Who adds what?
Joined: Jul. 2017
Posts: 13,677
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Oh, well, if he's having a bad week, then, sure.... trade away the best defensive defenseman off of the Champs.
The last two years Orlov and Niskanen have played Opponents' top lines and they've finished with decent defensive stats, plus they've each finished each of the last two years in the top 31 defensemen in even strength points. I think that pair is, very quietly, what makes this team tick, at both ends of the ice.
Arvidsson is a 30 goal scorer with Nashville, where he gets 68% offensive zone starts, 18 minutes a night, and plenty of PP1 opportunities. At even strength, so far, he's maxed out at 23 goals a year, playing with some good players. Does he make the Caps' top power play unit? Or does he get stuck on the second unit that plays the last 15 seconds of a power play, with a faceoff in their own zone, and basically doesn't get any points out of it? I think Arvidsson in Washington gets 25 goals a year, so I don't think he's worth Orlov.
I made the exact same argument this summer regarding a suggestion of Orlov for Nylander.
Dowd isn't as bad offensively as I expected, or as great on faceoffs and defense as I expected. Dowd and Boyd are fairly similar. They're decent 4Cs, better with the puck than a lot of guys who play that position, and they keep all four lines offensively capable. Neither of them is Beagle. If any of the centers in Hershey takes a huge step forward this year, 4C might again be an open casting call in training camp. Or maybe Dowd or Boyd has a great playoffs this Spring and gets a three year 1M contract? Who knows.