capcrunch98

On 12/4/2023 at 11:04 PM, turtle said:

So much inconsistencies. Wish they would settle down and regain their championship ways.

Sadly the Caps aren't going to be close to a championship team for many years. In fact, we didn't know it at the time, but their championship window pretty much closed in OT of Game 7 in 2019, when they lost to an up-and-coming but still very green Carolina team. Since then, they've been able to ride off their talent to have some good regular seasons, but they quickly get exposed as old and slow in the playoffs, when teams button up defensively, and they can't rely on getting 10 power plays per game.

This season really stings. In the span of just a couple months, we've seen the end of Backstrom, and possibly Oshie. We've realized that Kuzy is likely going to be nothing more than a marginal player going forward, capable of a really good game or two, followed by a couple weeks of unmotivated crap. Carlson is no longer a top pairing d-man. And of course the toughest pill to swallow this year (I'd say more than Backstrom, because a lot of us saw last season that Nick was close to done) is seeing Ovi clearly lose a step. He's taught us many times to never count him out (at least as far as goal scoring goes), but we're 2+ months into the season, and I have never seen him so ineffective, even when he's been playing through injuries.

Just wish they'd start the rebuild already, because we all know it's coming at some point.

Hoping for the best for Oshie, but that sure looked like a concussion.

If it is, he needs to think about his family and life after hockey. Not sure how much more his head can take.

When we drew Texas at the beginning of the playoffs, a few of you said the Rangers are the one team in the AL who worried you 

Good call.

3 hours ago, PokerPacker said:

 Really wish he and Ovechkin could have ridden off into the sunset together.

They were pretty close, considering Ovi probably only has a couple years left.

16 years together is remarkable. Having grown up a Caps fan in the 80s and 90s, and watching every good player who made more than $15/hour get shipped out of town by a cheap owner who only cared about his basketball team, it's amazing that we had 2 superstars play that long together, each spending their entire career here.

57 minutes ago, DCSaints_fan said:

In the short term I don’t think this changes much.  We call up an AHLer to fill his spot.

 

If his salary is cleared, we could make an FA splash in the off-season.  Not sure who is available

I don't think this team is at a point where they should be making splashes in free agency.  Ideally, they hold on to cap space and use it to take advantage of cap-strapped teams (via taking on bad contracts along with sweeteners like draft picks or prospects, or acquiring solid players without giving up anything).

However, we all know that management won't initiate a rebuild as long as Ovi is here.  So considering that, William Nylander, Jonathan Marchessault, or Sebastian Aho would help Ovi get to the record.  Signing Auston Matthews would've been better than a weekend on a desert island with Bella Hadid, Margot Robbie, and Cindy Crawford (1995 edition), but the Leafs got him on an extension a few months ago so he's not going anywhere next summer. 

1 hour ago, Hersh said:

You must be celebrating. Backstrom stepping away for a while. Imagine a “fan” being super happy that an all-time great is stepping away for now. 

 

Thanks for the "fan" jab.  After conversing with you for many years on this board and enjoying all of your takes on the Caps and Orioles threads, I thought you were above that.

I'm not happy at all that Backstrom's career is practically over.  I've been cheering for Backstrom since we drafted him.  He was a huge part of the Young Guns/Rock the Red era which put the Caps on the map, and converted people who barely knew we had a hockey team into hardcore fans and season ticketholders.  This "fan" has been a loyal planholder for over 40 years, and I'll be the first to admit that no group of players will ever match what Ovi/Backstrom/Green/Semin/Laich etc. did for this club by increasing our fanbase ten-fold beginning with their first playoff appearance in 2008 and over the course of the next several years.

But his career is over, and he really doesn't add anything to this club at this point except support for the guys in the locker room and nostalgia for the fans in the stands.  The fact that he agreed on his own terms to step away proves that he more or less agrees with that.  My angst about him not contributing despite taking up so much cap space was probably worded too harshly, but it's been a frustrating past year as a Caps fan (sorry, "fan") so cut me some f'ing slack.

Congrats to Hunter Shepard. He would've been haunted forever if he had lost his debut after being staked to a 3 goal lead.

And he was rocking the Don Beaupre mask! Love it.

38 minutes ago, Hersh said:

 

I agree with a lot of what you said except this. Backstrom isn't a top-6 forward anymore but I never expect athletes to give back money that a GM was willing to give. Dude has helped this team for years. He doesn't owe money back to the owner nor will this impact his legacy as an all-time capital great. 

Believe me, most of my anger at this ridiculous situation of paying so much money, for such long term, to a aging guy whose best years were behind him and was already starting to break down (even before the hip injury) is directed at the idiots in management who completely went overboard on the loyalty angle.

Regarding Nick's obligations, you're correct that he has every right to continue to show up and collect the paycheck he negotiated in good faith.  We had the same discussion a few years ago on the Orioles thread regarding Chris Davis.  Similarly, I have every right as a fan to be upset that he's nothing more than a 3rd line player at this point (at best), who is taking up a roster spot and a ton of cap space, and it's so obvious he's lost it.  I'll never boo him (in 40+ years of following this team, I've never booed any current or ex-Cap except Jagr), but I'm definitely disappointed.  He's made over $100 mil as a player.  He'll have his #19 hanging in the rafters a few years after he retires.  He'll never have to pay for a steak dinner in this town as long as he lives.  For fukks sake, just realize you're done and stop embarrassing yourself out there.

I've seen seasons where the Caps are at the bottom of the standings in January, and they catch fire and win their division. 

This will not be one of those seasons. This team is old and crappy. Not much in the way of immediate help in terms of prospects (which is kinda understandable considering we've been so good in the regular season for so long, hence not great draft position). Caps management has absolutely no concept of selling high on players, poor ability to evaluate and elevate young talent, and to make matters worse they hand out awful loyalty contracts that prove crippling just a few years down the road.

There's really nothing to look forward to this year:

*Our best prospects are still a year or two away from making the club.

*Management has made it clear their top priority is Ovi's chase for the record. They think it's going to keep fans completely locked in for the next couple years. They're wrong; most fans aren't really going to get excited until he's about 20 goals away, which will be next year at the earliest. 

*Backstrom is absolutely dog crap, I get sick thinking we're paying him close to $10 mil for a couple more seasons. I don't know why so many great athletes refuse to acknowledge they're past their expiration date. It's a disservice to the team, to the fans, and to their legacy. The only thing it's good for is their wallet. I didn't think Nicky was like that.

*Our pie in the sky hopes of Kuzy and Mantha having big bounce back years to either propel this team forward, or bring in a nice haul at the trade deadline if we're sellers, is off to a horrible start.

Yup, it's going to be an awful season. Our window with this current team is completely closed.

3 hours ago, GoDeep81 said:

They've made their bed with Ovi, Nicky and Oshie. You can't move/deal/trade those guys cause their contracts are nuts. (They couldn't even move Kuznetsov) Possibly Ovi, due only to him chasing the record, but that aint happening. And even if, it'd have to be to some bottom feeding team looking to fill seats. Nobody good got 9+m in this cap era, to pay to an aging slow forward. Gotta wait this one out, unfortunately. This year and next, we're screwed. 

Agreed.  Normally I'd say Carlson has some value, but at $8 mil for 3 more seasons, we'd be lucky to get a 2nd round pick from a desperate contender unless we ate salary or took on a bloated contract in return.

I could see a team taking a chance on Oshie or Kuzy at the deadline in the hopes they could catch fire for a playoff run, but the return would be minimal.

Nicky's not worth squirrel poop right now.  2 more years of $9.5 mil for his 4th line-esque services???  We'd be lucky to get a ham sandwich in return.

49 minutes ago, GoDeep81 said:

My post was totally hypothetical. I'd never advocate moving Ovi. 

I hear you; unbelievably, there are some fans who have called for trading him, and they'll probably only get louder the more we lose and the less he scores.

36 minutes ago, GoDeep81 said:

They've made their bed with Ovi, Nicky and Oshie. You can't move/deal/trade those guys cause their contracts are nuts. (They couldn't even move Kuznetsov) Possibly Ovi, due only to him chasing the record, but that aint happening. And even if, it'd have to be to some bottom feeding team looking to fill seats. Nobody good got 9+m in this cap era, to pay to an aging slow forward. Gotta wait this one out, unfortunately. This year and next, we're screwed. 

No reason to ever trade Ovi.  He's the franchise icon and we'll never have another player like him in terms of what he's done for this team (both on the ice, and building the fanbase).  But while Ovi is here, they need to focus on what's best for the team, not necessarily what's best for him.  The deal that Ted apparently made with him in which the Caps won't rebuild while he is here is ridiculous.  This club isn't going anywhere, and by sticking with this lackluster team we're going to continue to miss the playoffs, but at the same time we won't finish low enough to get great draft position (top 5), which is really the only way to rebuild in the NHL.

And the Backstrom deal is a joke.  Unbelievable we're committed to him at almost $10 mil for 2 more seasons. 

10 minutes ago, PokerPacker said:

Who's fault is the score?

I'm thinking it's the guys who put this team together, and were hoping they could squeeze a little more juice out of an old lemon that dried up years ago???

Unlike a lot of other fans, I accept why they didn't launch a rebuild before last season. They were winning their division, playing exciting hockey for the better part of 6 months each year, selling out the building, and they had their all-time legend who still had some good hockey left in him. But the writing is on the wall now - this team sucks, and there's no fix short of a rebuild. I'm sorry if Ovie won't like it, but those are facts. The only question is whether ownership will have the balls to follow through. As with so many other things, it'll come down to money. Their sellout streak officially ended on Monday night (I was there, and there were A LOT of empty seats), and this will only get worse if we continue to lose.

Oh, and Backstrom is crap from here on out. I know we all love the guy, but signing him to a long-term deal when he was already starting to break down and is on the wrong side of 30 is sheer incompetence on the part of ownership. If you wanna show appreciation for what he's done for this club, fine; offer him a plum gig as a highly paid scout to the Caribbean and South Pacific hockey leagues or something like that. But don't waste $9.5 million of cap space for the next few years to a guy who is now nothing more than a 3rd liner (at best).

15 hours ago, PokerPacker said:

The guy who once waited outside the other team's lockerroom to punch out their coach after the game?

Can't blame McPhee for that one. Chicago was in a full-on rebuild that season, and their management must've watched 'Slapshot' one too many times and decided to sign every washed up goon from the 90s and play rough and dirty in their preseason games. According to McPhee, he spoke with Blackhawks management before the game, and they told him they weren't going to dress certain guys, so the Caps in turn sat out their heavies (Simon, Witt, Tinordi). Chicago did end up sending out an MMA lineup, and a Caps prospect (Trevor Halverson) had to fight 3 times that night. Got a concussion, and never played again.  If I were McPhee, I would've done something too.

Good win last night. I'm sure we all expected them to fold like a tent after a 1st period in which they were thoroughly outplayed. Showed some good fight in coming back.

On 10/14/2023 at 9:57 PM, DCSaints_fan said:

Yeah I guess the dumbass was Ted for allowing it to happen.  Normally an owner should be hands off on hockey decisions, but a potential lame duck manager is an exception, because they only care about keeping their job.  Ted should have had someone in the FO/scouting staff to keep tabs for a second opinion who didn't have to worry about being shown the door when McPhee was canned

Good point, but even a lame duck GM should be trusted to not make such a ridiculously selfish and shortsighred move. McPhee ran this team for over 15 years. You would think he would've had the honor and integrity (and regard for his legacy) to not do what he did.

Then again, I noticed over the years that he was always quick to cover his ass after every early playoff exit and after every failed personnel move. Even after he left DC, he made sure to get the word out publicly that the Jagr mess was Ted's doing, not his.

I've met him on a few occasions, and he's always been a very nice guy. But he should be ashamed of himself for the Forsberg f up.

17 minutes ago, Hersh said:

This is all about getting a top 5-8 pick and making a couple more trades during the season to collect assets and clear the books some more. 

Not willing to concede that just yet, but yeah you're probably right.

Looking at the big picture, the best course for this team is sucking for the next 2 years, hitting on the high draft picks they'll get, and getting free from the awful contracts of the likes of Backstrom, Kuzy, and Mantha.

Just got home from the game, tough one but it's the first of 82, over the course of 6 months. Not going to read too much into it; we've seen plenty of season openers where the Caps dominate, and then they're sent packing early the following spring.

I thought they looked really good in the 1st.

Not that this will make any of us feel better, but just to show the unpredictability of MLB playoffs - 4 of the top 5 teams this year (O's, LA, Rays, and Brewers) are already out, and none of them won even a single game. And the other top team - Atlanta - is one more loss away from joining them. 

Okay, you know you're going down hard when the broadcast team starts throwing out forced commentary about how bright the Orioles future is and how much they look forward to calling games at beautiful Camden Yards.

All true, of course. But it's the equivalent of being told "you're gonna be fine, it's not you it's me" when a hot girl is dumping you on your ass.

19 minutes ago, SloppyOneXXVI said:

We haven't been swept since last May. I'll worry about the off-season tomorrow.... tonight I'm going to drink a copious amount of beers and be sad for these guys.  What a great team and season, sucks going out like this.

Yup. They were great through the better part of 162 games, spread out over 6 months. And then 3 bad games in 4 days, and they're done.

Doesn't seem fair.

36 minutes ago, DCSaints_fan said:

We're gonna need vet pitching if we want to win in the playoffs.

Yup. The decision not to add pitching at the deadline (are we really going to count Jack Flaherty?), when we have a stocked farm system to deal from, is coming back to bite them in the ass.

Still a great season, and this is a terrific team. You can't fluke your way to 100+ wins in MLB. We've got some good years ahead of us.

5 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Feel like a Caps fan.

Well, if it was the Caps they would've won the first 2 games by a combined score of like 15 - 2, only to rip our hearts out by dropping the next 3, including losing one game on a grand slam while up by 3 runs with 2 outs in the 9th.

But I get your point.

A great season just got better - the Yankees and Red Sox are sitting at home scratching their cooters, and just 2 days into the postseason the Blow Jays and Rays are already joining them. 🤤

1 hour ago, The Evil Genius said:

Tim Anderson must be British. Or was he just born with that glass jaw? 😆

And of course he runs back on the field to try to save face. Even after getting beat, a guy like him always has to have the last word.