Honestly at this point I'm good with rolling with the team they have this season. Kuzy and mantha seem damn near impossible to trade, so I'd rather just see what Carberry can do with them. If kuzy and mantha have bounce back seasons and the team can stay healthy they will be competitive but probably not a playoff team. So hopefully they are able to move some contracts at the deadline and acquire some young players, like Sandin, and draft capital. Then they can load up for the last two years of Ovi and make another cup run, with the increased cap. And their farm system would be decently stocked for after Ovi retires

I just can't see this team as a playoff team. Maybe competitive, but not a playoff team. Part of it is the financial situation of the league hamstringing the trade market. Part of it is this team just not being set up right. Hoping that so many guys on the wrong side of 30 can suddenly be consistently healthy and play a faster style of game does not engender hope in me. Running back a core that hasn't done anything for 5 years doesn't do anything for me. And idk how their young prospects like McMichael are supposed to contribute when he doesn't have a place to play in his natural position and they don't even have enough cap space right now to add him to the roster. My hope for this team this year is certain older guys produce somewhat and they can move their contracts at the deadline for assets and prospects and prepare for the last two seasons of Ovi when they have more cap space and roster spots open.

Well said couldn't agree more

The fact Anthony ****ing Mantha is still on this team and wasn't bought out immediately when the window opened is honestly infuriating. They could have saved 4.3 million dollars and opened up a much needed roster spot, which would have been huge. And that 2.1 mil cap hit next year would have been manageable with the cap going up as it's reported it will.

Idk how they could, with a straight face, admit "We aren't getting many offers for Mantha" like it's a surprise. Of course you aren't, what team is scrambling for an overpaid, underperforming anchor like him? Did they honestly think they'd get a real offer? Even if you retain what are you honestly expecting to get? Even if you manage to move him now you'll most likely have to retain money on top of adding assets to do it, when you could have bought him out and just have to eat a cap hit for two years. Mind boggling.

This is what i want to see. Upgrade to some younger pieces at the deadline and have another top 15 pick then go all in the next two seasons with more caps and likely osh and or backy retired

As for this upcoming year, I have a lot of confidence in the D group. Carlson remains one of the most underrated players in the entire league (and was completely robbed of a Norris like Mike Green before him). Jensen and TVR are also really great and underrated 3s and 4s. Fehervary is a solid role player, and while Edmundson's advanced stats have been declining the Caps really did miss a big crease-clearing defenseman last year and gave up so many tips and rebounds. The biggest question there is whether Sandin can replace what Orlov brought as the 2D, which I'm not as certain about. As for prospects, Fehervary and Alexeyev have aged out of that group for me and Iorio and Chesley need at least another year in Hershey to cook, although I have high expectations for Iorio especially.

Kuemper and Lindgren are an extremely solid, above average pair. Kuemper's injury history is a bit scary but he played around as many games as I would've expected going into the year. Stevenson and Gibson are intriguing prospects and the Caps have a great track record at developing later round goalies but neither are more than potential backups.

The real problem is the forward group. The Caps basically have what would be a great second line on a contender (Ovi-Strome-Wilson) and then 3 great third lines (Pacioretty-Kuzy-Mantha, Milano-Backstrom-Oshie, Protas-Dowd-NAK). Protas-Dowd-NAK is legitimately one of the best fourth lines in the league, and Dowd is IMO the best 4c in the league. They severely lack star power however beyond Ovi. Backstrom, Pacioretty, and Oshie are too old to reach that level again. Wilson and Strome are great complimentary top-6 guys but don't have the skill to ever reach it. Mantha is ... who the hell knows. Kuzy has the potential to be that guy, like he showed in 2018 and 2022, but is a massive question mark. I really wanted them to take a run at a guy like DeBrincat or Nylander to add that true second star that the offense needs, but I don't think it's coming. Prospect-wise, they are relying on McMichael being ready to contribute immediately, probably starting on the wing in Pacioretty's spot while he's still recovering from injury. He had a really good year in Hershey and a great playoffs as they won the Calder Cup, but it's basically make-or-break time in the NHL for him next year. I think he has the hockey sense and skating to make it as a complimentary middle 6 guy, but I really doubt he sticks in the middle full time and his shot and lack of elite offensive pop limits his ceiling. Lapierre is basically almost exactly the same but a year behind, I see no scenario in which he makes the team this year. Miroshnichenko and Suzdalev have great offensive upside but need probably two years in the AHL. I'm so excited about Leonard and think he's going to kill it in college this year and could even see a scenario in which he makes the team next year. They also (in order to stack Hershey) have a ton of AAAA guys that aren't really prospects but I could see getting NHL games. Snively, Phillips, Limoges, Malenstyn, Sgarbossa, Frank will all fight for that 13th or 14th forward and could all fill in well for a couple of games or so but don't really have long-term NHL upside.

At a broader level, the goal of management and honestly what i as a fan want as well is to be competitive enough over the next 3 seasons to be around the playoff race and make sure the top end of the lineup (and most importantly powerplay) are potent enough for Ovi to break the record. That's basically what they were last year until an absolutely brutal run of injuries -- especially the Carlson one -- forced their hand into a quick sell-off. That sort of flexibility and transition -- plan to be competitive, if they're really out of it transition and sell off the good assets -- is exactly what I think they should be doing going forward. That's why I really liked the Pacioretty and Edmundson moves -- if they work out, great and we make the playoffs. If they don't, pivot at the deadline and move them to a contender. There will be plenty of time for this team to be bad once Ovi retires and no amount of selling now is really going to change that. I also hate the ultra min/maxing mindset of if you're not one of the top 8 teams in the league you should be rebuilding. As a fan, I would much rather see Wilson finish his career as a Cap (and become the next captain), Oshie stay in DC, Backstrom continue to play than moving all of them in order to go full rebuild just yet. From an outside perspective it seems like they're stuck in the middle/past, which to a large degree they are. As a fan though, that's exactly where I want them to be. Doing anything other than trying to be competitive while Ovi is still playing would be a giant middle finger to the player and fans that have transformed DC into one of the best hockey markets in the US

@qc14 @otto_kirov @jazzykiwi love the insight and passion, thanks for discussing and offering your thoughts today