While I might be inclined to replace GMGM, I would like to retain the scouting staff, Fishman and the others who aren't involved in specific locker room decisions.
I'm coming around on making a change at the GM level, but unlike most of you I'm also 100% happy to keep GMGM around. The guy built a hell of a team, and as recently as July of 2011 he made some moves that were, on the whole, almost universally applauded.
There's a reason everyone though the Caps would be good this year: they should have been good this year because of the work done by GMGM.
EDIT: Also, I don't think GMGM gets enough credit for turning around the finances of this team. He took a team that was near the bottom of the league in revenue and attendance and turned it into a team that sells out more often than not. Now, rather than being a cap floor team, they spend beyond the cap on a regular basis. That's a major accomplishment, and it's one that will make the team better in the long run.
Last edited by Devil Dancer: 03-03-2012 at 03:47 PM.
I'm coming around on making a change at the GM level, but unlike most of you I'm also 100% happy to keep GMGM around. The guy built a hell of a team, and as recently as July of 2011 he made some moves that were, on the whole, almost universally applauded.
There's a reason everyone though the Caps would be good this year: they should have been good this year because of the work done by GMGM.
I have to agree that this team looked pretty damn good on paper when the season started. 2C seemed to be the only question mark, and it's close to impossible to have a flawless team in the salary cap era.
For me, it's really just Ovechkin not being Ovechkin, and his funk has rubbed off on the rest of the team.
I have to agree that this team looked pretty damn good on paper when the season started. 2C seemed to be the only question mark, and it's close to impossible to have a flawless team in the salary cap era.
For me, it's really just Ovechkin not being Ovechkin, and his funk has rubbed off on the rest of the team.
Ovechkin can't skate through 3 guys and score. He's great but he's not that great. My only complains about Vech is that he ought shoot more and he ought to play hard in the D zone instead of cherry-picking. Oh and the league ought to let him hit people. But he's on the ice with the stoney handers like Chim, Laich, Ward, Hendricks. Brouwer is better but his hands are only average. Mojo doesn't have great hockey sense.
If Green, Backstrom, Vech and Semin are ever on the PP we might see the high octane O again. But complaining about Vech when his line mates are **** is a mistake. Do you want to run him out of town?
Ovechkin can't skate through 3 guys and score. He's great but he's not that great. My only complains about Vech is that he ought shoot more and he ought to play hard in the D zone instead of cherry-picking. Oh and the league ought to let him hit people. But he's on the ice with the stoney handers like Chim, Laich, Ward, Hendricks. Brouwer is better but his hands are only average. Mojo doesn't have great hockey sense.
If Green, Backstrom, Vech and Semin are ever on the PP we might see the high octane O again. But complaining about Vech when his line mates are **** is a mistake. Do you want to run him out of town?
I'm sure you know better than this. Ovechkin scored 52 goals with Dainius Zubrus as his center and pretty much no one else with any skill on the roster at all. If you've watched the games this season, you know that Ovechkin has been terrible in many games. He has shown flashes of the play that his contract requires him to produce, but only flashes.
And yeah, I do basically want to run him out of town for it. The team would be better off built around someone else.
Zubrus wasn't a bad player. A legit 2nd liner (shoulda been a winger). Who else was on that team? Was the PP any good?
We'll disagree I'm sure. That's fine. Vech can play harder, I'm sure. But there is a spiritual component to this (I don't mean religion). There's an emotional part--a player can only gve so much. Vech played his heart out for years until after the Montreal series. Last year was weird--Backstrom was terrible and Vech was pretty bad, too, in the regular season. Semin, too. It's like their fire went dim. I think it's just not fun the way the team is right now. Laich isn't very good. Ward is less good. Mojo not ready yada yada yada. It's easy to say play hard but Vech knows this team is going in the wrong direction. And, amazingly, the league doesn't like his style to boot. The Caps need centers and the environment has to get fun again.
Of course, Vech shot the puck every time down the ice then. He passes way too much now, esp. because his line mates are a joke. But he'll never shoot the puck that much again. And he was new to the NHL and fired up about it. We know the NHL has put the kabosh on his enthusiasm. He skipped an All-Star Game for heaven's sake. That's terrible and I don't blame him!
Here's my point: If Vech played out of his mind this year and scored 120 pts it wouldn't be good enough to make this team a contender. He knows that himself. Ice hockey is an emotional game. Right now, he is not picking up good vibrations from this team because they are not there.
Not everyone watches that ridiculous "sport". Excuse me. And given your propensity for name-calling and tacky posts, I figured it was more of the same. I apologize.
At least I did say you were right about needing a shake-up for the team even though I was, until very recently, a big GMGM supporter.
Stay classy kid. Your McPhee piloted ship is going down. Big supporter...No ****.....go figure.
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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.
Last edited by CapitalsCupFantasy: 03-03-2012 at 05:31 PM.
I'm coming around on making a change at the GM level, but unlike most of you I'm also 100% happy to keep GMGM around. The guy built a hell of a team, and as recently as July of 2011 he made some moves that were, on the whole, almost universally applauded.
There's a reason everyone though the Caps would be good this year: they should have been good this year because of the work done by GMGM.
EDIT: Also, I don't think GMGM gets enough credit for turning around the finances of this team. He took a team that was near the bottom of the league in revenue and attendance and turned it into a team that sells out more often than not. Now, rather than being a cap floor team, they spend beyond the cap on a regular basis. That's a major accomplishment, and it's one that will make the team better in the long run.
Here's the biggest issue IMO, because you're right, he's done some great things and is no dummy. I actually think he's pretty shrewd, but there comes a time when you only get so many chances. Having a superstar talent adds the pressure to win and expectations. 14 years he's had. Wasn't it McPhee who said about Hanlon that some people who start this journey won't be here to see it end? Well his time is up if this team misses the playoffs IMO.
As for selling tickets...Ovechkin and company. Nothing to do with McPhee other than being the guy who's lap Ovy fell into.
But even in these sh1tty times, I can't say I miss Boudreau. Too many playoff series where the team just looked.. outcoached (among other things). The last series against Tampa was just mind-numbingly awful.
OV plays to his contract and Backstrom doesn't get hurt then we would be sitting pretty.
I blame McPhee for the lack of center prospects but not the lack of effort when they get trounces.
Motivation seems the same. Less fast breaks, too many men penalties, and bad line changes under Hunter.
That said we need new blood
The lack of a legit 2C is a significant problem. The biggest problem however is his coaching choices. Not one coach he's brought on has had ANY NHL head coaching experience. The only one of the 4 with any success was Boudreau but that was regular season only.
Cassidy 47-45-8-7
Hanlon 49-84-9
boudreau 201-88-40
Hunter is not fairing well.
The team GMGM has put together should be better on paper but they are dysfunctional at best right now. There is no excuse for choosing coaches with no NHL experience 4 times in a row. This is a complete failure on the GM's part. IMO it should cost him his job the day we are eliminated from the playoffs.
But even in these sh1tty times, I can't say I miss Boudreau. Too many playoff series where the team just looked.. outcoached (among other things). The last series against Tampa was just mind-numbingly awful.
well....one sure way to avoid playoff disappointments is to miss the playoffs entirely.
Stay classy kid. Your McPhee piloted ship is going down. Big supporter...No ****.....go figure.
That's funny coming from you.
And reading is fundamental. I said I was starting to agree that it was time for a change. If you can't see the good the man has done for the team in the past then that's on you.
Typical of your posts...everyone who doesn't agree with your opinion is a moron and deserves to be treated with contempt and disrespect. I'm not the only one here who thinks GMGM has done some good.
My biggest complaint against Bruce in the playoffs and in general, he was slow to adjust.
Now George takes a lot of heat for his choices of coaches. But I think Dale is clearly showing he is a tactician. Its probably too much to implement mid season at the country club, but he got started on problems he saw. That's all I ever really wanted from Bruce in the playoffs. Maybe a shadow or shutdown line, tested and tried during the season, and one or two more goalie changes back to his number 1s, that's it.
Implementing a coach like Dale may have been best served done in the offseason, WRT the amount of change he implemented, or George wanted implemented. When a team just stops listening to a coach, the new one comes in, the problem is gone. But we had more problems than that. Ovi had been suddenly solved by the league. Green, out. Lame duck G play. We had to win games as team.
But you can't fully complain about the noob coaches and turn a blind eye to BBs overnight successes. He did damn good. Reinforcing to George perhaps, a noob can do fine.
George has done a lot of good, but with our C situation and Goalie play, I am not certain that ringer coach you wanted would have been able to do better than what we have seen the past 3 months. Those are his fault.
