Hersh Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Ideal Burakovsky gets to stay down for a year or two to marinade. But if he's what's best for the team he's best for the team. I'm all in for Ovechkin here. I wish the organization would commit to that type of development but it's unlikely given the history of the team over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 I wish the organization would commit to that type of development but it's unlikely given the history of the team over the years. Yeah, I think you and I were the only ones (maybe a few others) who wanted Tom Wilson down for a year. Look at all of that wasted contract time --- I mean fourth line development. Oy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 As a casual hockey fan, I feel like the Caps had their window 3-4 years ago. Whenever we were the #1 overall seed and lost to the Canadiens or whoever. That sucked. I remember as a kid continually watching us lose to the Penguins. That sucked too. Man, I hated the Penguins so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinfan2k Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I love watching the Caps but i am so not interested in going to games this year. Hopefully the skins can take me into January! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hersh Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Yeah, I think you and I were the only ones (maybe a few others) who wanted Tom Wilson down for a year. Look at all of that wasted contract time --- I mean fourth line development. Oy! The NHL rule about him not being able to play in the AHL is one of the dumbest in sports. It amazes me that the don't realize that the rule hurts their overall product and development of their players. This is where I think the Caps lack of a plan with the forwards could really hurt. If Ovi stays on the right side, who will be the 2RW. You know Ward is playing on the 3rd line opposite Chimera. (At least I hope they would be smart enough to keep them together as long as they are productive) This team cannot waste Wilson on the 4th line for a second season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Yeah, I think you and I were the only ones (maybe a few others) who wanted Tom Wilson down for a year. Look at all of that wasted contract time --- I mean fourth line development. Oy! I stand by my belief that another year in Juniors would be a wasted year for Wilson. He was physically too dominant for that league and would have only learned how to play against gnats who bounce off of him. I wanted Wilson in the AHL for the year, but the awful policy that forced us into an NHL or Juniors option preventing him from his ideal learning environment getting ice time against grown men. Burakovsky, on the other hand, isn't the physical specimen Wilson is, so extra time in Juniors could be a benefit (or at least not a liability). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 I stand by my belief that another year in Juniors would be a wasted year for Wilson. He was physically too dominant for that league and would have only learned how to play against gnats who bounce off of him. I wanted Wilson in the AHL for the year, but the awful policy that forced us into an NHL or Juniors option preventing him from his ideal learning environment getting ice time against grown men. Burakovsky, on the other hand, isn't the physical specimen Wilson is, so extra time in Juniors could be a benefit (or at least not a liability). I just don't think it's much of a benefit to have him playing on the 4th line if your overall plan is to have him as a top 6 forward. The goal or each line are totally different. I see the sides of both arguments. And I think ultimately he will be a better two way hockey player with his time on the 4th line, but I'm worried about his offense... as I am the rest of the team after two years of Adam Oates. The NHL rule about him not being able to play in the AHL is one of the dumbest in sports. It amazes me that the don't realize that the rule hurts their overall product and development of their players. This is where I think the Caps lack of a plan with the forwards could really hurt. If Ovi stays on the right side, who will be the 2RW. You know Ward is playing on the 3rd line opposite Chimera. (At least I hope they would be smart enough to keep them together as long as they are productive) This team cannot waste Wilson on the 4th line for a second season. Agree on the rule. I've been a fan of Wardo on the top line for a couple of years now. I am a huge fan of speed on the ice, but I am a bigger fan of power. Especially when that power has the ability to finish like Ward. I would love to see him up there this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Ovechkin needs to move back to LW. He is much more dynamic on the left side, especially as a passer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Oates COMPLETELY mismanaged Wilson last year. That being said, a year down in juniors would have done nothing for him as he didn't have anything else to prove on that level. Maaaaaybe having him in Hershey for a bit would have been beneficial, but honestly, I want at least 10-15 goals from him this year. He does have the talent to be a variant Milan Lucic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Yeah I'd be fine with Ovi moving back to LW, too. Something like: Ovi - Nicky - Wardo/Fehr That would be the best top line we could trot out. MoJo leaves too many goals out there and I've seen enough after two full seasons of his manic closing in the crease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Oates COMPLETELY mismanaged Wilson last year. That being said, a year down in juniors would have done nothing for him as he didn't have anything else to prove on that level. Maaaaaybe having him in Hershey for a bit would have been beneficial, but honestly, I want at least 10-15 goals from him this year. He does have the talent to be a variant Milan Lucic. He couldn't play in the AHL due to the rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 He couldn't play in the AHL due to the rules. OK...well, outside of Oates mismanaging him, I do think he did pick up invaluable pro-experience by being on the big club last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hersh Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I'm going to have to limit thinking about the Capitals until I see some line combos cause I'm aggravated by them already. I'm anticipating a cluster at the 2C position which will short circuit the season especially if Backstrom doesn't play every game. Instead I'm going to focus on the O's playoff push. Makes me much happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Huh... Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg now Taping a new ep of @CrashingTheNet tomorrow. On tap: Ovechkin thinks Backstrom will win the Hart (MVP). @TomDaly2 and I will discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hersh Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Huh... Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg now Taping a new ep of @CrashingTheNet tomorrow. On tap: Ovechkin thinks Backstrom will win the Hart (MVP). @TomDaly2 and I will discuss. Didn't you hear?? Backstrom is going to be both the first and second line center which means he will average about 40 minutes per night. That alone will win it for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 Didn't you hear?? Backstrom is going to be both the first and second line center which means he will average about 40 minutes per night. That alone will win it for him. Nicky is my favorite player on the team. I love that Ovi is trying to campaign for it. It's a nice gesture. But I think we all no the Hart is out of the question, especially with Ovechkin on the team. Don't get me started on 2C. I'm trying to remain positive. I think Kuzya will be fine there, but he'll need another weapon to feed besides Fehr. And it ain't MojO. Damn it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Nicky is my favorite player on the team. I love that Ovi is trying to campaign for it. It's a nice gesture. But I think we all no the Hart is out of the question, especially with Ovechkin on the team. Don't get me started on 2C. I'm trying to remain positive. I think Kuzya will be fine there, but he'll need another weapon to feed besides Fehr. And it ain't MojO. Damn it! I think Backstrom is criminally underrated. Hockey writers ain't ****, but the fact that they didn't even have him as one of the 14 best C's in the league is a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Backstrom has not been the same since the concussion. He is not scoring goals and he has been useless at even strength. A PP specialist essentially. That is not good enough for what we need. He needs to be effective at ES. Of course, competent lines would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Backstrom has not been the same since the concussion. He is not scoring goals and he has been useless at even strength. A PP specialist essentially. That is not good enough for what we need. He needs to be effective at ES. Of course, competent lines would help. For the past 2 years, the entire team has been useless at even strength....He's still about a PPG player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 Backstrom has not been the same since the concussion. He is not scoring goals and he has been useless at even strength. A PP specialist essentially. That is not good enough for what we need. He needs to be effective at ES. Of course, competent lines would help. I agree with Ron. I think Nicky can still shoot but he almost has to be coached to do so. By putting him on a different line than Ovi, though I thought it was a good idea, I don't know that he had anyone else on that line to scare folks. But I'll agree he should be encouraged to shoot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hersh Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 I think Kuzya will be fine there, but he'll need another weapon to feed besides Fehr. And it ain't MojO. Damn it! I would agree that he will probably get the first look, but how successful are guys in the NHL at changing positions? I don't know enough history to have any idea, but I would think it's easier to go from center to wing than vice versa as I'm thinking about this in terms of faceoffs and defensive responsibilities. One of the major problems with the Caps have been shifting players to different positions and not settling on positions, let alone lines. I think it's one of the reasons MoJo has struggled. It's why I'd rather have had an experienced 2C so Kuz could just focus on his natural position and get comfortable playing in the NHL. It's amazing to me how fans see the obvious holes in teams over the years while the front office people of these teams never address it. For the Caps it's been centers and for the Redskins it's O-line. Drives me crazy. Edit: BTW, if Fehr moves up, who is the 3C? Laich or MoJo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 It's amazing to me how fans see the obvious holes in teams over the years while the front office people of these teams never address it. For the Caps it's been centers and for the Redskins it's O-line. Drives me crazy. Edit: BTW, if Fehr moves up, who is the 3C? Laich or MoJo? For me it's Michael Latta. I also really liked what I saw out of Walker during last preseason and I know it doesn't translate (necisarrily), but his vision will. That dude's vision on the ice was excellent. I was honestly blown away when he didn't make the final roster. And then we learned it was in order to keep Wilson up... I was doubly pissed. But I digress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hersh Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 For me it's Michael Latta. So let's just say that Latta is 3C between Chimera and Ward and Kuz is 2C. That leaves Brouwer, Wilson, MoJo, Laich and Fehr for the 3 spots left on the top 2 lines. Who gets left out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 So let's just say that Latta is 3C between Chimera and Ward and Kuz is 2C. That leaves Brouwer, Wilson, MoJo, Laich and Fehr for the 3 spots left on the top 2 lines. Who gets left out? You'd have to think Fehr/Wilson...but I don't think that Wilson will be playing 6-8 minutes per night like he did last season. Trotz seems to be a big fan of his. I also want Latta getting regular minutes with the big club. He's better than Beagle and actually has a little bit of a scoring touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popeman38 Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 8-19-20 21-92-43 42-16-25 (I don't mess with this line) 83-46-67 90 is the odd man out (I have disliked him since he arrived). 74-27 52-44 2-81 4 & 38 is depth 70 That is a big, fast, tough line-up that can handle banging with the Pens, Rags, Bruins, and Flyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.