There has been so much talk in the offseason about Caps signing experienced veterans that will help take this team to a new level. Well, our most senior players have been terrible lately:
Knuble: 0pts, -7 in the last 10 games
Halpern: 0pts, -6 in the last 9.
Hamrlik: 1pt, -7 for the season, seems to regress with every game.
There has been so much talk in the offseason about Caps signing experienced veterans that will help take this team to a new level. Well, our most senior players have been terrible lately:
Knuble: 0pts, -7 in the last 10 games
Halpern: 0pts, -6 in the last 9.
Hamrlik: 1pt, -7 for the season, seems to regress with every game.
Knuble because BB keeps putting him on the freaking 4th line.
Halpern because he's not on the team to get points.
Knuble because BB keeps putting him on the freaking 4th line.
Halpern because he's not on the team to get points.
Yes, I realize that Knuble has been playing 4th line, and I don't expect him to match his last season's point production. But, considering the fact that he still sees a fair amount of time on the PP, is it too much to ask for a measly 1pt in 10 games?
Halpern is not there to get points, but as with Knuble, his stats are a testament of how bad he's been playing.
Apparently Calgary's Bourque could be shown the door with the Comeau acquisition? Haven't people pretty much always wanted the Capitals to jump on him? Doesn't look like Calgary's interested in forwards, but a late 1st sounds like good value, maybe Schultz and a 3rd would get them thinking. Or Boston's 2nd.
I sure have the last few years.....love his game. We need more Canadians with some skill.
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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.
really? bourque just signed a 6 year contract. if he is prone to get bounced off his roster spot over a guy claimed on waivers, why would mcphee want him?
Who isn't struggling in Calgary? Hell Iginla only has 6g and 10pts. RB still has 6 goals....any guesses where that puts him on the Caps?
He's been about as consistant as you can get the last 3 years. I think he would be fantastic on a line with Laich and/or Mojo. $3.3 a year for the next 4? Not bad at all for a guy sniffing the 30g mark the last two years
Who isn't struggling in Calgary? Hell Iginla only has 6g and 10pts. RB still has 6 goals....any guesses where that puts him on the Caps?
He's been about as consistant as you can get the last 3 years. I think he would be fantastic on a line with Laich and/or Mojo. $3.3 a year for the next 4? Not bad at all for a guy sniffing the 30g mark the last two years
and so, calgary is going to trade him off for loose change because they have grabbed a guy off the waiver wire from the new york islanders?
the caps have to send salary back to fit the cap. calgary trades bourque if they are blowing it up and then they dont want salary back.
the caps have laich, brouwer, ward and chimera plus eakin in the rene bourque's role. i dont see the reason for it.
and so, calgary is going to trade him off for loose change because they have grabbed a guy off the waiver wire from the new york islanders?
the caps have to send salary back to fit the cap. calgary trades bourque if they are blowing it up and then they dont want salary back.
the caps have laich, brouwer, ward and chimera plus eakin in the rene bourque's role. i dont see the reason for it.
Comeau makes 2.5, but doesn't have a permanent top 9 spot when the team is healthy, Stajan was being scratched, there's no reason to scratch 6m in salary, the idea is that Bourque is a cheap movable contract on a team without very many of them.
Eakin. He could use more Hershey time anyway and seems out of place at 2nd line LW. Let him go develop his center game.
Keep what we have but have a 2nd line of Semin-Johansson-Bourque and we have 4 extremely solid lines, on paper anyway. As long as Semin and Johansson pull their share defensively, which with good coaching shouldn't be a problem.
Bourque's a secondary target to a legitimate upgrade on Hamrlik, of course.
the capitals problem is not the roster or the composition of the roster. if bourque fills their biggest need, the need is not that big.
honestly, right now the caps biggest need at forward is a 1st line big dog goal scorer. i guy that can take over a game. a guy that be relied on to make a play in crunch time when the team is desperate for someone to make a play.
I didn't say biggest problem. I said biggest need at F in terms of what is lacking on paper, which is an incomplete 2nd line that needs a physical top 6 forward (not that Bourque is all that physical but he can create some space)
Bigger need in terms of roster would be a competent LD to add to Alzner.
ok..semantics. the caps dont need bourque. they need ovechkin, semin, backstrom and green. they need carlson to be carlson again too.
in short all they need to to play like they should, like they can. its not worth arguing about. if you think rene bourque is a good get for the caps, thats fine. i dont think mcphee has any interest.
Obviously Bourque alone doesn't make the problems go away.
If they get him and make the other necessary changes he could be a worthwhile acquisition. Just like getting Guerin wasn't what fixed the Penguins but it certainly improved that roster and helped the run.
ok...and which of brouwer, chimera, eakin, ward or laich loses his spot? which of them is bourque better than?
Is this rhetorical question day? Eakin is a no brainer...he at worst gets the Schultz treatment and plays about 40 and gets sent down so the Caps can manage their contracts.
It's hard to conceive that a coach without NHL or AHL experience would take over this team if Boudreau is dismissed. Look at these names, these salaries — they're buying what an OHL coach is selling? That's the prime reason I don't expect this to happen; the secondary one being that I have a creeping suspicion Boudreau weathers this.
Hard to argue with that line of thinking. Man would it be glorious though if Hunter did get hired and actually turned them into a Cup winner. Unlikely but a damn nice idea to dream about.
It's hard to conceive that a coach without NHL or AHL experience would take over this team if Boudreau is dismissed. Look at these names, these salaries — they're buying what an OHL coach is selling? That's the prime reason I don't expect this to happen; the secondary one being that I have a creeping suspicion Boudreau weathers this.
Hard to argue with that line of thinking. Man would it be glorious though if Hunter did get hired and actually turned them into a Cup winner. Unlikely but a damn nice idea to dream about.
Like I had first posted, it's if Boudreau gets fired. I never said he definitely would be. But if they tailspin further, he might. I was just trying to help out, didn't think I'd get a bunch of snarky responses.
Like I had first posted, it's if Boudreau gets fired. I never said he definitely would be. But if they tailspin further, he might. I was just trying to help out, didn't think I'd get a bunch of snarky responses.
You realize this part was from the article right?
It's hard to conceive that a coach without NHL or AHL experience would take over this team if Boudreau is dismissed. Look at these names, these salaries — they're buying what an OHL coach is selling? That's the prime reason I don't expect this to happen; the secondary one being that I have a creeping suspicion Boudreau weathers this.
This was my part and in no way snarky.
Hard to argue with that line of thinking. Man would it be glorious though if Hunter did get hired and actually turned them into a Cup winner. Unlikely but a damn nice idea to dream about.
It's hard to conceive that a coach without NHL or AHL experience would take over this team if Boudreau is dismissed. Look at these names, these salaries — they're buying what an OHL coach is selling? That's the prime reason I don't expect this to happen; the secondary one being that I have a creeping suspicion Boudreau weathers this.
This was my part and in no way snarky.
Hard to argue with that line of thinking. Man would it be glorious though if Hunter did get hired and actually turned them into a Cup winner. Unlikely but a damn nice idea to dream about.
I was talking about three days ago when I posted it here.
For what it's worth, I don't really believe that Hunter would be a good fit. I don't think a team that needs to be helped take it to the next level needs a coach who may or may not pan out at the NHL level.
But then, what NHL level coaches are there? I think Iron Mike would be a bad choice.
