His puck-protection technique is clearly Russian-inflected. He needs to use a more Canadian method, honestly.
If he were a real hockey player, he would have used his elbows and snuffed that scrub who even thought about coming near him. Alas, we just have some Eastern European doing some like skate breakdance move, getting lucky to not lose it.
Perhaps it's feasible, but I don't think there is any indication that the Capitals are actually trying to land a first-pairing defenseman. I see their appetites in the range of a #3 or #4 myself, else a cheap #5.
I don't disagree with your assessment of the aims of the Caps' brass. Just opining as to the one upgrade that pushes the team closest to a Cup contender.
It doesn't matter what industry you're in. You don't pay big money for talent. You pay for results. You pay for closers.
Well we have money and we need a winger.
Semin had a bad 2012 playoffs... That doesn't mean he's a bad playoff performer. He played well in 2010. Give him Ribeiro and he'll be worth the money.
I don't disagree with your assessment of the aims of the Caps' brass. Just opining as to the one upgrade that pushes the team closest to a Cup contender.
Agreed. What they need is a top partner to ride shotgun with Green. Someone who can act as a complement to his skill set, and let him give it free rein.
I think the team's management is placing altogether too much faith in the prospects, guys like Orlov and Schilling. As it is, for want of a partner for Green, Alzner and Carlson is the top pairing, and Green is in limbo, without a partner. Rather than being content with that, they ought to bolster the Green pairing and use Alzner - Carlson as a cracker jack second pairing.
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George McPhee....The Teflon GM. 15 years of failure and counting....
6 - Number of playoff series the Capitals have won since George McPhee took over as General Manager in 1997 (which makes him the third-longest-tenured GM in the League), three of which came in McPhee's first season on the job.
Sitting by and being "ok" with not signing players that I've mentioned in the last thread was due to your belief we'd be involved with a bigger fish.
You have defended GMGM's actions because of this thought process. Does that still hold true?
That was never the thought process. So no, that doesn't hold true.
I was 'ok' with not signing those players because they weren't significant upgrades and were given generally inflated rates.
I've defended GMGM's actions on that front to this point because I see nothing wrong with them. Mostly, though, I've simply attacked the premise that the Caps are doomed due to their inactivity.
The Caps can win with the lineup they have now. The personnel is good enough going into training camp. It's very possible that the personnel we see now changes by the time camp rolls around, even if no moves are made in the next few days. It's also very likely that there is additional roster movement by the deadline.
It'll be a big mistake if GMGM didn't make a big offer for Suter. You won't ever see me defend his actions on that front, if that's the case.
Yeah, he's paid to score goals which he doesn't do.
It would help if he weren't tasked with carrying his line. Just for fun, lets go through the 30+ goal wingers and see what sort of help they had compared to Semin, and his playing with guys like Johansson, Eakin, and Laich for large parts of the season. And before someone brings up that Semin didn't produce with Backstrom during the playoffs, Backstrom was nowhere near 100%.
Gaborik had Richards
Neal had Malkin/Crosby
Ovechkin had Backstrom
Kovalchuk had Parise, and a combo of Henrique and Zajac at center, both better than Johansson
Kessel had Lupul
Hartnell had Giroux and Jagr
Perry had Getzlaf and Ryan
Moulson had Tavares and Parenteau
Vrbata... not sure who he played with exactly, but his production was a fluke and if he had time with Doan or Whitney, those are both better than what Semin had
Ryder had Ribeiro, Benn, and Eriksson depending on the lines
Cole had Pacioretty
Michalek had Spezza and Alfredsson
Eberle had RNH and Hall
Sharp had Kane, Toews, and Hossa depending on the lines
Pacioretty had Cole
Iginla had Jokinen and Tanguay (and maybe Cammalleri after the trade, he was on a 32-23-55 pace with Calgary)
Parise had Kovalchuk and Henrique/Zajac
Pavelski had Thornton and Marleau
Ryan had Getzlaf and Perry
Pominville had Vanek
Sedin had Sedin
Marleau had Thornton and Pavelski
Nash had Prospal and Brassard (not saying much, but better than what Semin had)
Kane had Wheeler (quietest 47 assist season ever)
Clarkson... possibly Elias? I don't remember how they configured their lines
The point is that virtually no one in this league scores without help. Blaming Semin for not scoring without taking into consideration the extent to which he had to carry his line is entirely missing the point.
I mean, is it really possible the Caps are not doing anything other than a few cheaper, mid-tier signings??!
Is McPhee so arrogant as to not make any deadline pickups, trim the roster in the offseason and only fill it back up with mid-tier players and promotions?
I can't believe he's not working on at least one significant addition.
Am I the only one who keeps looking at Jagr thinking he would be the best fit skill-wise/value-wise for our team, and then punches himself in the stomach because I hate Jagr more than anyone? We don't need a long-term stud. We need someone to hold down the fort while Kuznetsov and Forsberg get ready for the NHL. But I hate Jagr. Hate hate hate hate.
I don't think the large contracts to the prize free agents give their clubs too much heartburn. You're getting a gem with Suter or Parise.
It seems to me that the ones that burn you later are the $3.5M to $4.5M contracts that tend to pile up. You may give one of them to a mediocre player this year, or maybe two of them. Yet if you gave one or two out last year as well, pretty soon you can have $12M in ill-conceived contracts on your hands, and little room to maneuver your way out from underneath them.
So I'd rather see teams go big than go for moderate returns. Yet if you can't go big because you can't compete, or because you opt not to, then resist the urge to snap up the middling guys for far more than they are worth. Those are the ones that can kill you, if you are carrying four or five of them.
I'm not sure McPhee let too many guys go yesterday, whom I'd want for the contracts they signed. As long as he has a plan for the trade market, I'm on board with that approach.
I mean, is it really possible the Caps are not doing anything other than a few cheaper, mid-tier signings??!
Is McPhee so arrogant as to not make any deadline pickups, trim the roster in the offseason and only fill it back up with mid-tier players and promotions?
I can't believe he's not working on at least one significant addition.
I don't think McPhee's arrogance has anything to do with it. My read is similar to Drake's--there's some sort of internal budget in place.
It's either that, or he's got something up his sleeve that involves bringing in a high-salary player(s).
Honestly, if we were going to dumpster dive, Boyes for a million bucks is a ****ing steal. The fact we missed that boat, if we end up with nothing but our broken ****ing misfit toys, I'll cry.
Those big up-front expenditures are just a shock to the system. Not a lot of owners are comfortable doing that. Quietly, I don't think Leonsis is giving McPhee the green light to play in those waters.
It wasn't so long ago that $70M was what the Colorados and Detroits and NYRs and Philadelphias and no one else were willing to spend. That's a crazy number, inflation notwithstanding. To couple that with salary that can push actual payroll well into the eighties... well, that's high.
Misdirection.....Hilarious. What's negative is you constantly harassing other posters with this crap. Debate the topic kid, not your personal agenda.
Just a few of your more recent posts in the Semin's Future thread:
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Originally Posted by CCF
Glad the hardline Semin fans are buying into each others BS....it helps keep the delusions alive.
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Originally Posted by CCF
LOL...funny. Nice Stargate reference. They're fighting for their favorite player. I can't blame them even if it is misplaced. And you're right, every time Semin has a good game, we'll get the same 3-5 posters chiming in on it. Similarly, if McPhee doesn't replace him with adequate production, we'll hear about it.
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Originally Posted by CCF
Sometimes I wonder if you can even follow your own convoluted logic....
What ARE you arguing for at this point honestly? Do you want a last breath of respect for Semin before he leaves town? Sure seems like we're all spinning our wheels here explaining what everyone knows to a few Semin fans who refuse to accept it (or just have blinders on).
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCF
As any REAL Caps fan does....
There are fans of players and fans of teams. I can tell you what most of us are and what a handful of posters here are. Many arriving after #8 did.
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Originally Posted by CCF
Kids know it all....go figure. I seem to remember that from my days in college too...
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCF
Of course, Semin singlehandedly makes every other player on the ice with him a Superstar. I can't believe nobody stepped up and offered a big trade for this one of a kind player.
Fwiw, the Kovalchuk contract, often cited as the stupidity of the long cap circumventing deal, has a NPV of $74.7 million. Assuming those loopholes aren't available, I believe Kovy could have gotten a 10 year $95 million deal. That carries a NPV $73.4 million. I'm using a discount rate of 5% on both. The rate doesnt matter as long as you use the same one on both.
Basically, the front loaded cap circumventing deals don't really hurt the owners in the pocketbook (at least in this case) and it makes the players happy.
Clearly.
