No pre-season games and a compacted schedule sure doesn't help ease in a new coach & system. More than most teams it'll be important that all players get back in town in a hurry...and that they become quick learners. I'm not overly confident on that last part.
No pre-season games and a compacted schedule sure doesn't help ease in a new coach & system. More than most teams it'll be important that all players get back in town in a hurry...and that they become quick learners. I'm not overly confident on that last part.
Ya, a big 6 day "training camp" for this team to learn a new system doesn't really make me confident going into this shortened season.
BTW I DEFINITLEY see this being the future roster of the Capitals. Possibly as early as 2013-2014 you see the players in bold make it onto the Capitals. This is the best future roster we could possibly assemble, although we could win the Cup before this:
Overall: definitley not alot of defensive depth for the Caps. That's weird saying that. I think they'll probably hold onto Schultz until they find someone better. Offense is pretty darn good even if Ribeiro leaves town. Riley Barber and Stanislav Galiev still waiting in the wings. Garrett Mitchell isn't doing bad in Hershey and Zach Hamill could be a steal.
I left Brouwer, Chimera, and Perreault there for the sake of argument. I think one of them will be gone shortly. I think Brouwer could possibly rebound. I think you need to push guys like Chimera and Brouwer to the lower lines to have success.
Last edited by I Am Score*: 01-06-2013 at 11:11 AM.
He could certainly have scored more but he was still good, and he was still one of the three best forwards on the team.
True, but the Swedes were pretty pissed at him on here for choking in big situations. I think it'll come with time. The guy already has a Gold and a Silver.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystlyfe
OP clearly doesn't understand the purpose of a grinder.
Been a fan of my whole life and grinders aren't a necessity as previously thought. You need some but not the amount we "supposedly" have. Laich is a physical forward but can also score. Brouwer is a physical forward that can also score IF he is consistent.
Grinder is a physical player who also can have speed but doesn't score many goals, fights for every inch of the ice. We've got too many as it is.
Tom Wilson is a grinder or tough guy if there ever was one. There is a difference between a guy like Matt Hendricks and a typical grinder. Hendricks was thought to be just a tough guy but we discovered he actually has great hands and can be a very well rounded lower tier player. Players that can't play well rounded don't deserve to make an NHL roster.
EDIT: Johansson has been semi-disappointing but he is still learning. He's at least a top three center. Ribeiro is going to overshadow him for now but the guy has talent if you pair him with the right individuals and coaching. I really like Johansson a lot and I think any team in the NHL would put him on their third line.
* backstrom has a neck injury and was mentioned as week to week. i would guess its possible that he may not be ready for nhl play to start.
* i dont know what orlov's issue is.
* ribiero is very unlikely a future player. he is more likely a one year stop gap player holding a position to be taken by johansson or someone else. with the young forwards the caps have coming making any long a commitment to ribiero doesnt make much sense.
* has johansson been a disappointment? maybe i dont remember the hype being that he was going to be more than a solid 2nd line level player. which he seems to be developing into.
* green is on the hot seat. no question. i would not predict him to fail, however. the caps are offensively challenged if he continues to struggle.
* what more does the op expect to get out of beagle? he is a checker. a shutdown checker. if he continues to be successful in that role he need not score much. my only complaint with him was more to do with hunter giving him ovechkin like minutes in his super turtle system.
* backstrom has a neck injury and was mentioned as week to week. i would guess its possible that he may not be ready for nhl play to start.
* i dont know what orlov's issue is.
* ribiero is very unlikely a future player. he is more likely a one year stop gap player holding a position to be taken by johansson or someone else. with the young forwards the caps have coming making any long a commitment to ribiero doesnt make much sense.
* has johansson been a disappointment? maybe i dont remember the hype being that he was going to be more than a solid 2nd line level player. which he seems to be developing into.
* green is on the hot seat. no question. i would not predict him to fail, however. the caps are offensively challenged if he continues to struggle.
* what more does the op expect to get out of beagle? he is a checker. a shutdown checker. if he continues to be successful in that role he need not score much. my only complaint with him was more to do with hunter giving him ovechkin like minutes in his super turtle system.
So do you think trading Eakin for Ribeiro was worth just 1 season? I see them signing him to an extension this season for maybe 1 or 2 sesaons just to ease the transition.
Also I think Johansson was expected to take over the 2C last season but kind of got forced into playing a higher role last season with Backstroms long absence. Hopefully they stop playing him at wing and let him get back to C. I think he is much better there
Hendricks was thought to be just a tough guy but we discovered he actually has great hands and can be a very well rounded lower tier player. Players that can't play well rounded don't deserve to make an NHL roster..
dont mistake hendricks shootout moves with having hands. hendricks cant score goals in actual game play. he cant pass. he cant catch and shoot. he cant shoot.
he has a bag of tricks for breakaway moves which he nearly never gets to use in an actual game.
further. hendricks is not a checker in a defensive sense. he is hitter. he is an energy player. dale hunter would never match hendricks up against a top scoring winger to shut him down.
i like hendricks but he is a one dimensional 4th liner who is valuable in the shootout as a bonus.
* backstrom has a neck injury and was mentioned as week to week. i would guess its possible that he may not be ready for nhl play to start.
* i dont know what orlov's issue is.
* ribiero is very unlikely a future player. he is more likely a one year stop gap player holding a position to be taken by johansson or someone else. with the young forwards the caps have coming making any long a commitment to ribiero doesnt make much sense.
* has johansson been a disappointment? maybe i dont remember the hype being that he was going to be more than a solid 2nd line level player. which he seems to be developing into.
* green is on the hot seat. no question. i would not predict him to fail, however. the caps are offensively challenged if he continues to struggle.
* what more does the op expect to get out of beagle? he is a checker. a shutdown checker. if he continues to be successful in that role he need not score much. my only complaint with him was more to do with hunter giving him ovechkin like minutes in his super turtle system.
I think more needs to come from Beagle. I mean, even our checking guys need to contribute SOME points. Beagle had 5 in 40 games with a -2.
I agree with Ribeiro, he's not a future player and is aging. I think he'll stay for a bit like Knuble and Fedorov, though. Definitley more than one season unless a Cup is won.
I would go this for centers, assuming Kuznetsov is on the first line with Ovi once Ribeiro leaves:
Backstrom
Johansson
Laich
Hendricks
If you want to put Kuznetsov as the 2nd center, fine. But you are leaving the first line wide open and breaking up two Swedes in Johansson and Forsberg which could be a deadly 2nd line duo.
So do you think trading Eakin for Ribeiro was worth just 1 season? I see them signing him to an extension this season for maybe 1 or 2 sesaons just to ease the transition.
trading eakin and a non-first round pick is sop for mcphee when acquiring a rental. yes.
This guy is big time. I don't think we'll let him go until he is 35, which means two/three more seasons (unless a Cup is won then he'd be the first guy out along with Chimera and Brouwer).
I think more needs to come from Beagle. I mean, even our checking guys need to contribute SOME points. Beagle had 5 in 40 games with a -2.
I agree with Ribeiro, he's not a future player and is aging. I think he'll stay for a bit like Knuble and Fedorov, though. Definitley more than one season unless a Cup is won.
I would go this for centers, assuming Kuznetsov is on the first line with Ovi once Ribeiro leaves:
Backstrom
Johansson
Laich
Hendricks
If you want to put Kuznetsov as the 2nd center, fine. But you are leaving the first line wide open and breaking up two Swedes in Johansson and Forsberg which could be a deadly 2nd line duo.
knuble and fedorov where huge successes and leaders. you think ribiero is going have a major impact this season? ribiero is a nice player, but he is nothing like either fedorov or knuble. that is a bad comparison.
hendrick just is not a center and frankly i am not sure that laich isnt a better top 6 winger than a match up center. i am not at all convinced that laich is as good a match up center as beagle. i am pretty sure that mcphee likes beagle a lot. so....
knuble and fedorov where huge successes and leaders. you think ribiero is going have a major impact this season? ribiero is a nice player, but he is nothing like either fedorov or knuble. that is a bad comparison.
hendrick just is not a center and frankly i am not sure that laich isnt a better top 6 winger than a match up center. i am not at all convinced that laich is as good a match up center as beagle. i am pretty sure that mcphee likes beagle a lot. so....
Maybe moving laich up to a wing spot and beagle to 3C? I could see that, and that might justify Laichs contract if he can get his scoring up a bit on the wing
This guy is big time. I don't think we'll let him go until he is 35, which means two/three more seasons (unless a Cup is won then he'd be the first guy out along with Chimera and Brouwer).
ribiero is big time? i think the consensus on ribiero is that he is a flawed player that fits the caps needs for now. big time i never saw mentioned.
Maybe moving laich up to a wing spot and beagle to 3C? I could see that, and that might justify Laichs contract if he can get his scoring up a bit on the wing
i think laich's contract is justified by his overall flexibility to the lineup. because he can play all three forward positions on both a top 6 and 3rd line level and can also play 1st unit power play and first unit penalty kill, he gives mcphee some real roster flexibility.
i also think if the caps power play resumes a decent level of production, laich's offensive numbers will look more like they should
Considering Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro didn't play on the same line and Jamie Benn took the defensive pressure that Richards previously faced, how would Richards' departure impact Ribeiro?
Considering Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro didn't play on the same line and Jamie Benn took the defensive pressure that Richards previously faced, how would Richards' departure impact Ribeiro?
Yes I did. I predicted it from the beginning.. I took one look at the Kings roster before the playoffs even started and said "Wow, this team is winning the Cup. All-around talent". So don't make it look out like I have no idea what i'm talking about. I didn't just shoot in the dark here, I saw their overall depth and was amazed. Even at the goaltender position they are stacked (Quick AND Bernier)
You can't go based on each past NHL playoffs, each one is different. What wins you games in longetivity are all-around players. Boston won the year before and some would say "okay, let's make our team tougher" but how long did that last? Boston is suddenly a complete mystery what's going to happen. Both teams had to ride an extremely hot goaltender to the Cup finals to win it.
If you want to get past the first or second round you need all-around players. Even to win the Cup you need all around good players. Those "tough guys" you're talking about still helped produce with the team. Dustin Penner is considered a big guy and look what he did? Even Dustin Brown who was once considered a scrap player helped dramatically .They are pointless if they are going around hitting people and no one on their line can score.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystlyfe
Considering Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro didn't play on the same line and Jamie Benn took the defensive pressure that Richards previously faced, how would Richards' departure impact Ribeiro?
Brad Richards was that team. Ribeiro still has success when he has virtually no one around him other than Benn and Eriksson. I can guarantee you he will have success with whoever is on his line this season. He's a very promising player, one of the most underrated in the league. People will expect guys like Ovechkin, Laich, maybe Johansson to have a big season. Watch out for Ribeiro.
Quote:
Originally Posted by txpd
@brad, being "a fan of my whole life"....how long as that been? your whole life. it occurs to me maybe you need more life experience.
Nice insult. I'm in college and i've been a fan since the Bondra and Kolzig days. My dog is named Bondra and my favorite all time player is either Kolzig or Halpern. I'm not new to this.
I'm skeptical of Beagle's ability to thrive on this team without Dale as the head coach... but then again, I never thought he'd do as well as he did last year, so what do I know?
i think dale hunter did beagle a diservice by overusing him and by superimposing his ice time with ovechkin's to the point of the ridiculous. as a shutdown center seems to me beagle earned his spot. by benching ovechkin and skating beagle every other shift hunter made beagle the punchline of a joke.
in a balanced approach i would expect to see beagle skating 15 minutes in ties or wins and 12 minutes in games they are behind.
dont mistake hendricks shootout moves with having hands. hendricks cant score goals in actual game play. he cant pass. he cant catch and shoot. he cant shoot.
he has a bag of tricks for breakaway moves which he nearly never gets to use in an actual game.
further. hendricks is not a checker in a defensive sense. he is hitter. he is an energy player. dale hunter would never match hendricks up against a top scoring winger to shut him down.
i like hendricks but he is a one dimensional 4th liner who is valuable in the shootout as a bonus.
Yeah. Beagle isn't really a defensive player either though. He's like an energy player who applies his all-out energy to smothering the other team's forwards. Hendricks could have hands, but just not the composure to show it in game situations, though. I'm not saying he does, but it's possible; it's not like every player on the team routinely pulls off shootout moves like his.
