i dont know the answer to this question. so, i am open to the actual answer. which team that has won the cup or even gone to the finals in the salary cap era has traded off a sure fire front line player(either young nhl or nhl ready prospect) for a player or players that made a big difference?
the bruins raided good young players out of florida and toronto to get their win. it was not the other way around. the flyers raided atlanta in their desperation. the blackhawks kept their young players or am i missing something? the pens traded gologoski. the wings dont give up much unless you are thinking tomas fleischmann qualifies.
the flyers did trade some big pieces this off season. how are they doing exactly? since our guys are been struggling so much maybe we havent noticed that they are 6th, one point from 7th and falling into the clutches of....gasp...the capitals.
i look at the flyers and see the team so many want here. aggressive and active and doing everything they can do to win.....or....they are thrashing to remain relivant and make one unnecessary mistake after another.
First off, it's "America's Hockey Capital," not team. Not really important, though. Silly marketing ploy, either way.
I haven't been around, so I bet a bunch of this has been said already and the topic has been beaten into the ground. But I'm going to say it anyway.
I'm more or less okay with McPhee not making additions at the deadline. Only 15 trades even happened, so it's really not that surprising we didn't make a trade. It's not as if Toronto, Florida, Winnipeg, or Ottawa made major additions. Pretty much the only team in the East that added considerably was Boston, and one of their moves was a guy on waivers the day before. It really would have been nice to make a move that keeps Keith Aucoin out of our top 6, though.
I'm more frustrated that McPhee didn't take advantage of the market and move some of the $7M we pay to sit in the press box for a solid return. If we're not going to play Knuble, Hamrlik, or Erskine we shouldn't be keeping them around to eat up that much cap space and money. Hamrlik and Erskine make waaaaay too much to be #7 and #8 on the defensive depth chart, especially when we've made two moves this year to add defensive depth in Hershey. I can tolerate one overpaid defenseman losing his spot to Orlov, but we certainly don't need two (especially when they both have term remaining). Knuble's on an expiring contract and I like the guy, so I can live with him being kept. I get that depth is important, especially in the playoffs (cue Jim Mora), but this is mildly absurd.
What I don't buy is throwing McPhee completely under the bus and continuing to make him the scapegoat for this team's problems. Is he a factor? Yes. Possibly a very large factor. But the problems extend well beyond him and he has, in large part, done a good job assembling a roster that can compete and remain competitive for an extended period of time. We've reached the playoffs twice as often as we've missed it during his tenure. He's done a much better job than many other GMs adapting to the salary cap era.
Especially given the hilarious revisionist history concerning our last scapegoat, Boudreau, it's amusing the kind of hate McPhee takes. Boudreau was a great coach until McPhee forced him to change his style? Why can't it be that McPhee was a great GM until Leonsis/Patrick/the big bad media/Jimmy Hoffa forced him to change the type of team he wanted to build? People's desire to continue demonizing a single individual as the root cause of the teams' issues is hilarious to watch. Who next? Leonsis? Patrick? Ovechkin? Bergenheim?
The players deserve to take more of the blame than they do. And not just certain skapegoat players. But this is a team that was generally praised during the off-season as being well constructed. They have underachieved given each of their resumes. I'm not in the locker room, I don't know what's going on in there. But I'd assume that whatever has festered this season isn't as simple as removing a player or two or bringing in a good veteran presence. It might just take time and a fresh season to fix it.
This team has struggled, but I don't see a reason to blow up the blueprint. Retool and make adjustments in the off-season. One bad year is not a reason to use the nuclear option. There's still a lot of useful players on this team and it has the upside required.
The bolded + Wideman seem to be the reasons most are pissed (including myself). He had a chance to get some value for players that are even playing (thus helping the organization going forward) and the chance to get a relative King's ransom on a player who's ice time is diminishing, plays at the position of the team's greatest excess, and won't have a place going forward.
I remember i once thought Semin was just as good as Kessel. Sadly i think Semin still thinks he should be paid like Kessel
And to Defend GMGM on not dumping the 7m in contracts. Was their any reports that teams had offers on Hamrlik. Hard to believe he wouldnt move him if someone was willing to take him.
And to Defend GMGM on not dumping the 7m in contracts. Was their any reports that teams had offers on Hamrlik. Hard to believe he wouldnt move him if someone was willing to take him.
Yes. Teams had offered futures, GMGM wanted a young forward.
Was their any reports that teams had offers on Hamrlik. Hard to believe he wouldnt move him if someone was willing to take him.
Several. And we owe that guy $3.5M NEXT season. All the rest you can make cases for hanging on to; We need Wideman for the playoffs, Knubes isn't paid much and has been a good soldier, Vokoun is paid next to nothing and can play at an elite level, etc. But Hammer? Inexcusable that he's still here. He sucks, he's p!ssed, and he's under contract for another year. But George wouldn't settle for "just futures." I'd have given someone a 3rd just to take Hammer.
Yes. Teams had offered futures, GMGM wanted a young forward.
Did he specify what kind of futures?
Granted, I personally would take future considerations at this point, but similar to Ward and Laich maybe GMGM still thinks the player is worth the price he's being paid more than I do, especially if the team makes the playoffs.
My peeve is that if he thinks he's worth keeping around, he needs to communicate that to the coaching staff so that he's not stuck in scratchville forever. And maybe he has/is, I don't know.
Of course, they can just spin this as saving him up for the playoffs.
Granted, I personally would take future considerations at this point, but similar to Ward and Laich maybe GMGM still thinks the player is worth the price he's being paid more than I do, especially if the team makes the playoffs.
My peeve is that if he thinks he's worth keeping around, he needs to communicate that to the coaching staff so that he's not stuck in scratchville forever. And maybe he has/is, I don't know.
Of course, they can just spin this as saving him up for the playoffs.
As far as I know, he did not specify.
I agree with you that future considerations would have been enough for me. It's a bad contract that, along with Schultz (and Poti) might handicap you next year. If you can get anything for it, you should make that trade. Doubly so after the player called out the coach in the press.
Ah............no love for Hamrlik. Maybe GMGM kept him around because many others (fans, media) are making a bigger deal out of it than what it is. Or maybe not. Nobody knows. But his teammates appear on the surface to be supporting both players and both players from what has been said and written are supporting their teammates as they watch.
And they maybe kept him around because he is and can be a good player. Under Hunter there really isn't anything in the way of stats (points, PIM, + / -, Corsi/Fenwick) that refutes that. His plus / minus (under Hunter) is the best on the team. And Wideman defensively seems to get a free pass from some. He's been hidden on the third pair and still has been awful. I don't know WTH Schultz was doing on that GA last night.
The best thing that could have happened with Hamrlik was that someone (Hunter, Johnson) explained to him why he was being sat before the media prompted him with what they got from Hunter. With emotions running high on his (scratch, trade rumors galore) end maybe keeping him from the media would have been the best route until player and coach(s) had a chance to communicate their differences. It was poorly done by Caps' PR and possibly coaches. Did you happen to notice a day after all of the trade hoopla all three players scratched were kept from the media? Good. Lesson learned until they can get their emotions in check and things can refocus on the task at hand.
For as lifeless as some of these players have looked you'd think someone showing a pulse wouldn't be hated so much. McPhee and teammates have said as much. Hopefully they'll win the Stanley Cup, all live happily ever after, and laugh about it over a beer.
Hunter is a rookie NHL coach. Given the situation I wonder if he's learned anything. He invited Knuble into his office and offered an explanation for his being scratched. To date that same courtesy hasn't been extended to Hamrlik as far as I can tell.
Geez......cut the guy a break. Despite being a veteran he's only been traded twice. He's been a healthy scratch maybe for the first time since he was an eighteen year old kid. Rumors were swirling around him like bees. And with the internet I'm sure he grasps those rumors quicker than ever.
The bottom line for me is that Hamrlik was the guy on the ice with Green out, not Schultz. He was the guy toting different D partners every other night. When Carlson struggled he was put with Hamr and now is back playing better with Alzner. Kundratek's babysitter was Hamr. Orlov's babysitter has been primarily Hamr. Many nights with Green out it was Carlson, Alzner, Wideman, Hamr and to a lesser extent Orlov carrying the minutes. Now why was that?
I keep repeating myself because nobody seems to be able to provide something substantial to support their claims. Sorry but I find these situations interesting in professional athletics as it is a workplace and business.
Thought maybe I could find an interesting debate on this board instead of one liners. Having said that - I'll be on my way. Good luck to the Washington Capitals (one of my favorite teams too) and your forum.
Have fun..................
Oh..........and Wideman sucks defensively. Hey.........I can do cool one liners too. Yea me!
Kessel. And they used that cap space and roster slot on Horton.
good point. referencing my comment about boston raiding florida and toronto, i didnt see that kessel deal in that way. i took that deal as a varly like deal where the player forced the team to trade him. keeping kessel was not an option for boston as i recall. the player didnt want to be there and forced a trade.
I kind of like the old vets pissed they are being scratched, stealing a little of George's thunder. Hammer could have realized the cupboard was pretty full here, if he demands to play every game. While I don't like him mouthing off or being a bad apple, I can live with his play on the ice, no problem. But as George tends to do, he hords his young players and tries to get FA vets to fit in. While injuries do need to be considered as a GM, so does a full roster.
I know some will say he didn't plan on Orlov being ready, but then I question his judgement of his own picks. I think more than ever, young Dmen can survive just fine in this league. To me, if a D has filled out, can skate shoot hit pass and even bring offense, they are ready. If he wants to live by the draft, he has to play his draft picks when they are ready. He must know when they WILL be ready, as importantly.
Hammers contract next year is not a concern to George. He will just move him at the next deadline, if not Circles his ass.
I can't say it enough. We are going to pay Jeff Schultz, Roman Hamrlik and Tom Poti more money than Ryan Suter will earn next year.
Just FYI -- I kick a puppy every time I come across this observation of yours. So the world currently has two more hurt puppies than necessary -- and it is your fault.
