Hire trotz

We've got a shot at it, but we're banking on a handful of things going our way. We're trusting that Laviolette is going to get the best out of Kuznetsov and that the defensive issues can really be fixed with the new personnel and system. Clearly Lav thinks he can get 2017 Schultz to make a comeback on a pairing with Orlov as the 2/3. We're also hoping that Samsonov can be the guy to take us all the way already while the team feeds off of the energy of winning a Cup for Lundqvist. And to top it off, we need better playoff performances from everybody not named Ovechkin. He was the only guy on the ice that looked like he really wanted to win in the bubble.

It's a lot of unknowns that needs to break our way, but there's definitely the potential for another Cup. I'd expect Maclellan to target a third line scoring winger if none of Panik, McMichael or Sprong can take that spot. But the defensive depth looks good right now (TVR, Fehervary, LaDue, Alexeyev all capable of playing minutes) so I'm not too worried about that aspect.

They've got the goaltending. The forward group is pretty close.

Their defensive group is as good, overall, as it was in 2018. It is as good, overall, as the Blues' defensive group in 2019. It is not as experienced as Tampa's defensive group in 2020, even though I think Carlson>Hedman and Orlov=McDonagh, and the Caps have a really good defensive group. They don't have Tampa's depth, yet.

It's possible but unlikely. Why? Because you don't have anyone beyond your goalie who I think has a reasonable chance at getting better. You're an aging team, many of your players will be getting worse or staying the same. Looking at the younger teams close to you, they will get better because they are lead by young players. If you don't go on a long run this year, the chances gets lower again. Aging sucks

Carlson better than Hedman lol

No they won't win another cup with that group

Not at height. But at, you know, ice hockey.

By almost any metric you can find, they are roughly equivalent hockey players. Total points, point share, possession metrics, time - all negligible difference. Beyond that, it's personal preference. Hedman hits more, Carlson blocks more shots. Carlson has more takeaways, Hedman fewer giveaways. Almost the same age. On paper, they are basically the same guy.

Carlson has led NHL defensemen in points for a two seasons, and one postseason, while paired mostly with Kempny. Hedman has finished 2nd in points in two postseasons, while playing with some guys who some people might say are better than Kempny. I dunno... Kempny? Stralman? Segachev? Who ya got?

I like Carlson but he's behind Hedman and Josi for me. I think they're better all-around players than Carlson. But being the 3rd best D-man in the league aint nothing to scoff at.

They will need King to be King one more time and or Sam to be great. I think the D has questions that have to break right for them. Lastly, they need the top six to not lose production and hope for another player in the bottom six other than Eller to score. While I like Lavy for this veteran team, not sure just a coaching change is enough.

Sure, that's a fair point. Could probably pick and choose metrics to make a case for any of the three. I'd take Sergachev out because he's not asked to do the same types of things Kempny or Stralman are asked to do, at a broad level. A little tough to compare the situations because the last time Stralman played a full season in TB was 17-18; Kempny only has one full season in WSH under his belt (18-19). Comparing those seasons, I'd say it was Kempny by a long shot on both sides of the ice. Over the course of their career? Smell test probably says Stralman.

Seems like mostly a question of "what have you done for me lately" - Carlson has been better, more recently (so has Kempny, I'd argue). Hedman actually has more playoff points in fewer career games (again, basically negligible) and has been more consistent over his career, in my opinion.

And now I've been stat-diving for so long I don't even remember why I commented on this in the first place.

FWIW, I've posted Jensen for Stralman and Kempny for Stralman on the Fla side, about a month ago. A Fla fan accepted Jensen, but the Kempny offer got crickets. By reputation, Stralman>>Kempny, although I agree in actual performance lately, it's pretty close. And you can't just chalk that up to team, because Weegar and Pysyk looked pretty decent on Fla. I'd take Stralman, because he's played bigger minutes and done just as well, but Kempny's younger and less than half the cap hit, so under a flat cap that might make him more valuable, if he were healthy.