It's not a rebuild. Johansson demonstrated that he was ready for that role in the regular season last year, as well as in the series against the Rangers. He will be fine at 2C in the regular season and that much more prepared come playoff time.
The Caps need to be stronger down the middle to compete now. Johansson is a 20 year old finesse C. He might be a long-term solution.
He's going to get paid and the Caps have bigger priorities.
I don't understand. The team looks nearly the same as last year's team that got destroyed by TB. There is no sign of a shake up at all, this is quite obviously Ted and Co. milking the cow.
We really expect Neuvy to win a cup next year? Neuvy! Hahaha. You win cups with goalies like Thomas, Fleury, not Neuvy.
The fact that McPhee has no interest in signing a real goalie shows me he has no intention of winning a cup any time soon. See you in two years when Neuvy grows up.
Laich, he isn't a 2C. Stop trying to pretend he somehow will play like a C now that he has this rediculous contract.
#1: veteran goalie. #2. Stand up D-man. #3: 2C. #4: #2 RW.
God dammit. I understand the need for flexibility, but he's a freaking no-brainer to keep. I sincerely hope it's because he was looking for something in the $4M range.
The Caps need to be stronger down the middle to compete now. Johansson is a 20 year old finesse C. He might be a long-term solution.
If he's playing like a 2C, in the 2C slot, he's a 2C. Being big is not a requirement. Being good enough is. I am definitely worried about his draws though, and being bigger would help that.
The Caps are competitive now. Does Johansson put them over the top as the 2C? Maybe, maybe not. Would you rather have Laich there? Sjogren? Eakin? Hendricks? Those are the current roster centers...
The biggest hole on the Caps roster is 1RW, not 2C. Knubs is too old to take first-pairing punishment. For the Caps to get the most value out of him, they need to let him get some easier minutes.
God dammit. I understand the need for flexibility, but he's a freaking no-brainer to keep. I sincerely hope it's because he was looking for something in the $4M range.
FORWARDS
Alexander Ovechkin ($9.538m) / Marcus Johansson ($0.900m) / Mike Knuble ($2.000m) Erik Cole ($4.000m) / Nicklas Backstrom ($6.700m) / Alexander Semin ($6.700m) Troy Brouwer ($2.500m) / Brooks Laich ($4.500m) / Eric Fehr ($2.200m)
Jason Chimera ($1.875m) / Jay Beagle ($0.512m) / Mattias Sjogren ($0.900m)
D.J. King ($0.637m) / Matt Hendricks ($0.825m)
DEFENSEMEN
Jeff Schultz ($2.750m) / Mike Green ($5.250m) Karl Alzner ($2.750m) / John Carlson ($0.845m)
John Erskine ($1.500m) / Dennis Wideman ($3.937m)
/ Patrick McNeill ($0.525m)
GOALTENDERS
Michal Neuvirth ($1.150m) / Braden Holtby ($0.637m)
BUYOUTS: Tyler Sloan ($0.233m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $63,367,905; BONUSES: $80,000 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $932,095
1. I think it's thin at center.
2. Not much cap space to callup Orlov/Eakin, but could be better if Alzner/Brouwer will get less.
3. Too many wingers. BB will ruin such a roster. Fehr/Chimera/Semin are to be traded. Or no Cole signing.
4. Less defensive forwards on the roster.
BUT
to trade Semin is very hard. No team will trade something of a value for Semin now. There is no sense in it yet.
THUS
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble (Knuble -> Kuz next year)
Laich-Johansson-Cole/Semin
Brouwer-Sjogren-Fehr
Chimera-Gordon-Beagle (Chimera -> Eakin next year)
Hendricks, King
Schultz-Green
Alzner-Carlson UFA/Trade-Wideman (Wideman/Green -> Orlov next year)
Erskine
Why do we need Hendricks again? To buy out next summer?
Shea Weber should be added to the UFA list, as should Suter. I'd do everything possible to get that pair if I were GMGM. Makes a Green trade make a ton of sense. This top four would be sick:
Suter-Weber
Alzner-Carlson
I frankly wouldn't care who was in the third pairing. That top four would play upwards of 50 minutes every game.
Pure speculation but he and his agent would have to be idiots to think he would get more than Neuvy. So I ASSume they didnt. Not happy with George's offer, I ASSume it was a tad less than Neuvy.
Its tough to know what the agent is saying and doing with his client. Varly seemed honest in his NHL aspirations. I think the kids usually leave anything financial up to their money starved agent, they are not financial analysts. Damn lawyers
Wouldn't be the first agent/player combo who thought more of themselves than was reality. Especially if they feel the Caps kept Varly on the bench as some sort of way to keep his contract down (which to me sounds like insanity from an agent). The idea that the Caps would keep what they knew was the better option on the bench, just to save a few hundred thousand a year. I think Varly is getting horrible advice myself.
__________________
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.
Wouldn't be the first agent/player combo who thought more of themselves than was reality. Especially if they feel the Caps kept Varly on the bench as some sort of way to keep his contract down (which to me sounds like insanity from an agent). The idea that the Caps would keep what they knew was the better option on the bench, just to save a few hundred thousand a year. I think Varly is getting horrible advice myself.
Stop agreeing with my thoughts. It doesn't seem right.
I don't expect King to ultimately make the cut and they absolutely need Boyd Gordon or a proven replacement at 4C.
I expect whatever they do tomorrow (if anything) will be of the depth variety: 4C, bottom six depth, depth D, back-up goalie...along those lines. Anything more and it signals that Poti is done and/or more significantly they're setting themselves up to pretty much have to make a deal or two. No talks with Hannan make me really question their aggressiveness as well as the extent to which the Poti situation is resolved.
There seems to perhaps be a willingness to make moves and the vague outlines of what they want the team to be like but it's time to act.
