Max Pacioretty has the exact same number of goals and assists as Ovechkin (in 2 more games). Michael Ryder has the same number of points and two more goals, and a better plus minus by 26, in 5 more games.
That's so simplistic that it's childish. Ovechkin needs to get right, yes. But the team that has been cobbled together around him is garbage. Even if he does go back to superstar play, we already know that he can't take us far by himself.
Compare this team to Pittsburgh and how they've built around Malkin. Even when he was underperforming and they were ravaged by injuries, they were competitive.
i give you all of what you say as correct. the pens are good and the caps suck. the pens can win without malkin. good on them. i believe that before his knee injury malkin was having a very unmalkin like season and his team was suffering.
ovechkin out or gone and ovechkin in and sucking have a different impact. you think the team is energized when the coach benches ov?
here's the thing i was trying to say that you ignored entirely. build the team you want my friend. if ov is sucking wind he is a huge drag on the team. this team inflates when ov is in an ov like streak. they shrink when ov flattens out. he is their life's blood. it either flows or it doesnt.,
you can change all the players and coaches and managers and owners that you want. if ovechkin is on the team, the will go as 8 goes. its an issue that has to be addressed.
Ovechkin is the suckiest sucker in the history of sucking.
Backs has a jello head.
Neuvy has already reached his ceiling in terms of potential.
Bruce Boudreau is fat.
Jeff Schultz sometimes forgets to hold his "9" key on his android phone, so sometimes his frowny faces appear ":9" to people. He's not licking a lollipop, folks.
Hamr actually likes it here, he's just doing some sort of like Scandanavian submarine reverse psychology move to the media.
McPhee "has a vision".
Fat Ted is Fat Ted and I think he's missing his Golden Corral Pal, Bruce.
Ovechkin is the suckiest sucker in the history of sucking.
Backs has a jello head.
Neuvy has already reached his ceiling in terms of potential.
Bruce Boudreau is fat.
Jeff Schultz sometimes forgets to hold his "9" key on his android phone, so sometimes his frowny faces appear ":9" to people. He's not licking a lollipop, folks.
Hamr actually likes it here, he's just doing some sort of like Scandanavian submarine reverse psychology move to the media.
McPhee "has a vision".
Fat Ted is Fat Ted and I think he's missing his Golden Corral Pal, Bruce.
this is just a bad team with a horribly overpaid and/or overrated core. its as simple as that. and therein lies the real problem. who are we going to see on the ice next year? ovechkin. mike green. laich. ward. hamrlik. schultz. these laughably overpaid players whose performance isnt in the same league as what it should be. add a double cherry of bad coaching and skank goaltending on top and what do you get? your spent-to-cap about-to-be-12th-place washington capitals. yay.
gonna be a longgggggg decade paying the supposed captain $10M to put up points like scott hartnell on steroids.
i give you all of what you say as correct. the pens are good and the caps suck. the pens can win without malkin. good on them. i believe that before his knee injury malkin was having a very unmalkin like season and his team was suffering.
ovechkin out or gone and ovechkin in and sucking have a different impact. you think the team is energized when the coach benches ov?
here's the thing i was trying to say that you ignored entirely. build the team you want my friend. if ov is sucking wind he is a huge drag on the team. this team inflates when ov is in an ov like streak. they shrink when ov flattens out. he is their life's blood. it either flows or it doesnt.,
you can change all the players and coaches and managers and owners that you want. if ovechkin is on the team, the will go as 8 goes. its an issue that has to be addressed.
You just did a great job of addressing it actually.
In 2010 Malkin had an off year. Despite that, the Pens went to the conference Semis -further than us!
So, yes a good supporting cast makes a big difference.
With the specific issue of ****** play from your superstar, look at Malkin again. He admitted that he slacked off in 2010. He rededicated himself to the game and now look at him. Ovechkin can do the same.
You just did a great job of addressing it actually.
In 2010 Malkin had an off year. Despite that, the Pens went to the conference Semis -further than us!
So, yes a good supporting cast makes a big difference.
With the specific issue of ****** play from your superstar, look at Malkin again. He admitted that he slacked off in 2010. He rededicated himself to the game and now look at him. Ovechkin can do the same.
Difference being is all Malkin see around him is greatness. Mario wasn't a fitness nut or anything close but he played hard every game and through a ton of pain at times. Crosby obviously has an undeniably great work ethic. It took Malkin a couple years but he finally caught on to that
Ovechkin doesn't seem to have much of that but seriously what does he look around and see Leonsis god damn moron, Mcphee who does nothing. He knows he can get away with the bare minimum he knows the organization isn't going to **** around with him.
It's got nothing to do with what Malkin saw around him. It had to do with Malkin looking at his own performance.
Did he even train with any of his teammates in the offseason?
Ovechkin coming in early for personal sessions with Nemish and getting his weight down was a good first step, but he's gotta take it further.
I think it's ignorant to say it had nothing to do with that. Malkins obviously seen all that and took a hard look in the mirror.
Honestly I think Ovechkin needs to be in better shape but mainly he needs to grow as a player define himself a little bit differently . He needs to follow Kovalchuks lead. Work more give and go's, take the right side more, take the puck in full flight from the goal line, more changes of speed, use your body to protect the puck more, get back to finding soft areas, get in and battle for the puck instead of letting teammates, hit later in the games not only in first five minutes and even chip the puck in once in awhile
When you play for a franchise that has a history of great success and you play with a guy like Crosby who appears to be the consumate pro, seems like Malkin grew up and just finally fell into line. Not sure how the Caps establish that, but I would start with a stronger leadership core and try to find one damned Sr Russian player to play dad to these knuckleheads like Feds and Kozlov did.
__________________
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: 03-05-2012 at 02:47 PM.
I think Hammer was fine, but then I don't think he's significantly better than the any of the current d-men to say that he'd make a big difference. I agree that Hunter probably didn't handle it well overall, but I don't think that it has made a big effect. We're struggling to score, and Hamrlik would've made very little effect there.
As for this team's overall struggles, I'd put it overwhelmingly on management's shoulders, even though I agree that overall Hunter has not shown anything tactically to say that he's a good fit for this team. But, first of all, with a giant hole at center and a slumping Ovi, it's not clear that ANY coach would've been able to have any kind of great success with this team. Second of all, some systems are hard to institute mid-season, so (reluctantly) I think you have to give Hunter a bit of a pass on that. But most importantly, McPhee knew, or should've known what kind of coach Hunter was and what kind of systems he was comfortable running.. so overall that's still on McPhee.
I like Hunter's overall enforcement of accountability, though. Whoever is the Caps' coach going forward, I sure hope that this "feature" stays.
I'll preface this by saying I enjoy your articulate responses.
In an earlier post I had mentioned that I thought Hunter may have upset the team dynamics on the defence. I have to thank Dima for making some comments that may or may not support my theory. LOL
Now looking back at the games since Hamrlik has been out and going by memory recall the pairing of Wideman and Orlov have been on ice for quite a few goals I do believe. So that's kinda what I meant in upsetting the dynamics.
Good read. We are younger on the blue than even you imagined we would be. I have long preferred green horn offensive kids with steady eddie vets as a basic first step mentoring no brainer. Anyone else on our blueline fit that mold?
Alzner maybe, but he is a greenhorn himself. Maybe Sarge in a few years. Sarge's fate almost seems tied to George. Regardless, those are all LD's and Orlov is now a LD until Wides is gone.
So his steady eddie potential mentoring partners are Green Carlson or Wideman.
I would stick him with Green if he struggles. Or sit the all star, which may be best for our team anyways.
Good read. We are younger on the blue than even you imagined we would be. I have long preferred green horn offensive kids with steady eddie vets as a basic first step mentoring no brainer. Anyone else on our blueline fit that mold?
You want Mike Green mentoring kids?
Can apply for citizenship in your lala land where everything is made of chocolate and I get a free house?
Can apply for citizenship in your lala land where everything is made of chocolate and I get a free house?
I presume you see no value in pairing an older player and newer, or maybe you want Hammer back in over Sarge. What are your choices.
Sure I would rather see Orlov with Green than Orlov with Wideman. And maybe even Carlson too, although I think he has plugged the hole in the dyke of late.
It only takes a few shifts to see if its good or bad. Even an idiot living in lalaland knows changes happen on the fly in hockey, nothing is etched in stone.
