The Washington capitals are opne of the top teams in the NHL this season but you have to wonder if this is their best chance to win a stanley cup and if they don't could they fall from contender status relatively fast?
at the end of this Season Alexander semin, Brooks Liach, Mike Kunble and Scott Hannan are All UFA's Chances are atleast 2 of those guys won't be back
Then at the end of next season Mike Green needs a contract as does Jason Cheimera (sp) Eric Fehr and John Carlson.
Now some of those guys will be easier to bring back then others but that is A LOT of the capitals depth that is up for contract renewal in the next 2 years
Semin Kunble, Green Fher,Hannan Alzner Carlson Chemiera, Liach all needs deals within the next 2 seasons like I said some will be easier to sign then others but thats a lot or their depth, some hard decsions are ahead.
Who do you let go? who do you keep and if you do decide to let a guy like Semin or Green go how do you replace them?
I think it's far to ask if the caps don't win this year is their window to win the cup closed for a couple years? will they be forced to go into a mini rebuild/retool?
They'll re-sign Laich, easily be able to retain Green next year and have the luxury of standing pat and watching young talents like Kuznetsov develop? The Caps are still one of the youngest teams in the NHL and are nowhere near the end of their "window." And, to be honest, they have little to no offensive depth, especially when compared to the likes of the Flyers, so it's not like they're favorites to win much of anything this season.
Only players that are due raises are Alzner (RFA), Varly (RFA), and Laich.
Hendricks, Gordon, and Bradley a little bit each.
They probably have about 5M of space to do this. I don't see where the problem is. Guys like Semin (6M), Knuble (2.8M), and Hannan (4.5M) may or may not be resigned, but if they were, their pay isn't going to go up appreciably. In fact, if they were willing to give a longer deal to any of those guys they probably could reduce their cap hits....
I think Boudreau is in a lot of trouble if they don't win it this year. Fair or not, the coach is always the first place teams look when they're underachieving. And Boudreau doesn't have any great NHL success he can point to when defending himself.
Isn't this more suited for the Capitals forum? The answer is obvious for every fan who doesnt follow them daily: they'll move forward and try to win next year. The particulars of contracts and such of other teams don't matter too much to me unless it's a superstar.
recent closed windows. sens and sabres. they were at the very top, couldnt finish the job and now languish in 'so so land'
i have no clue how caps will fare.
The Senators and Sabres lost marquee players like Briere and Heatley. The Caps will have Backstrom and Ovechkin for a long time, and they have a very healthy prospect pool. Even if they lose one or two pieces, they should be able to stay above the "so so" zone.
Their stars are very young, they have a good prospect pool, and a savvy GM. They will be fine for a while.
EDIT: Thankfully, Semin is hurt and the rest of the offense is slumping, which will keep offensive numbers down throughout the lineup, and hopefully keep subsequent contracts down as well.
I don't think BB will be there for more than a few more seasons, at best. I think they'll have to bring in some smart veterans to help out OV and Backstrom, and then maybe get over the hump and win the Cup.
