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grobkenwood

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Mar. 7, 2018
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Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 1, 2023 at 2:26 p.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 8, 2023 at 11:20 a.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 17, 2022 at 4:05 p.m.
Forum: Washington CapitalsAug. 31, 2021 at 2:10 p.m.
So the premise is pretty simple, I'm going to grade Capitals trades from the last 3 seasons. I might do more down the line but for now I want to scrutinize GMBM from these last few years. I won't be grading Low level pick swaps and some other irrelevant trades, but most will get a grade. Feel free to lampoon me on these.

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WSH: Vitek Vanacek
SEA: 2nd Round Pick

Grade: A

Flipping a 2nd round pick from the Dillon trade to bring back the goalie tandem that did well last year was a good move for both sides. Vanacek is great and at the very least he is a good insurance policy should Samsonov struggle this year.

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WSH: 2022, 2023 2nd round picks
WPG: Brenden Dillon

Grade: A

Another good move this offseason by GMBM, Dillon wasn't terrible in DC but was expendable with the amount of defense the Capitals had, The Caps got some salary cap relief, and 2 second round picks for their trouble. This is a grade A move.

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WSH: Michael Raffl
PHI: 2021 5th round pick

Grade: C

Raffl was alright for the Caps, but this trade is hard to grade considering Raffl has now left in free agency and we wont know if the 5th round pick given up will become anything. So I'll go right in the middle with a C.

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WSH: Anthony Mantha
DET: Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, 2021 1st, 2022 2nd

Grade: C-

I already know this is a controversial grade as many would rate this as an F for the Capitals, but here goes. Unlike most Capitals fans, I am somewhat optimistic about Mantha future, but this trade still doesn't look that great. Giving up a 2nd to dump Panik's contract was fine, he never really impacted the Caps and was taking up space for guys like Sprong. The reason this gets a C- is the second part of the trade. On principle, it isnt the worst idea. Although Vrana was a fan favorite, he didn't mesh with Laviolette and Mantha is a decent replacement. The issue comes with giving up a 1st round pick with Vrana. It was far too much for only a slight upgrade in some areas, and if Vrana continues to excel in Detroit it will only look worse. I think Washington could have done a 1 for 1 swap with Mantha for Vrana and it would have looked much better. I grade it a C- for now, but it is quite likely that this trade looks worse as the year progresses.

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WSH: 2021 3rd round pick
NJD: Jonas Siegenthaler

Grade: B-

Siegenthaler was an extra on an already bloated D Corp, and getting a 3rd round pick that turned into Brent Johnson has me excited for the future, but considering Johnson won't be NHL ready for a few years, I can't give this any better than a B-.

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WSH: Daniel Sprong
ANA: Christian Djoos

Grade: A+

Capitals absolutely win this trade. Djoos bounced around after this trade, and has now left the NHL entirely to play in Europe. The capitals get a great middle 6 winger with decent potential for the future. 100% GMBM win.

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WSH: Ilya Kovalchuk (50% retained)
MTL: 2020 3rd round pick

Grade: D+

Kovalchuk never really showed off in DC, and looking back giving up a 3rd round pick was not a good idea. While the player MTL took will take a couple years to develop and to analyze, I still see this as a loss.

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WSH: Brenden Dillon (50% retained)
SJS: 2020 2nd round pick, 2021 3rd round pick

Grade: B+

Dillon was a good pick up for the 2020 season, especially at a retained price. He played decently and won the hearts of caps fans when he jumped into a scrum to beat up on Malkin early in his tenure in DC. The price wasn't exorbitant and although the Caps didn't go far that year, Dillon was well worth the price.

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WSH: 2021 5th Round Pick
VGK: Chandler Stephenson

Grade: F

Stephenson was misused during his time in DC and wasn't given great chances. While he struggled with the Capitals during this season, Washington would love to have him back as a center in place of more expensive options like Eller and Kuznetsov. While the loss of Stephenson allowed Dowd to step up, in retrospect the Capitals should have at least gotten more than a 5th round pick.

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WSH: Scott Kosmachuk, 2020 2nd, 2020 3rd round pick
COL: Andre Burakovsky

Grade: C

Another case of a player starting to struggle to get a good role in Washington, Burakovsky excelled once in Colorado. Washington got a decent return for Burky, using the 2nd round pick to grab Brenden Dillon and the 3rd rounder was used to trade up to grab Hendrix Lapierre (trade not graded due to not having enough time to properly compare Lapierre and Zary), but I think the capitals would prefer a 2nd line wing pair of Burakovsky and Wilson/Oshie to having make more winger moves in later years.

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WSH: Radko Gudas(30% retained)
PHI: Matt Niskanen

Grade: C+

It sucked to see Niskanen leave, especially for a division rival, but the capitals did get a cheaper option in Gudas. The capitals did benefit from having more salary cap win, but Gudas simply wasn't as valuable to the Capitals as Niskanen was to the Flyers. However, Niskanen retiring earlier than expected and the cap room the Caps got for him makes this a middle of the road trade instead of a complete disaster.

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Overall Grade for 2019-2021: C+

MacLellan has made some brilliant trades over the years, and grabbing Daniel Sprong is one that shows up here, but unfortunately he has made a large amount of trades that are suspect at best. The capitals are quickly closing in on the end of their contending window, and if they want to make another good run at a Cup, GMBM will have to be very wary of the moves he is making.
Forum: NHL TradesJul. 27, 2021 at 10:44 a.m.