shamaran Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 What's the big secret? Why the great mystery? Is Brooks actually interested? Why hasn't Glen Hanlon been named? Can it be that he really doesn't want the job? I would have thought that a coach would have been named and onboard before the draft, but McPhee seems intent on making this some kind of melodrama. I think they are trying to get Brooks and have or will offer him the job. I'm wondering if it should have been McPhee not Wilson that should have been invited away. Perhaps both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 I like McPhee and I think the players do also. I also liked Ron Wilson but he just wasn't getting to his guys anymore. Let him take over Detroit where he really has roots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 McPhee said on Friday before the draft that he was going to make the coaching announcement this week and that the candidate was already 'on board'. he also told WTEM that unlike football or basketball where the coach has a real say in who the team drafts, in the NHL the GM and scouts make the picks and thus he didn't need to name a coach before the draft. McPhee indicated he was looking to trade one or two of the #1 picks to acquire a forward who could come in and play. That didn't happen. As so often is the case the Capitals had 3 #1 picks in one of the weakest drafts in the past 10 years and no one wanted to move up. The Capitals are a team that has been built along contradictory lines. Management has aquired and re-signed players like Bondra and Jagr who are interested in winning NOW at age 30+ but at the same time the team has resisted attempts to go out and perhaps get that second big scorer up front that would put the team over the top in the East. It is almost as if the team is willing to put one leg in the water but is still afraid to get up on the diving board and get the entire body in the pool. This half-measure style had Wilson, Jagr and the rest of the players frustrated, even though some of that frustration from Wilson's perspective was no doubt due to the Jagr trade itself. The team failed to follow up the Jagr trade, which left the roster intact, with any further acquisitions to bolster the lineup. The Capitals were more than one player, even a top one, from being a match for Colorado or Philadelphia. And the fact the Red Wings were loading up on veteran players for another run only made the competition that much more heated. Still, that is no excuse for finishing behind Carolina, a team with a Cinderella post-season but one with limited overall talent. The Hurricanes were able to get production out of 40 year old Ron Francis consistently this year, while the Caps suffered off years from several key players including Jagr, Witt and Kolzig. You go back to the beginning of the year and count those early season losses to Atlanta and other poor teams like Columbus and then see what the team did WITHOUT players at the end of the year against playoff teams like Toronto, Boston and Ottawa and there is really no excuse. Mark my words. The Jagr trade is PART of a solution here, it is not the final piece to the puzzle. Jagr is not the emotional leader and lay it out there in the ice captain that this team needs up front. And until that player is found, the Caps will be trying to find the right combinations without success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefhogskin48 Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Bulldog, how was our draft? Did we do well with our 3 first rounders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamaran Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 Well, I agree with everything you stated, Bulldog. I, however, was really hoping that the team would be successful in its late season attempt to trade Jagr away. I didn't like the move to get him and still don't. If they would put their whole bodies in the water, as you put it, and get that "other" big, young scoring threat, I suppose I'd feel differently. But like you, I know they won't. So, it appears that a new coach is really going to be irrelivant. I guess the team started to question the authority of Wilson, if we are to believe the screaming sessions that went on between he and some of the players. I would think a guy that's been in the system and knows the youngsters (like Hanlon) would be a better fit than an old "legend" like Brooks? Alas, it's probably moot, whomever they hire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyalligator Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 The draft went real well. According to hockeysfuture.com, we ranked second behind Nashville in our draft. We managed to pick up a decent center who has been playing the in the czech republic, for a 2003 3rd round pick. I was hoping that we would somehow trade with Tampa to get Vincent Lecavilier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 the question of course is whether Sykora is going to come to the NHL to play after finding a niche in the Czech league. His first go around in the NHL wasn't a good one. still for a #3 pick it was a good gamble. with three #1 picks, the Capitals SHOULD have come out of the first round with one of the top tally sheets in terms of getting younger talent. these players are all sub 20 and look to be 2 or 3 year investments before you will see any return. That is not at all unusual in the NHL. Draft picks for the most part are less ready to make an impact in hockey than any other major sport and that is why picks rarely are traded for top players as you see in football or basketball. Remember we got one pick for 32 year old has-been Trevor Linden and another for Adam Oates, a 39 year old rent-a-player whose value is of the shortest term to any club. What the Caps have suffered from was that series of trades that David Poile made to try and keep his job by making the playoffs that final season he was the GM. We lost Jason Allison (now a 85-90 point man) and Anson Carter and got Adam Oates for 3-4 years in exchange. Bill Ranford and Rick Tocchet also part of that deal were both here for a cup of coffee and were allowed to leave either via free agency or the expansion draft for no compensation. That's the reason the team doesn't have any depth at center or strength off the wing. :shootinth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nighthawk Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Petr Sykora. When I heard the name I thought they were talking about the RW for the NJ Devils until I saw we traded with Nashville. I couldn't understand how he went from NJ to Nashville until I finally realized they're two different people with the same name. How often does that happen in the NHL especially when they're both from the Czech Republic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Petr Sykora of the Devils. Now, that would be an acquisition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33192-2002Jun23.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 throughout their history the Caps have never brought in a high profile GM or Coach. While Pollin was in control I always thought it was because he didn't relish the idea of someone else getting too much power or publicity. Now, it is probably just the money but organizations are built from the top down. and the Caps don't make a large investment in their team infrastructure. their scouting staff is small by league standards and there is no one in the organization with a Stanley Cup ring. looking at this team from the outside, I think Leonsis and McPhee want to build a winner, and that's why Ted pulled the trigger on the Jagr deal, but I don't think they really now how to pull it all together and take that final step. that is why I was hoping they would hire a seasoned coach who has championship experience. but it looks as if that will wait for another time, once again :shootinth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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