Adam Oates, hire Torts if he's available. The Capitals need a guy who will keep them accountable. Torts will do that. If nothing else, the media sessions would be epic. If Torts isn't available, I have no clue who to hire, but I do know that Oates must go. 
• Buyout Erskine.
• See what the asking price is for Alex Edler of the Canucks. I think he's a lot better than his numbers suggest. He's been plagued by horrible luck and is a top 4 defenseman. If they can get him for a package resembling MoJo, Carrick, and a draft pick or just Brouwer and Mojo, I'd do it.
• If I had anything to say about it, Carrick, Madison Bowey, and Andre Burakovsky would spend most of, if not all of, the year in Hershey. Their development is infinitely more important than winning in 2014-2015
• RFAs- Latta and Schmidt would both get offers. Hopefully I get both for cheap and I can sneak them through waivers should the need arise. 
• Do nothing about the goalie situation except have Grubauer backup Holtby. Holtby is not the issue.

[Oriole85]

Would you re-sign McPhee?

[FlavaDave10]

I wouldn't renew GMGM contract and start an expansive search for a new GM.

 

I'd give him one last chance. Oates is by far the biggest problem with the team. GMGM attempted to improve the team, Oates for some odd reason refused to use common sense and use the guys who GMGM got him (Erat, Penner, Orlov, etc)

[FlavaDave10]

Would you re-sign McPhee?

 

Only if he'd fire Oates. And it would be a "one last chance" kind of deal. 

[Oriole85]

Only if he'd fire Oates. And it would be a "one last chance" kind of deal. 

I get that sentiment, I just think he's had enough chances to make things right. And in many cases, he's done his job, but the results aren't there. And like anything else, fair or unfair, you get judged on your results. He's been the one constant since before Leonsis became owner, coaches have come/gone, players have come/gone, aside from the run against the Red Wings at the beginning of his tenure, they haven't made it out of the second round.

 

And I am a believer that at a certain point, unless the coach or executive is an absolute legend, it's time to move on for both parties.

[FlavaDave10]

I get that sentiment, I just think he's had enough chances to make things right. And in many cases, he's done his job, but the results aren't there. And like anything else, fair or unfair, you get judged on your results. He's been the one constant since before Leonsis became owner, coaches have come/gone, players have come/gone, aside from the run against the Red Wings at the beginning of his tenure, they haven't made it out of the second round.

 

And I am a believer that at a certain point, unless the coach or executive is an absolute legend, it's time to move on for both parties.

 

I wouldn't fire GMGM unless I knew that I could upgrade. I wouldn't want to get stuck with someone like Brian Burke. 

[DuffMan]

I would probably stop watching the Caps if Tortarella was the coach, that guy is the biggest pain in the you know what out there!

[DuffMan]

Here's what I'd do:
 

 

• Amnesty Laich, if possible.
   
• Trade Joel Ward. I love him, but there is no way in hell that Tom Wilson should be on the fourth line. Trade Ward while his value is extremely high. Wilson will be a better version of Ward if given legitimate line mates.
•  

No way am I dumping Laich.  I know he's had his issues staying healthy,  but I'm giving him another year to get healthy before giving up on him , he's too good of a player to let go of. 
 

Is Ward's trade value high?  Not sure what people would give up for a slow over paid 4th liner winger, but if somebody wants him then sure trade him.   Otherwise just eat his contract and move on.

[FlavaDave10]

No way am I dumping Laich.  I know he's had his issues staying healthy,  but I'm giving him another year to get healthy before giving up on him , he's too good of a player to let go of. 
 

Is Ward's trade value high?  Not sure what people would give up for a slow over paid 4th liner winger, but if somebody wants him then sure trade him.   Otherwise just eat his contract and move on.

 

I'd amnesty him, but probably not possible at this point. I wouldn't be opposed to him being back as long as he starts on the third or fourth line. 

Ward's value is quite high right now- career high in points, playing very well. Regardless, Wilson can't be playing fourth line minutes next year. Ovechkin isn't getting traded, and Brouwer is a keeper, and I wouldn't want to give Wilson top 6 minutes without at least making him earn it. Give him third line minutes and go from there. Fehr and Chimera are better than everybody Wilson was forced to play with this year other than Kuznetsov and Penner. 

[FlavaDave10]

I would probably stop watching the Caps if Tortarella was the coach, that guy is the biggest pain in the you know what out there!

Quite frankly, I think that's what the Capitals need. They need a guy who's going to light a fire under their butts, a guy who will chew them out if they don't play well, a guy who will hold them accountable. Torts fits that description. I wouldn't even be opposed to seeing how much it would take for Dale Hunter to come back. He at least showed the ability to adjust, something that Oates has yet to show at all. 

[JeremyStrain]

Here's what I'd do:

 
 
Amnesty Laich, if possible.

 
Trade Joel Ward. I love him, but there is no way in hell that Tom Wilson should be on the fourth line. Trade Ward while his value is extremely high. Wilson will be a better version of Ward if given legitimate line mates.
 

No way am I dumping Laich.  I know he's had his issues staying healthy,  but I'm giving him another year to get healthy before giving up on him , he's too good of a player to let go of. 

 
Is Ward's trade value high?  Not sure what people would give up for a slow over paid 4th liner winger, but if somebody wants him then sure trade him.   Otherwise just eat his contract and move on.

After 20 goals someone would trade for him. Not a huge return but enough to clear salary.

[JeremyStrain]

I would probably stop watching the Caps if Tortarella was the coach, that guy is the biggest pain in the you know what out there!

Quite frankly, I think that's what the Capitals need. They need a guy who's going to light a fire under their butts, a guy who will chew them out if they don't play well, a guy who will hold them accountable. Torts fits that description. I wouldn't even be opposed to seeing how much it would take for Dale Hunter to come back. He at least showed the ability to adjust, something that Oates has yet to show at all. 

Torts is a cancer and will be fired again in a few days.

[You Play to Win the Game]

The thing I find interesting is just how blinded the Caps faithful are about Ovi. Talking to a few fans from other teams around the league, they don't even think the Caps would get much, if anything in return in a trade taking into account his salary. They also see a one dimensional player whose play consistently leads to great scoring chances for the other team.

 

Like I said last night, he's not going anywhere... so I'm letting this go... but those are my parting thoughts.

[BSLMikeLowe]

The only way Tortorella makes any sense is if you want to try the Bobby Valentine Plan....in other words, throw away 2014-15 by making everyone completely miserable for the season. Then after you fire him, no matter who you bring in the next year it will be so refreshing and harmonious that it will carry the team all the way to the Cup.

[JeremyStrain]

A potential name to watch if a coaching change is made: Barry Trotz.

 

He was the Caps minor league head coach before Poile took him to Nashville, and runs a solid defensive system. Not as stringent as Hunter, but one of the better defensive schemes in the league. Leans on having 2 offensive defensmen paired with defense first guys (Green, Carlson), Alzner...and uh...MAYBE Erskine (but he's better as a 3rd pairing guy).

 

His system doesn't discourage offense, it's just that they've never really had any GOOD offensive guys there. Arnott and Erat might be the best guys they've ever had, and we saw how sub par they were here. This is the problem with hockey, where not as many people REALLY follow it, so mediocre players that just happen to be the best on their team get overrated as good players. In MLB or NFL people would be able to break down the individual contributions, but in hockey general input just says oh, look these guys are these kinda players, although they will perform differently on different teams. IE Ovi is an elite power forward, but if you put him in a system where he's accountable to play a ton of defense, you are wasting his talent. (Players have dealt with this through the years, look at down years for guys like Hull, Tkachuck, Guerin). No one was going to put Brett Hull in a system where he had to play defense on every shift, you just put him out there with a guy that can give him the puck and hope that the C, other winger, and defensement can compensate for his poor defense.

 

Anyways, back to my point...Trotz runs a good middle of the pack scheme that could be a good fit for the players we have here. It'd probably take some tinkering in the bottom 6 forwards, and bottom 3 defensemen, but goaltending would improve dramatically, and you'd still see a good bit of top line offense. Laich being healthy would be HUGELY important in this scheme though, since he's our best defensive forward, and two way player. It also would hinge on finding a balance with a true checking line, a 2nd line center that can play both ways.

 

Not that I count this really highly yet, I feel like Ted won't be willing to give up on Oates just yet, even though so much of the problem is CLEARLY him. That should be the move, and if GMGM can't make the proper alterations to the team to make the new coach work, then his head should go on the block too, but right now, calling to trade Ovi, or fire GMGM are just reactionary moves when someone can't think of a clearer way to fix things.

[Oriole85]

I don't think wanting to fire GMGM is such a reactionary move, it's been suggested multiple times in recent years and he is the common denominator over the years. You can definitely argue you shouldn't make a change just for the sake of change AND should only do it if you could get a better GM.

[You Play to Win the Game]

When will we know about GMGM and Oates? GMGM will have to resign like now if he isn't extended so he can take one of the other gigs, no?

Also, VERY interesting to hear Laich say today that the closest the Caps got to a Cup was under Hunter. That was a shot at Oates if I've ever heard one.

[Oriole85]

When will we know about GMGM and Oates? GMGM will have to resign like now if he isn't extended so he can take one of the other gigs, no?

Also, VERY interesting to hear Laich say today that the closest the Caps got to a Cup was under Hunter. That was a shot at Oates if I've ever heard one.

I'm sure the Caps will let him know fairly soon where he stands, just the right thing to do. Or at the very least, let him look around if they keep him in limbo.