I watched Alexeyev play a lot when he was in Red Deer, he is worth way more then Bertuzzi!

typically top 4 defensemen (especially LHD) are equal to top 6 forwards. Unless you see Alexeyev being a top 2 guy in the league this seems fair?

The fear would be giving up a guy who I think is young enough to be expansion draft exempt for one who isn't, but Bertuzzi is probably worth protecting? Wsh is going to hope Detroit generously decides to throw in short term depth for a run, and Det are going to hope Wsh generously throws in some kind of draft picks because they are rebuilding from scratch if they remotely consider this.

Maybe throw in Ehn and Bowey (waiver exempt/cleared depth with some NHL experience) for a fifth in 2020 and Vegas' 5th in 2021.

Never anticipated the Caps considering moving Alexeyev, but if they sell high on him while people know how good he can be, they get back an AHL sweater they can develop Johansen in.

Problem with the trade is Caps already have a similar type player in Wilson. They don't need another one of these guys playing lower in the roster - and they might struggle to keep him w/ the next cap hit

Bertuzzi is on pace for some good numbers on a bad team! I know Alexeyev is good but we have Fehervary and I think the Caps would love another young winger of Bertuzzi's ilk.

Tyler Bertuzzi only has 165 career hits and 85 PIM. is only 6'1". Is not Todd.

He's still an agitator.

Yeah these are good points guys. I am just trying to think OTB a little and would love for the Caps to have one more scorer in the top 9. I know BMac isn't nervous about the 3rd line, and I like their defense and tenacity but it would just be sweet to have another scorer...

WIlson fought Chara to a very technical draw this week, and owns/runs his own boxing gym. Enforcer>agitator. But with recent additions like Gudas and Hathaway, I don't think the Caps are too worried about roughhousing.

Would love a team full of agitators!

Detroit isn't trading Bertuzzi. Just about everybody on the Wings is struggling at the 30 game mark they had 22 less goals than the previous season the only 2 players doing better this year are Bertuzzi and Mantha. At that same 30 game point Larkin was 10 points off last years pace and AA was 5 points off last years pace. Now Alexeyev is probably going be pretty good I read some scouting reports that say he is going to be a top 4 guy and I've read a few who aren't ready to say top 4 until he develops some more. I've seen a few Hershey Bear's games this year and he looks like a guy playing his 1st year of pro hockey. Some mistakes/turnovers and he has made some plays that you're like wow. I say the rest of this season and maybe another half season before he is ready he is ready to make the jump. Detroit can't afford to trade one of the few good players the have for a kid who is about a couple years away and is not a sure thing. Bertuzzi in leading the team in goals, assists and points.

Great analysis. Even though you say no to all of Washington's ideas, I always feel like I've learned something and I'm happier for having read it. I think Alexeyev might have led his junior league's defenders in points/game last year (his draft+1) so I am not particularly worried about whether he'll adjust to the AHL and make the NHL. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but he seems to be showing continued improvement after the draft.

I think the Caps could use a middle six forward to get some secondary scoring going, and they have a bunch of depth at LHD. Do you see any fit, there?

I liked the Green trade quite a bit it was the term left on Panik's contract. What does Washington think of Gudas?

As tough as Gudas is, and as much PK as he plays, I doubt they'd move him for Green. He's getting bigger minutes than Jensen, which I think really says something for him, since Jensen's such a solid 2nd pair guy.

I'd rather seem them look at, like, A.A. just to get one more puck mover into the lineup, if Kovalchuk doesn't want to come over and do that.

The reason I ask is in the Green trade. if you had Panik coming to Detroit to make room for Green why not send Gudas instead. Green's contract is over at the end of the season along with a couple of other 30+ guys and Detroit is finally getting younger. Gudas's is contract done at the end of the season as well and out of Washington's regular defensemen he has he is 5th in time on ice and 6th isn't that far behind him. Now if Gudas is a big part of Washington's success then forget I even asked.

With AA here on Capfriendly I see several proposals a day for AA and when someone from Detroit says it isn't enough. They go off and say he sucks this year or he can't play D and they are partially right AA is having a bad season but his is only 5 points of pace from last season and its not just him the whole team is playing poorly Larkin is 10 point of last years pace. Yes he is bad at defense but he is still one of the 5 fastest guys in the in the game and he has proven he can score. If you think he sucks or he can't play defense and he is so bad then why keep making proposals for him because it's the same people that are so quick to point out how pad he is that make proposals for him every day.

Eli you are not in that group. I decided to rant about AA and I was responding to your comment.

Two years ago, a bunch of Caps fans wanted to trade Burakovsky for him, and I thought Burakovsky was better, which may have been completely bonkers at the time, but today, in 20/20 hindsight, I'll pat myself on the back.

Yeah, the whole team isn't clicking, defensively. On the up side, they might get to add a generational talent at the draft, so it seems like a year to make some rebuilding-type trades, rather than point fingers or sweat small stuff. If they did want to add a defensively sound wing, though, I could certainly imagine something around your favorite player, Richard Panik.... But I'd rather hear what you think would make that actually tempting than try to guess.

Slightly different take - I don't think the Caps would do this, but not out of a lack of desire, more for a lack of cap flexibility. Bertuzzi scored the same number of points as Vrana last year, within a year of the same age, and has a little more toughness in his game; while that's hard to account for in salary, it does matter. Bertuzzi is also on pace to have a better season than last year by a considerable margin, especially if he plays the full year (I think he missed a decent number of games last year). With all that said, I'm not sure the Caps would be willing to let Alexeyev go for a guy that would likely turn into a pure rental, considering what he'll likely fetch on the open market and with the Caps due contracts to Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Vrana again in the next two years.