Can the Caps afford to move Kempny though?

Also with the Canucks seemingly endless injuries at forward it's likely one of Baertschi or Goldobin might find themselves back in the lineup, can't see them moving both and Virtanen, it'd leave them too thin up front I'm thinking.

i do not think jake gets traded.he is starting to play the right way he is currently hot.

I like the idea but I can’t see Virtanen getting dealt anytime soon unless it’s an obvious overpayment for him.
Do you think the Caps would value Tanev or Stetcher at the deadline with Sven?

Kempny's fantastic, but the Caps have five NHL-ready left defensemen in the AHL this year, and Siegenthaler is playing like a young Andy Greene.



Wow, you're right. Gotta check that stuff. Didn't even look at any stats for him. Just remembered Vancouver fans used to want to trade him, and he seems defensively solid.

On the other hand, Kempny and Panik also hit, block shots, and kill a few penalties on a team that's currently 2nd in PK%. Kempny's 23rd among NHL defensemen in points/60 this year. Some of that is because he plays a lot with Carlson, but some of it is because he shoots the puck pretty well, and and makes quick passes. Panik was pointless in his first ten games this year. He's finally lukewarm, with three in his last five games, but that's nothing compared to Virtanen, who's got six. Wow. Probably have to add a pick of some sort, or settle for a different player/prospect (not at LHD). Any suggestions? Thanks.

Cant see the Canucks making this trade. They need their cap space to resign current players. Kempny / Panik have too much term.

Gaudette, Virtanen, Leivo, Stecher, Tanev and Markstrom all need new deals in Van after this year.

Canucks have a great group of prospects coming that should be able to fill spots after next season when Petey and Hughes need new deals. Juolevi, Rafferty, Woo and Brisebois on Defense. Hoglander, Podkolzin, Madden, and Lind up front. Dipietro and Demmer in net. Future is bright in Van.

Good question. It depends if they're thinking rental (Tanev) or reclamation (Stecher). Since the above team is totally based on thinking long term and taking on a cap issue to get younger, probably Stecher is the better fit. They could probably give him a two year Q.O. and try to build him back up to the top four role he played last year, in that time. Cool. Could Goldobin still be included in that?

Fair enough! Stetcher has been playing more of a top 4 role alongside Edler for the last little bit and has looked really good actually. He just hasn’t been provided much time with any special teams. We would definitely be able to keep Goldobin in a deal though.

Undoubtedly, and you didn't even mention Goldobin!

Sorry if I offended. I'm the guy that got the angriest when people pointed out how awful Burakovsky was last year, so I should really know better than to dig at a guy who's doing fine, playing some defense, and chipping in a couple of points.

I think Kempny and Panik for Stecher, Goldobin, and Baertschi is a really intriguing way to give the Caps some talented young players. But it sounds like Mr. McLean, who had the initial idea of paying to move Baertschi, isn't sold on Kempny and Panik. That's fine. I'm not 100% sold on Panik, either. Don't know if he started this year playing through an injury or just took a quarter of a season to learn his new linemates. I think Kempny's pretty solid, though.

No worries! Not offended at all, I don’t think Stetchers value is super high but I do think teams would be interested in the guy to play some solid minutes!

This coming from the same guy telling me how much better Panik is than Toffoli and how important he is to the Caps? I'm lost.

Certainly you must know Kempnys importance to the Capitals and the role he plays.

Yeah. Kempny's terrific, and Panik's a poor-man's power forward.

Over the last three seasons Toffoli scored three more points than Panik, while playing easier zone starts with better linemates. Panik had over 200 more hits than Toffoli in that span. Obviously points are more valuable than hits, but on a checking line, 200 hits are more valuable than three points. So the Caps don't need to get rid of Panik unless they can upgrade him. Virtanen hits more, and is off to a great start offensively this year, and isn't happening, so it doesn't matter.

edit: And I based this off of a Van fan's trade idea for Toffoli, so there might be something around Panik for Stecher, although I'm sure WSH has to add a little bit to get that done.