Quoting: Sad_Siegs
Sammy is literally awful both by just eye test and advanced analytics
Its really not that big of a deal to play them on opposite sides, the only thing i looked at was d pairing partners if needed orlov could switch with alexeyev.
Lapierre made the roster the begining of this year and could have probably stayed with the team if he wasnt competing with mcmicheal for 3C, he will defintely be in the nhl next year
Hataway could play 4th line instead of leason but like i said in the description its what i would do, same with snively.
Inexperience isnt the problem its samsonov being inconsistent and bad, goaltending is the only reason this team hasnt been sucessful the past 3 years and im willing to overpay or give too much term to kuemper to get solid goaltending. Also the roster is getting younger and less expensive and the salary cap is probably going up next year again.
You have horrible takes
First, actually watch Samsonov in games like Edmonton and Toronto, where he was pulled. In all but one of those goals (the point shot by Toronto), it isn't his fault. You, like most caps fans, seem to have blamed him for most things, when the defense in front of him has been anything but consistent. I am a guy who hasn't played goalie myself, but I can tell you from years of playing with and working with plenty of goalies, they can agree that the guy isn't at fault about 90% of the time. His defense gives him nothing, with Orlov and Jensen being the only consistent defensemen (as much as I hate to say it, Fehervary has been scary inconsistent at times). He ends up facing a ton of 2 on 1s due to bad pinches from defense or just floating out of position (like what happened to Vanecek against Minnesota). He's also been tasked with starting after those week long breaks where the team plays like garbage (thanks, schedulemakers), something Vanecek also suffered from when he occasionally gets those starts. The guy is super athletic which is always something you like to see from goalies, and positions himself well. He makes the first save quite a it, and while he struggles to track the puck occasionally, he suffers from defense doing the same thing, or forwards not jumping in to assist (see McMichael and Kempny on the Toronto goal right before the intermission).
Forcing a rookie to start his NHL career on the opposite side is tough to do. Alexeyev-Orlov, while not my favorite as I think Orlov needs to play his natural side, wouldn't be a bad idea, but it would then make Lybushkin uneeded. Van Riemsdyk does the same job, but better and cheaper, and signing Lybushkin forces LuJo into Hershey for yet another year, something that I think could completely stunt his career and kill his chances to make the NHL. You can only bury a prospect for so long until they bust.
While Lapierre did make the squad this year, as the games went on he showed he was very rough around the edges. Had he been able to play in Hershey this year, I think we could have seen how close he is in a better way, but getting some seasoning in Hershey would be best for his NHL career. The Capitals have plenty of NHL ready players who could take his role, like Protas for example, there is no need to rush him up and possibly do what Montreal did to Mete and Galchenyuk by making him play full time too soon.
Scratching Hathaway and Snively would not be a good idea for the team, as Hathaway brings a necessary grit to the lineup that alleviates pressure from Wilson to do the same thing, and Snively brings a goal scoring touch that Vesalainen doesn't bring to the team. A bottom 6 of Snively-McMichael-Sheary and Hathaway-Dowd-Leason would be a better mix of talent, gives McMichael a goal scorer on the wing, and lets Leason work more on being a more balanced player alongside someone who takes opposing attention away from his linemates and would allow Dowd and Leason to be more effective. Since the Jets wouldn't likely spring for Eller anyway since their contending window is pretty much shut, this seems more realistic.
The salary cap has all but been confirmed to only go up by 1 mil for the next couple years, as limitation of fans throughout the year has messed with the escrow. Kuemper would be going to his age 32 season, and since age affects goaltenders more than other positions, it would be a risk to sign him for that much money when he isn't exactly a super durable goalie. I've already enumerated the reason Samsonov is fine above, and the Issue from this team hasn't been goaltending. I will agree that there is a strong argument for Holtby being at fault for 2020, but 2019 was simply a case of an underrated team going on a run, and the Capitals flat out win that series if Oshie isn't cheap-shotted (or if it is properly penalized), and Samsonov was quality in the 2021 playoffs, except for one gaffe in overtime. 2021 was a case of massive injuries (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Carlson, and others were nursing injuries, and Vanecek went out mid-series). The roster, meanwhile, has half of the defense up for contracts without a piece that's super easy to allow to walk. Orlov, Alexeyev, Johansen, van Riemsdyk, Jensen, and Fehervary will all need new contracts next year, and with the cap likely only going up by a million, it doesn't allow for wiggle room that is necessary to bring back guys who will want a pay raise like Fehervary.
but "you have horrible takes" is a great argument, keep it up