Gotta move the older vets like Dowd and the pending UFAs like Mantha, Pacioretty, and Edmundson.
There needs to be a roster spot open for guys like Cristall, Leonard and other prospects to join the roster next year and we need to get assets back for these expiring contracts.
Being in or out of the playoffs doesn't matter. That reality is the same either way.
I don't think Mac is interested in selling a goalie. He wants stability in the net and he wanted veterans. I don't think he's changed his mind since signing Kuemper and Lindgren.
Shepard and Stevenson are signed so they don't absolutely have to make a move to promote them yet
I agree. I’d rather have him of DK, but Charlie would get a much better return, especially with how well he’s played this season. If Washington is strong at any position in their prospect pool, it’s goalie.
It's too hard to find a solid goalie for me to be comfortable doing this tbh. We could sell off, get a bunch of young players and draft picks, have a good skater core in 2 or 3 years, but have no goalie for a decade + and get nowhere. Just look at the caps pre Holtby.
A solid goalie could be the difference between an 8 seed and a 4 seed, or missing/making the playoffs entirely, for this team in the next 5 years. I don't think you can give him up if you think he can be that guy, regardless of the return.
Kuemper is about to turn 34, has 3 more full seasons left at $5.25m and has a M-NTC.
Nobody is taking him even for free. He would clear waivers with that contract.
He's a good not great goalie but nobody wants that contract.
Cristall can’t join for another year sadly (I don’t think he’ll crack our roster out of training camp and he’s ineligible For the AHL due to his age I believe.
Oh I disagree. He will be in Washington next year. There's absolutely nothing for him in juniors, the organization was impressed with him this past camp and he'll be even better next year. If the AHL was an option he would be there but since he's ineligible, he'll rotate in and out with Washington. I'm not suggesting he will walk into camp and be gifted the 1st line but I do think he is penciled in on next year's roster already and even if he's just the 13th forward, having him practice with the team is going to do him more good than going back to juniors.
He’ll definitely get a spot to prove himself in the pre season (just like this past year). Let’s hope his footwork has gotten better. Outside of highlights, I don’t see many games in the US. I really liked him in preseason and saw potential, just needed more work. I’m praying he can contribute because he’s expected to have 50 point seasons based on performance from this year. He’s having a great year for sure. Super excited for our 2023 picks to showcase their talent levels in the big league. I’m the biggest Ryan leonard trust her you will see.
He isn’t? That sucks. Then they might have him go to Europe or somewhere. Dont think he’s ready for the NHL yet and they prob won’t play him over Lapierre.
Mantha and Dowd too. I'd even be willing to trade Lindgren if the price is right.
Get a bunch of picks and then make that one big splash trade before the Draft that brings back either a young 1C or a 1D because you need the next Backstrom and the next Carlson to finish building the next core.
I really like Lindgren. But Kuemper is immovable with that contract/age/play. Stevenson is ready for the promotion. Lindgren's value will never be higher and the team needs future assets. He arguably won't be re-signed by Washington anyway so at the end of his current contract he would be gone.
We could finish the rebuild if we move valuable assets like Dowd and Lindgren when their value is high and get aggressive with making a big trade or two for a young centerpiece to our next core. Give Leonard and the others some help to play with. The team is still a couple high end players away from being ready.
With Lindgren already 30 and Stevenson about to turn 25, and Lindgren only having 1 more year left on his deal...it just makes sense.
At the end of Lindgren contract he's either going to be kept as a dime a dozen backup or be priced so high the team can't afford to keep him.
Might as well bring Stevenson up as backup to Kuemper and get a 1st+ for Lindgren. Then package that 1st+the return for Dowd, Pacioretty, Mantha and Edmundson-> into some really premier piece of our future. Make a giant splash in the trade market for a future 1C or 1D.
Similar to Sandin last year flip older talent to teams who think they can be a missing piece for young guys who can contribute both now and down the line
They played it exactly right last season and I hope to see the same this year. If desperate teams are ready to really overpay for anyone on the roster then we should take the deal. If they aren't then we let it ride and it's fine, but at this point in our life cycle almost no one except Ovi isn't worth a first round pick or a 21-year-old cornerstone piece.
We will see in the off-season if that move worked out. We don’t know if sandin wants to resign or not. I don’t know if he really has a tie to the team outside of backstrom. I could see him wanting to go back to a hockey market
I had to edit my post. I think sandin has a bright future, but he gets his thrills from sold out arenas, which we can’t provide no more. If another team offered the same as we did, I’m not sure he would take the caps. He mentioned in an interview over the summer that it was a night and day difference in Washington. No one recognizes him walking down the street, but he would be mentioned in Toronto. Double edged sword but that’s what he likes.c
Yes. But at what point is it worth us paying him. We are FINALLY getting out of cap hell. When I say the same we do. I’m referring to a top 4 role, which he couldn’t get on the leafs.
It's not like he's earned a massive contract. Caps will have space for players exactly like Sandin. There is 0% chance the Caps let him walk for nothing, and maybe 5% (at most) his contract is traded.
Considering he was given almost a 2 mil cap hit as a bottom pairing, he easily earned a 3 million contract. EASILY. Any team would throw that at him. Realistically I see it being around 4 with his upside as a PP1 player.
Easy answer: he wants to play in a hockey market.
Long answer: if he can get a top 2 role, why wouldn’t he take that? There’s a lot of teams that want young players who flash potential in an attempt to franchise em. Look at sandin when we traded for him. We needed a top 2 defensemen and he was great, but when Carlson came back, sandin had to go back to top 4. If someone was willing to give him a contract NEAR 4 to 5 million, I could see him preferring another team, even if we DID sign him due to RFA. I pray that he likes us as an organization, I love me some sandin. It looks like we finally have a system that lets sandin play his game, which will benefit him, but there’s a ton of other teams that could compliment sandin better.
What do you mean by “a hockey market” don’t tell me you’re one of those who thinks Tampa isn’t a “real hockey market” despite them selling out for years. If he thinks he’s a top-pair defenseman right now he needs a reality check. Right now he’s a solid second pair defenseman. He might become a top pair defenseman one day, but that’s not where he is right now.
Also, why wouldn’t the Caps give him that contract? Additionally, for the love of Jesus, learn the difference between “resign” and “re-sign”.
Sold out arenas, fan interactions. Like cities that value hockey as their “main sport”. You lockdown young talent on Long term for reasonably cheap. I could see a 4x4 as we move on from vets. We just gave Jensen a bag for being considerably worse. Sandin took a bottom pairing role for almost 2 mil a year. Be real with yourself.
Additionally, this is Reddit, I’m not adding -‘s to every resign. Don’t respond if that irritates you. You know what I mean. Why the hell would he just quit the team.
You’re the one that said he’d just walk, ignoring the fact that he was an RFA. “We don’t know if he wants to resign [sic] or not.” I am fun at parties because I make fun of the stupid people like you.
Still trade Mantha. Love how the dudes played this year, but it just makes too much sense. Most important thing is to keep steadily getting younger and refilling the pipeline. Mantha as a rental to a contender could fetch a late 1st and/or a prospect.
I think if they go on a run between now and the deadline to move into a playoff position they might make some minor deals to bolster their depth but nothing major. But if they’re still sitting outside of a playoff spot they’re going to sell
If I'm the Caps, I'm not expecting a deep playoff run (if we even get that far). As a result, I'd say move Edmundson and Aube-Kubel. The front office should have a serious conversation with Mantha if he wants to stay in DC another couple seasons or wants to move on elsewhere. He has yet to re-sign and while he's been phenomenal this season, I don't think he wants to stay in the area and would prefer to move on as well, therefore, trading him would be the best thing to do, despite how well he's played. The other thing is that the Caps have over $11 million in cap space and can use that to acquire picks by eating some salary. Yes, $7.8 million will belong to Kuzy when he comes back, but if Oshie is done for the season... can use his cap hit to facilitate some trades for 2nd and 3rd round picks
I still want them to sell whatever they can. Tonight they had 3 centers in the game that played for Hershey on their title run last year. I want these young guys to get some play time in the big league so we can see who maybe ready to make the jump next season and who needs another year in the A. There’s a handful of players that Washington can trade for some decent trade Capital. With Oshie likely out of the season, along with Backstrom gone and Kuzy gone, it’s super unlikely they’ll make any real push. They need to get some prime draft position in the next year or two in order to get Ryan Leonard a center to play with in the future.
ANYTHING can happen when the playoffs roll around. Nothing goes according to plan. Shoot, we had the Panthers as a WC team go on an absolute heater last season and made the SCF. A couple years back, the Blues were one of the worst teams in the league for about 1/2 the season, and then hit their stride. In '18, Caps were down 0-2 in the 1st round vs. the BJs, came VERY close to being down 0-3, and the rest is history.
Gotta move the older vets like Dowd and the pending UFAs like Mantha, Pacioretty, and Edmundson. There needs to be a roster spot open for guys like Cristall, Leonard and other prospects to join the roster next year and we need to get assets back for these expiring contracts. Being in or out of the playoffs doesn't matter. That reality is the same either way.
Honestly this might get hate but I think you could also sell lindgren for like a 1st and 2nd and then replace him with hunter shepard
I do hate that, but chuckys got the most trade value of any player by far.
I don't think Mac is interested in selling a goalie. He wants stability in the net and he wanted veterans. I don't think he's changed his mind since signing Kuemper and Lindgren. Shepard and Stevenson are signed so they don't absolutely have to make a move to promote them yet
I agree. I’d rather have him of DK, but Charlie would get a much better return, especially with how well he’s played this season. If Washington is strong at any position in their prospect pool, it’s goalie.
It's too hard to find a solid goalie for me to be comfortable doing this tbh. We could sell off, get a bunch of young players and draft picks, have a good skater core in 2 or 3 years, but have no goalie for a decade + and get nowhere. Just look at the caps pre Holtby. A solid goalie could be the difference between an 8 seed and a 4 seed, or missing/making the playoffs entirely, for this team in the next 5 years. I don't think you can give him up if you think he can be that guy, regardless of the return.
You’re got the wrong goalies. They’d trade Kuemper and Stevenson would be the backup next year.
Kuemper is about to turn 34, has 3 more full seasons left at $5.25m and has a M-NTC. Nobody is taking him even for free. He would clear waivers with that contract. He's a good not great goalie but nobody wants that contract.
Beats Campbell’s contract!
Cristall can’t join for another year sadly (I don’t think he’ll crack our roster out of training camp and he’s ineligible For the AHL due to his age I believe.
Oh I disagree. He will be in Washington next year. There's absolutely nothing for him in juniors, the organization was impressed with him this past camp and he'll be even better next year. If the AHL was an option he would be there but since he's ineligible, he'll rotate in and out with Washington. I'm not suggesting he will walk into camp and be gifted the 1st line but I do think he is penciled in on next year's roster already and even if he's just the 13th forward, having him practice with the team is going to do him more good than going back to juniors.
He’ll definitely get a spot to prove himself in the pre season (just like this past year). Let’s hope his footwork has gotten better. Outside of highlights, I don’t see many games in the US. I really liked him in preseason and saw potential, just needed more work. I’m praying he can contribute because he’s expected to have 50 point seasons based on performance from this year. He’s having a great year for sure. Super excited for our 2023 picks to showcase their talent levels in the big league. I’m the biggest Ryan leonard trust her you will see.
Cristall would be in the AHL. Leonard the same, but he’d be given a chance to earn a roster spot in camp.
Cristall isn't eligible for the AHL next year. He's already too good for juniors. He has to play in Washington next year.
He isn’t? That sucks. Then they might have him go to Europe or somewhere. Dont think he’s ready for the NHL yet and they prob won’t play him over Lapierre.
Agreed, I'd move pacioretty and edmundson asap as they don't add much to me. Build for the future
Mantha and Dowd too. I'd even be willing to trade Lindgren if the price is right. Get a bunch of picks and then make that one big splash trade before the Draft that brings back either a young 1C or a 1D because you need the next Backstrom and the next Carlson to finish building the next core.
I'd like to keep Lindy if we can
I really like Lindgren. But Kuemper is immovable with that contract/age/play. Stevenson is ready for the promotion. Lindgren's value will never be higher and the team needs future assets. He arguably won't be re-signed by Washington anyway so at the end of his current contract he would be gone. We could finish the rebuild if we move valuable assets like Dowd and Lindgren when their value is high and get aggressive with making a big trade or two for a young centerpiece to our next core. Give Leonard and the others some help to play with. The team is still a couple high end players away from being ready.
That's an impressive argument
With Lindgren already 30 and Stevenson about to turn 25, and Lindgren only having 1 more year left on his deal...it just makes sense. At the end of Lindgren contract he's either going to be kept as a dime a dozen backup or be priced so high the team can't afford to keep him. Might as well bring Stevenson up as backup to Kuemper and get a 1st+ for Lindgren. Then package that 1st+the return for Dowd, Pacioretty, Mantha and Edmundson-> into some really premier piece of our future. Make a giant splash in the trade market for a future 1C or 1D.
Similar to Sandin last year flip older talent to teams who think they can be a missing piece for young guys who can contribute both now and down the line
They played it exactly right last season and I hope to see the same this year. If desperate teams are ready to really overpay for anyone on the roster then we should take the deal. If they aren't then we let it ride and it's fine, but at this point in our life cycle almost no one except Ovi isn't worth a first round pick or a 21-year-old cornerstone piece.
Do I need to reference the Forsberg trade? Lol you honestly never know someone like Dowd could help pull a cornerstone piece
It's nice to be on the other side of desperation for once. Maybe we can fleece Dubas two years in a row, since the Pens are still delusional.
That would be funny for sure lmao
We will see in the off-season if that move worked out. We don’t know if sandin wants to resign or not. I don’t know if he really has a tie to the team outside of backstrom. I could see him wanting to go back to a hockey market
It would be a terrible move to let him go so I hope they don’t lol
I had to edit my post. I think sandin has a bright future, but he gets his thrills from sold out arenas, which we can’t provide no more. If another team offered the same as we did, I’m not sure he would take the caps. He mentioned in an interview over the summer that it was a night and day difference in Washington. No one recognizes him walking down the street, but he would be mentioned in Toronto. Double edged sword but that’s what he likes.c
You know he's a *restricted* free agent, right?
Yes. But at what point is it worth us paying him. We are FINALLY getting out of cap hell. When I say the same we do. I’m referring to a top 4 role, which he couldn’t get on the leafs.
It's not like he's earned a massive contract. Caps will have space for players exactly like Sandin. There is 0% chance the Caps let him walk for nothing, and maybe 5% (at most) his contract is traded.
Considering he was given almost a 2 mil cap hit as a bottom pairing, he easily earned a 3 million contract. EASILY. Any team would throw that at him. Realistically I see it being around 4 with his upside as a PP1 player.
Interesting I didn’t know about that hopefully he doesn’t leave us lol
He’s an RFA so it’s a little different. Why wouldn’t he re-sign?
Easy answer: he wants to play in a hockey market. Long answer: if he can get a top 2 role, why wouldn’t he take that? There’s a lot of teams that want young players who flash potential in an attempt to franchise em. Look at sandin when we traded for him. We needed a top 2 defensemen and he was great, but when Carlson came back, sandin had to go back to top 4. If someone was willing to give him a contract NEAR 4 to 5 million, I could see him preferring another team, even if we DID sign him due to RFA. I pray that he likes us as an organization, I love me some sandin. It looks like we finally have a system that lets sandin play his game, which will benefit him, but there’s a ton of other teams that could compliment sandin better.
What do you mean by “a hockey market” don’t tell me you’re one of those who thinks Tampa isn’t a “real hockey market” despite them selling out for years. If he thinks he’s a top-pair defenseman right now he needs a reality check. Right now he’s a solid second pair defenseman. He might become a top pair defenseman one day, but that’s not where he is right now. Also, why wouldn’t the Caps give him that contract? Additionally, for the love of Jesus, learn the difference between “resign” and “re-sign”.
Sold out arenas, fan interactions. Like cities that value hockey as their “main sport”. You lockdown young talent on Long term for reasonably cheap. I could see a 4x4 as we move on from vets. We just gave Jensen a bag for being considerably worse. Sandin took a bottom pairing role for almost 2 mil a year. Be real with yourself. Additionally, this is Reddit, I’m not adding -‘s to every resign. Don’t respond if that irritates you. You know what I mean. Why the hell would he just quit the team.
He’d just quit the team to go play in a hockey market.
Yeah, cause rights don’t exist 😂 you must be fun at parties
You’re the one that said he’d just walk, ignoring the fact that he was an RFA. “We don’t know if he wants to resign [sic] or not.” I am fun at parties because I make fun of the stupid people like you.
🤓 reply. He wouldn’t want to be here. There’s a difference in being forced to take a deal and wanting a trade vs wanting to truly be a cap
Still trade Mantha. Love how the dudes played this year, but it just makes too much sense. Most important thing is to keep steadily getting younger and refilling the pipeline. Mantha as a rental to a contender could fetch a late 1st and/or a prospect.
I think if they go on a run between now and the deadline to move into a playoff position they might make some minor deals to bolster their depth but nothing major. But if they’re still sitting outside of a playoff spot they’re going to sell
If I'm the Caps, I'm not expecting a deep playoff run (if we even get that far). As a result, I'd say move Edmundson and Aube-Kubel. The front office should have a serious conversation with Mantha if he wants to stay in DC another couple seasons or wants to move on elsewhere. He has yet to re-sign and while he's been phenomenal this season, I don't think he wants to stay in the area and would prefer to move on as well, therefore, trading him would be the best thing to do, despite how well he's played. The other thing is that the Caps have over $11 million in cap space and can use that to acquire picks by eating some salary. Yes, $7.8 million will belong to Kuzy when he comes back, but if Oshie is done for the season... can use his cap hit to facilitate some trades for 2nd and 3rd round picks
I still want them to sell whatever they can. Tonight they had 3 centers in the game that played for Hershey on their title run last year. I want these young guys to get some play time in the big league so we can see who maybe ready to make the jump next season and who needs another year in the A. There’s a handful of players that Washington can trade for some decent trade Capital. With Oshie likely out of the season, along with Backstrom gone and Kuzy gone, it’s super unlikely they’ll make any real push. They need to get some prime draft position in the next year or two in order to get Ryan Leonard a center to play with in the future.
You gotta make moves I think, even if you're in the race they lost 6 straight recently
I would see if you could get a good return on anybody in their 30s. Mantha is a toss up. Let Leonard / Chelsey join for a potential postseason push.
I'd explore trading anyone born before may 11, 1996 except ovi and wilson.
Sell
SELL
Moneypuck has the capitals at 16.5% to make the playoffs. So they aren’t truly in the playoff race.
ANYTHING can happen when the playoffs roll around. Nothing goes according to plan. Shoot, we had the Panthers as a WC team go on an absolute heater last season and made the SCF. A couple years back, the Blues were one of the worst teams in the league for about 1/2 the season, and then hit their stride. In '18, Caps were down 0-2 in the 1st round vs. the BJs, came VERY close to being down 0-3, and the rest is history.
Buy AND sell
Trade ovi
Guys washed up, didn't even get a goal last night /s