Anyone else nervous for the final games? I know the Caps weren't supposed to be in this position so we should all just enjoy the ride, but I REALLY want to see / care about some playoff hockey this year...

9 games left - any predictions on how the Caps will finish?

we are pathetic

I didn't watch but when was the last time we had a game with 30 shots. I know we shouldn't be in this shot but this is one of the final shots with ovi

Been super busy with work and life the past month or so, but wow I can't believe they did it. Hats off to this team, can't wait to hopefully see Ovi in the playoffs one more (last?) time

One last run for the boys. Gotta give big shoutouts to the Philly coaching staff for not letting torts know about the situation in Detroit. Was insane to watch both games unfold.

guys


is ryan leonard signing a contract now

I'm hopeful. My coping theory has been that they wanted to delay it until after this game to have no distractions for the team ...

Absolutely huge - pumped to see meaningful hockey this time of year

I will say - I have hopes for next year. I really think, with the right moves, the caps will be contenders. Optimistic? Yes. But this year showed that the young guys are ready - with a top 4 defender and a top 6 winger (easier said than done I know), this team would be legit. They will have the cap space to make those moves and with the way they have drafted, they should be comfortable with moving some draft picks...

Looking ahead, I have a few high priority questions for this offseason (which imo, it is the biggest offseason in a very long time):

In no particularly order...
1. What do the Caps do with Kuemper?
- High price for a backup...a few options would be trade (with a sweetener and probably retention) or buy-out (which would be costly down the road)…whatever the Caps do, Kuemper should not be back
2. What do the Caps do with their 2024 1st? Use it as a package piece?
- I'd use it in a package to get a young forward (not totally sure who though...)
3. What do the Caps do with Bear?
- Only 1x~2m but every cent counts I'd say.
4. What is the overall need for the Caps?
- I'd say a top 6 forward (maybe 2 at this point) and a top 4 defender (preferably a RHD)
5. Since FA class is pretty weak, what trade options are out there?
- I could see Pesce being a RHD signing (although it might have to be an overpay since WSH might not be a very desired place with an older team looking towards a potential rebuild/retool). Outside of that, I don't see any other FA signings that intrigue me...Maybe Debrusk at the right price? I'm not sure
6. Going off of that, what do the Caps do about their RHDs?
- Jensen / TVR / Bear / Iorio -> who stays, who goes? Is Iorio ready? Imo, I see Jensen traded / TVR on the 3rd pairing / Bear I have no idea / Iorio stays in Hershey one more year to develop more.

Am I missing anything? Please feel free to answer any of these questions - would love to hear other people's thoughts

1. I don't see any real urgency w/ Kuemper TBH. Overpaid -- certainly -- but they're in a spot where they don't NEED the dollars and as you said getting out of a contract like that will be a pain no matter how you do it. Shepard has been great in Hershey but looked overmatched in the NHL to me and I don't think he's a goalie-of-the-future type that you need to clear room for. Stevenson I think does have an NHL future but can take one more year in Hershey. If something comes along do it but not a top priority for me.

2, 4, 5. If they're serious about competing, which I think they should be, you need one legit top line forward and one legit top pair defenseman at the minimum. Move that first rounder for the forward. Still has more value than a real contender's first but right in the spot of this year's draft where the quality (supposedly) falls off a cliff. Best case scenario IMO is a playoff collapse leads to Marner or Ehlers finally shaking free. While I'm still lower on Zegras than most, I think he's the type of bet you make if the price is right. PLD? BUF might be looking to consolidate some of their younger pieces as well, although I'm not enamored with any of them. Josh Norris is the one I keep coming back to as making the most sense for all parties. Forward UFA options aren't very exciting beyond Reinhart and Guentzel. Would stay far far away from Stamkos, Lindholm, Stephenson, Marchessault, Monahan, Toffoli. Not convinced by Sutter as an internal promotion, I'd look for another checking UFA to upgrade NAK. I'm making McM, Lappy, Miro available in the right deal as well.

On D, there's still enough quality in UFA even though I'm very annoyed VGK resigned Hanifin. Pesce, Skjei, Walker would be my first choices. Roy, Montour would be nice as well and guys like Tanev, DeMelo, Carrier, Dillon aren't top 2 guys but are great depth options.

3, 6. I think you can find someone who will give you assets for Jensen. I would keep TVR, I don't think they're finding someone better and cheaper in UFA. Bear is in the Kuemper boat for me -- not great but not THE problem and not worth the headache of trying to move. Iorio I think can challenge but hasn't done enough to not have to fight for a spot. I'm also not so impressed with Sandin (and a long-time AA hater) that making the move at LD is beyond the question for me. Get the best guy you can and make the other moves around that guy's handedness

I'm really bummed that BC lost the Natty and Leonard isn't signing, because I think he would have been a massive help next year. I think you're looking at this lineup in an ideal world:

X - Strome - X
Ovi - McM - Wilson
Milano - Lapierre - Protas
Malenstyn - Dowd - X
Miro

Fehervary - Carlson
Sandin - X
X - TVR
AA - Iorio/Bear

Lindgren
Kuemper
Shepard/Stevenson

Thanks for the response here - I do agree with pretty much everything you said above.

Kuemper / Bear being moved would be fine if the right deal came (similar mindset with Kuzy - getting a 3rd for him with retention was definitely the right deal).

Caps should 100% be looking to compete - I truly believe they have the right balance of young vs veterans - they just need more skill (easier said than done).

Regarding the players you mentioned - I couldn't agree more with your defender list. For forwards, Marner / Ehlers would be great. Not so high on Zegras. Norris possibly. Reinhart possibly, but doubt he signs with the Caps. Same with Guentzel.
I'd also throw in Keller. I am very curious to see what the Coyotes (UTAH HC) does here. Are they trying to compete? I would offer a very large package for Keller & Schmaltz...
What would that package look like, I'm not sure...but off the top of my head, something like Chesley, McM (or Lappy), Jensen, 2024 1st, 2025 1st, and a 2nd...probably would need more? Idk.

Regarding the left side, I am also not convinced Sandin is the best option here...I will say though, AA has impressed me recently. I think he has played very well and if it continues, I would be fine with him being on the 3rd pair (while playing 2nd pairing minutes in a pinch).

Another thought here...I think it is becoming more and more prevalent that the Caps don't have as much physicality throughout the lineup. Maybe I am used to the old Caps where they were really big and tough, but imo, the defenders aren't physical enough (besides Fehervary). The forwards (besides Wilson and Beck) aren't quite physical either...
Am I crazy to think that signing a guy like Bertuzzi on a 1 year deal wouldn't be a bad thing. Yes he has struggled this year, especially offensively, but his play has picked up recently and TOR isn't the easiest place to play...I think he would fit nicely on a 3rd line with Milano and Lappy, which would move Protas down to the 4th line

Unfortunately all of the chatter on Utah (including from Friedman, who IMO is the only reliable source for this kind of stuff) is that they are going to be big players and almost certainly spend to the cap. Not only does it make Keller probably not possible, but I think they will be in on some guys the Caps could be interested in. I agree we need more physicality, and that's honestly why I would prefer an upgrade over NAK (and possibly Malenstyn) -- both of them hit, but don't really have the mean streak that a guy like Hathaway did. I like Bertuzzi fine but he would be in that tier with for me Monahan and Tofolli (or honestly Mantha) where he's a secondary guy who needs to play with top players that we just don't have.

Ah got it - didn't see that about Utah...unfortunate as I really like Keller.

And totally agree with you regarding Beck/NAK - they hit but don't have that mean streak. Caps are missing that - it really became prevalent last game when TVR was fighting the whole Rangers team...yes they didn't know that was happening and eventually came back out, but imo, the old Caps team would NEVER let that happen...

Tough loss, thought they played well enough to get the win but some individual mistakes really cost them. Would like to see the 4th line get half as much ice time and I think it's time for #scratcioretty. McIlrath has been surprisingly really good IMO too which is pretty funny

Bummer it ended like that but just making the playoffs and playing meaningful games the entire year was fun as hell and a big accomplishment from this group. Ultimately to have had a chance in this series they needed to win their 5v5 minutes against a team that's just ok in that area of the game, have lindgren steal a game or two, and limit the damage on special teams. Only really did the first one, which makes it all the more frustrating because the second two I think were much more doable. Games 2-4 they certainly didn't "deserve" to win but they were right there for the taking. Rangers are going to get crushed by a much much better Carolina team.

Big offseason, and I expect some swings from GMBM. Think I'm jumping on the Vancouver bandwagon the rest of the way.

Any particular reason you don't want Stevie back? I think he is a solid top 6 forward with speed which we definitely need. If you think he will be too expensive I get that.

hope the bears go on an absolute tear

1. Where do we expect the team and GMBM to go from here? At a weird crossroads that I think is uncommon with the amount of cap space that should open up, enough young talent with some veteran talent and leadership, if we add a couple of good pieces we could potentially make a run but we would have to jeopardize our future even more. Coming into the season and at the trade deadline I wanted to solely focus on the future and sell as much as we could. Now, I want to add two top 6 forwards and try to compete.

2. Marner is my most wanted target we desperately need high end skill, I also would love a Stevie reunion for his speed and flexibility

3. I did not watch as many games this year as I normally do, do we think this Ovi is here to stay? (Lazy and out of shape imo, almost impossible to create offense or drive play when you're standing still the entire game). I see two options for him, 1. Winning still drives him and he'll get in shape and come back better or 2. He won his cup all he cares about now is passing gretzky. Unfortunately I think its the latter.

4. Based on Strome's comments about how much work oshie puts into playing and Oshie staying out last on the ice for a goodbye, do we think he retires? I hate to see another caps legend go out not on their own terms like backy but I think its best for the team and his day to day life.

5. I like most of the pieces on our D and thought AA played well at times in this series, I think our best bet would be moving Jensen if there are any takers and upgrade with a more physical and responsible RHD

They were super fun to watch last year

We have no Stone or Eichel to pair him with, I think he will get paid line-driving money and I'm very hesitant that he's that kind of player outside of a very friendly setup in Vegas. I also do think there's an element in sports of "been there, done that" where once a team/player move on from one another, it is very rare that both sides want a reunion and even rarer for that reunion to turn out well.

1. I expect GMBM to keep on the "retool around Ovi/Carlson" train but be slightly more aggressive than he has been the last two years due to increased cap and honestly better assets to move. I think that's the right strategy to take. There's going to be pain when Ovi retires no matter what and full on tear-downs aren't exactly the guaranteed successes they once were.

2. Marner and Ehlers for me. Laine/Norris/Zegras are the next tier

3. Don't think he's lazy or really "out of shape" so much as he's 38 and had basically two competent teammates on offense in Strome and Carlson. It just happens, we need to adapt around it

4. I think it's 60/40 right now he retires. Also think GMBM will be a little more forceful after how the Backstrom stuff played out

5. I would like some more physicality on D as well but the problem is that they don't have a 2nd driver behind Carlson. Fehervary and to a lesser extent Sandin are fine complimentary top-4 guys but I really think they need a true Orlov replacement. Ideally would be an RD but get the BPA and work around the handedness later

Pesce comes to mind for me here. Feels like the type of player that could bring some defensive stability to Sandin and allow him to be a little more aggressive in the offensive zone.

1. Agreed - I expect the retool to continue and GMBM pushes to compete. I do think he finds a way to get a top 6 forward and a top 4 defender. He has too much pressure not to after saying that is his goal the last 2 seasons.

2. Marner would be my #1. TOR is a toxic place to play, and I think Marner thrives wherever he goes next. My question is - what would a trade for him look like? McM, Jensen, 2024 1st and more?

3. Agreed with qc14 - Ovi is 38 years old...that is OLD! Hard to lead a team when he is 38 and playing with average players. Plus, not having a true 1c doesn't help. The Caps relied on him to score, and when he did, the Caps usually won. When he didn't, the Caps would score 1-2 goals (if that) and struggle. Goes back to the top 6 forward - if you can get 1-2 of those players, that would help immensely.

4. Oshie said he'd like to play next year, but would need a gurantee his back can be fixed. I personally would like him to retire and I hope GMBM is more forceful about the situation. Having Backy "retire" a handful of games into the season really hurt the Caps (both in terms of a top center retiring and having all that cap space unused).

5. Pesce comes to mind as well for that RHD. Tanev would be another (cheaper option). What would a contract look for Pesce?

sprong a capitals again soon