With how he's been playing since he got to Calgary, I'd take that deal if I was the Flames

Not touching that Huberdeau contract with the long stick.

McM is a no go for me. I wouldn’t trade him

Wouldn't do McM for Hertl straight up with how he's been playing this year. Huberdeau has proven he needs to play with linemates that can carry the play and get open for his passing, something the caps don't have for him really. That contract is also probably the worst one in the league

McMichael has been too good to move him so young

what do you think if there was Lapierre instead?

I see your point. Would you want to see them to try to replace Bäckström & do perhaprs smth similar to what Pittsburgh is doing as their last push?

I'd be more open to it for sure. I'm more in the camp that the Caps wait til free agency to use their cap space, but if the right deal is out there, who knows?

At this point, McM has filled the role that Backstrom held after his injury, so I don't think a Pittsburgh-esque high risk trade needs to happen immediately. I think they would be more likely to target a LHD or top 6 winger like Konecny. (Or if we really want to get crazy, maybe even a goalie...)

In general yes. I would love to see them make one last push this year and particularly next offseason when they have a ton of cap space to add some truly elite guys. I also think they're playing well enough that making additions in-season is not out of the question.

The big thing for me that I think a lot of the national media or people who don't follow the team all the time don't get quite as well is that center is not their biggest need. Backstrom hasn't played like a 2c since 2021 and McMichael has been legitimately great for them this year. Strome-Kuzy-McMichael-Dowd down the middle doesn't have an elite #1 but the depth is very very good. Their real problem is that they need any elite talent at forward. If that's at center, great, but they probably need it even more on the wings. That to me makes guys like Lindholm and Hertl (who are older and IMO a bit overrated anyways) less appealing. Konecny, Nylander, Reinhart, Ehlers, Guentzel (or if you really want to get crazy - Marner, Draisaitl, Zegras, Gaudreau) could all theoretically shake loose in the next 1.5 years and I would love for the Caps to add any one of them. Some younger and less proven guys like Frost or Kent Johnson might also be gettable. Nylander especially I think would be the perfect fit and they should bring out the brinks trucks for him this summer.

The other big need for this team that once again I think only fans of the team really key in on (and honestly only some fans) is another top 4 defenseman. Orlov leaves a huge void, Sandin has looked good but not really at the level of being a true #2, Fehervary and TVR are nice complimentary pieces but wouldn't have them as much more, Jensen has fallen off a cliff this year, and Johansen, Alexeyev, and Haman-Aktell have been getting killed in limited roles. I think that this is honestly a bigger issue than forward right now. Iorio could be ready next year and is a great prospect but not a high enough level where you can bank on him coming in and fixing everything and the rest of their D pipeline is pretty scarce. Hanifin (although I'm scared of an extension -- rumors are he was about to sign for a total of $60m in CGY), Sanheim, Skjei, and Pesce are some top guys that could be available via trade or FA for me. A secondary piece like Zadorov, Tanev, Matheson, DeMelo, Dillon would be very helpful as well.

Overall though I'm just happy to see them competitive again. I get that starting a rebuild early before you are truly bad is the most "optimal" thing to do but as a fan its so much more fun to see the team actually competitive and feel like there's something they're playing for this season. It's going to be tough when Ovi retires no matter what, might as well extend these last years with him as much as you possibly can.