people who think ovechkin isn't a good leader probably don't watch the caps very often. ovechkin is by far the best leader on the team, and dont say backstrom or brooks f'ing laich
If that's true - I think it says a lot about the Caps as a team. They've had a ton of talent, and Ovie has led to several play-off disappointments. Bottom line for me is that as a team, they've come up small in the play-off's. I don't see how replacing Semin with Ribiero makes the team "compete" level better.
IMO- their best bet for taking the next step is if Alzner & Carlson both make big strides and become the d-pair I think they can be. People forget that it takes much more time for d-men to reach their potential. If those guys both take the next step, the Caps might be able to avoid the disappointments they've had the last 3-4 years.
taking the "C" off of Ovi is a sure fire way to divide a team. he has the "C", and he will until he is playing on another team.
Then your screwed. Ovy is the last guy who I want setting an on and off the ice example for my team. He needs to lose the C if the caps want to start seriously contending. What separates teams that win the cup (Boston, Chicago, LA) from teams who constantly go bust despite dominating the season (Vancouver, Washington, San José) is leadership.
Then your screwed. Ovy is the last guy who I want setting an on and off the ice example for my team. He needs to lose the C if the caps want to start seriously contending. What separates teams that win the cup (Boston, Chicago, LA) from teams who constantly go bust despite dominating the season (Vancouver, Washington, San José) is leadership.
Disagree. You only get to the final four if you already have leadership and talent. Once you're there, the differences between teams narrow dramatically. At that point, any player who isn't inspired will never be, despite who's wearing the "C". What teams really need then is a lucky bounce, a great goal or a great save.
Disagree. You only get to the final four if you already have leadership and talent. Once you're there, the differences between teams narrow dramatically. At that point, any player who isn't inspired will never be, despite who's wearing the "C". What teams really need then is a lucky bounce, a great goal or a great save.
I think people discount the amount of luck that goes into making the finals and or winning the Cup. I believe its Neil Smith that says that the defending champs aren't the best team in the league, they are the winners of the playoffs and there's a big difference.
He isn't a hater either since he's put together a cup winning team.
Then your screwed. Ovy is the last guy who I want setting an on and off the ice example for my team. He needs to lose the C if the caps want to start seriously contending. What separates teams that win the cup (Boston, Chicago, LA) from teams who constantly go bust despite dominating the season (Vancouver, Washington, San José) is leadership.
so if the Canucks won game 7 Henrik Sedin would be a great leader and Chara would be a bad one?
Get rid of Ovechkin and replace him with a superstar center or defender. 9.8 for a 60-70pt forward is very bad for the cap. As long as that albatross is there for 9 more yrs, Caps will continue to be mediocre.
I'd wager 90% of people commenting on the captain situation have never once talked to a caps player in their life. I haven't either so I won't judge. Fans really need to come off talking about the locker room when by and large they have zero idea what happens behind closed doors. This goes for all fan bases imo
Last edited by Flying High: 11-28-2012 at 02:05 PM.
The Caps are an interesting team. I've always liked the personnel, but they seemed to have a mental block stopping them from going all the way. Last season, I viewed them similar to the Kings, in that they were lauded prior to the season, then struggled and fired their coach during the regular season and squeaked into the playoffs.
They were somewhat opposites heading into the postseason, however. The Kings played lights out defense all year, but couldn't score. Getting Carter and Sutter tweaking the offensive philosophy supercharged the Kings, yet they still kept their defensive identity. The Caps tried to go extreme defense mid-season and it sacrificed their offense. It's probably an easier transition to open up the offense than it is to try to become ultra-defensive. That said, they were an brain-dead mistake away from knocking out the Rangers.
I really just don't get the hard on for "gritty defense". When your roster includes Ovechkin, Green, Backstrom, and formerly Semin, don't play gritty D and shackle your best players. It just all seems like a knee jerk copycat reaction to what worked for someone else. It wasn't just Halak either, a lot had to go perfectly right for Montreal to have a chance. The magic of Halak's playoffs makes people forget about Cammalleri and Gionta being absolutely on fire, Plekanec effectively countering Crosby, Malkin, and Ovechkin, and Gill-Gorges being a dynamite shutdown pairing that year. Don't forget that Gomez was actually a top 6 NHL forward that spring.
I don't get why they decided to change their playstyle. Montreal played that style because they just simply weren't good enough to play any other style, and Halak played out of his mind. You play to the strengths of your lineup, not to whatever is the popular way to end. The NHL just seems like such a copycat league, remember when Anaheim won and the new way to win a cup was with size and grit (and fleecing Edmonton and having a future HOF defenseman's brother on your team). I really hope they get back to the way they were before, the Capitals were an exciting team to watch back then, and I think they could get back into it again.
I'd wager 90% of people commenting on the captain situation have never once talked to a caps player in their life. I haven't either so I won't judge. Fans really need to come off talking about the locker room when by and large they have zero idea what happens behind closed doors. This goes for all fantasies imo
so we go by what we see on the ice;
Great captains lead by example and are usually the ones to come through when the chips are down. Let's look at the captains to hoist the cup this century;
2000: Scott stevens. Won the conn smythe as a defenseman and played with so much intensity he scared players from going near him
2001: Joe Sakic. Set records for OT clutch
2002: Steve Yzerman, one of the best leaders of all time
2003: stevens
2004: Dave Andreychuk maybe not as dominant as the rest but clearly embodied that of a grizzled vet. Should be noted that he chose to sign with Tampa when they were terrible and helped mold them into a winner.
2006: Rod Brind'Amour; similar to Andreychuk. A player who commanded respect among his peers
2007; Scott niedermayer. 4th cup and also won a world cup, world junior, memorial cup, and olympic gold. Basically a player who commands winning
2008: Nick Lidstrom. The swedish steve yzerman
2009: Sidney Crosby. Say what you want about him but unlike Ovi he never quits
2010: Jonathan Toews. 50 points in 52 playoff games over his career.
2011: Chara
2012: Dustin Brown. Perfect example of an all around player who leads by example
Have any of these players been caught coasting around the ice, going through the motions, or fighting with their coach the way Ovi did last year? Or since Henrik is in the discussion, have any had less heart than him?
And for those who claim stripping AO of the C will automatically divide the room and cause a rift; it only will if Ovi is the one causing the distraction. Vinny Lecavieller had his C stripped early in his career, he took it like a man and took his game to the next level after that. That team won the cup. Ovies career started to dip down once he got the C, maybe that's the problem; let another player handle the 'leading' and the media and let ovie just play. The biggest need seems to be a vet like Andreychuk or Brind'Amour (preferably on defense) especially with so many problems with the coach. Though since Oates was that player at one time, maybe he's the solution?
Well, look back at the good Caps teams. What's the biggest difference between those and these? Goaltending. Beaupre, Carey, of course Kolzig, all better than what they have had in recent years. They should have kept Varlamov but I guess they felt they couldn't pass that deal up.
I think Ribeiro will do very well on their PP. With more spotlight and playing with a guy like Oie I think he'll impress some people. But, I think some of the stuff he always does (like slowing the game down or loosing draws) will annoy Caps fans the same way it annoyed me.
Well, look back at the good Caps teams. What's the biggest difference between those and these? Goaltending. Beaupre, Carey, of course Kolzig, all better than what they have had in recent years. They should have kept Varlamov but I guess they felt they couldn't pass that deal up.
They were offered a 1st and a 2nd for a guy who was their 2nd string goalie and a constant threat to bolt for the KHL. Blame the caps for many things but that trade was not the problem. I did think Boudreau mishandled the goaltending throwing Theodore under the bus twice.
They were offered a 1st and a 2nd for a guy who was their 2nd string goalie and a constant threat to bolt for the KHL. Blame the caps for many things but that trade was not the problem. I did think Boudreau mishandled the goaltending throwing Theodore under the bus twice.
It's not that it was a bad deal, but it created a hole that has not been filled. The Caps were at their best when Varlamov was at his best.
I think Ribeiro will do very well on their PP. With more spotlight and playing with a guy like Oie I think he'll impress some people. But, I think some of the stuff he always does (like slowing the game down or loosing draws) will annoy Caps fans the same way it annoyed me.
No doubt, I think Ribiero will flourish in Washington, he has less pressure to score with all the scoring threats surrounding him and will have an incredible supporting cast.
I don't see the character in the locker room to push them over the hump. The Capitals teams that ran the run and gun had stacked forward corps, and couldn't amount to much of anything.
On ice performance is not a good way to judge locker room presence. Actually being in the locker room is
Leading by example is the best way to lead in sports. You think Ovechkin can walk into the locker room and say "hey we need to put it all on the line here get going" when he's never blocked a shot or seen a penalty kill in his life? Good leaders lead by example. This isn't speculation it's fact.
It's not that it was a bad deal, but it created a hole that has not been filled. The Caps were at their best when Varlamov was at his best.
goaltending hasn't been the problem the past two years, if anything the only times it may have been were when Varly was in net;
2009 he was great against the Rangers but got lit up against the Penguins. It is extremely deflating for a team to be facing a goalie standing on his head and then their own goalie let a soft one in and that happened in 2010 with the Habs.
goaltending hasn't been the problem the past two years, if anything the only times it may have been were when Varly was in net;
2009 he was great against the Rangers but got lit up against the Penguins. It is extremely deflating for a team to be facing a goalie standing on his head and then their own goalie let a soft one in and that happened in 2010 with the Habs.
My point was the Caps were most successful when they had a top goaltender. They don't have anything near that right now. You look at the roster too and it is best suited for a top goaltender. They are not a very physical team, not great defensively. They need a top goalie if they want to compete for the Cup. Varlamov has the potential to be a top goalie. The other two don't. They need to sign someone and they know that, having signed Vokoun.
Leading by example is the best way to lead in sports. You think Ovechkin can walk into the locker room and say "hey we need to put it all on the line here get going" when he's never blocked a shot or seen a penalty kill in his life? Good leaders lead by example. This isn't speculation it's fact.
With this line you just proved that you have no clue what you are talking about.
And for those who claim stripping AO of the C will automatically divide the room and cause a rift; it only will if Ovi is the one causing the distraction. Vinny Lecavieller had his C stripped early in his career, he took it like a man and took his game to the next level after that. That team won the cup. Ovies career started to dip down once he got the C, maybe that's the problem; let another player handle the 'leading' and the media and let ovie just play. The biggest need seems to be a vet like Andreychuk or Brind'Amour (preferably on defense) especially with so many problems with the coach. Though since Oates was that player at one time, maybe he's the solution?
I remember this time very vividly and you are wrong. He played very, very well after he was named captain.
I had to look up the stats to show you.
He was named captain January 5 2010 and had his first game as a captain in January 7 if I remember correctly.
During the following month (January 7 - February 7) he played in 17 games, scoring 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points. 36 points in 17 games! That's more than 2,1 PPG!
If you are looking for a time when his statsheet started dropping you'd have to move forward a couple of months towards the winter olympics. That's where the real dip started.
