Okay, maybe I went overboard on Green. His numbers after injury last season were sweet and he got better as the season went on. He is the #1 on the Caps. My belief is that he's going to have a huge year. Take that part out and the proposed trade for Miller is still absurd.
- thomasp520

IMO alzner/carlson arent far behind, but green is a #1 D

I had to comment, not fair to rip on someone new THAT bad

IMO alzner/carlson arent far behind, but green is a #1 D

I had to comment, not fair to rip on someone new THAT bad
- artem791

Alzner is our best defenseman, followed by Mike Green. Carlson makes quite a lot of mistakes, still.

Okay, maybe I went overboard on Green. His numbers after injury last season were sweet and he got better as the season went on. He is the #1 on the Caps. My belief is that he's going to have a huge year. Take that part out and the proposed trade for Miller is still absurd.
- thomasp520

I agree. I was a bit taken back by the trade proposal. Our defense, especially the top-4, the 4 minute-munchers most teams have, is already weak with Erskine sliding into the second pairing. I think we need a top-4 defenseman to solidify the lineup, and trading our best offensive weapon from the blue line doesn't help. holtby's splits throughout his young career...are really good, and even better in the playoffs. Actually...they're better than Millers'...not to say much, as the sample size is not comparable, but something to think about. Not to mention the value is just incredibly off.

I agree. I was a bit taken back by the trade proposal. Our defense, especially the top-4, the 4 minute-munchers most teams have, is already weak with Erskine sliding into the second pairing. I think we need a top-4 defenseman to solidify the lineup, and trading our best offensive weapon from the blue line doesn't help. holtby's splits throughout his young career...are really good, and even better in the playoffs. Actually...they're better than Millers'...not to say much, as the sample size is not comparable, but something to think about. Not to mention the value is just incredibly off.
- Blackstrom2

I know the majority of Caps fans want top 4 d-man. I understand why GMGM isn't addressing this and I don't necessarily disagree with him. I think he sees what Kondratek and Oleksky did last season, and he sees the potential of Orlov, Schmidt, and Schilling. My thought is that GMGM wants one of them to emerge and get a full year of seasoning. In other words, growing pains for the long term betterment of the d-core.

@TomasAsp520-

I appreciate your response, however, I must say I strongly disagree with your assessment and believe it is a bit too early to say that Holtby will surely be greatness. Rather than dissecting that first, I am going to illustrate to you, as why you as a Cap fan should be concerned. I appreciate you thinking me of a Sabre fan, but it clearly shows NJD under my profile.

First and foremost, realignment has changed everything and is an upgrade in the competition that the Capitals are bound to see more of. Here is how the Capitals faired against East for 2012-13 and 2011-12 respectively and the categories are: Games Played, Wins, Losses, OT Losses, Total Points, Record vs. Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast.

y - Washington
48 27 18 3 57 27-18-3 4-9-2 8-6-1 15-3-0

x - Washington
82 42 32 8 92 38 34-22-8 8-8-4 14-6-0 12-8-4

When looking at how they did in 2011-12 against the West, here are the results. The last four categories going left to right are overall record against West, Central, Northwest and Pacific:

x - Washington
82 42 32 8 92 38 8-10-0 4-3-0 2-3-0 2-4-0

So while I can see why you may feel you are so confident in the Caps off of prior success, the truth is that more games against the West and less against previous Southeast opponents is going to be a problem. Cam Ward missed almost the entire season for the Canes and this significantly increased the Caps chances of overcoming early adversity. When looking at the previous two years of the Capitals performances, in which the roster is relatively the same other than Semin and Ribiero there are many interesting tidbits of information. The Capitals record against the West is concerning given that it is below .500. This is especially true because the realignment now has 28 games for the Caps this season against Western Conference teams, as proposed to 18. With a 44% winning percentage, the Caps would only win 12 games, thus losing 16. In addition, the Caps are abysmal at best verses the Atlantic division winning only 12 of 35 in the past two seasons and consistently being eliminated in the playoffs by Atlantic rivals. Even more concerning is the Caps record about arguable last season’s weakest conference, with 15 of 27 of their wins coming against the SE division. This means that the remaining 21 had 12 wins, which is barely above .500% again. It was a good thing this was a shortened season, as a full one may not have been to the Caps favor. Northeast division is also much tougher, and the addition of Detroit to the east doesn’t help either as now the Caps only have an 8 out of 16 chance to make the playoffs.

In addition, the Caps in 2011-12 were 21st in the league for GAA and 16th in shots against per game. On the other spectrum, Buffalo was 18th and 26th in the respective categories. Also, in 2012-13, the Caps were 18th for GAA and 28th for shots against per game as compared to Buffalo being 22nd and 30th. Ryan Miller didn’t have Tallinder and Myers was playing horrible this year. These stats should be concerning as well, the Caps are playing higher competition, as well as having statistics which illustrate weaker defense or goaltending. Also, as for individual stats, Holtby was 27th in GAA and 17th in Save %. The defense is getting weaker, the competition stiffer, and the Caps have a history for being out-goaltender by the Elites from the Atlantic. The stats don’t lie, but I believe your emotional attachment to the Caps has made for an over-confidence. I don’t think you want to hear what may be to come for the Caps.

Also, as for Holtby, he has only started 57 NHL games, 30 some of which were this year, which anyone who knows goaltenders will tell you is nothing. If he is so special, then why would a Boston franchise let talent like Khudobin walk out the door? Please read up in the comments section to look at a comparison of the two young netminders statistics. Note that young, hot goaltenders rise and fall all the time in the NHL. Having only started 30-some games, I wouldn’t get too high on Holtby until you have witnessed two full seasons of NHL starting ability. The ability to play 30 solid games in a season is what an NHL backup does, not an NHL starter. The rigors of an NHL season that has western conference travel is much more stringent and stressful. This was a great glimpse at the NHL for young Holtby, but definitely not the true story. Holtby has yet to prove that he can be that consistent through 60-70 starts. Oh and don’t forget the upgrade in goaltenders to be seen in the Metro verse previously in the SE. Thanks again for reading.

As for a top-4 defender, there are still plenty available in free agency who would cost the Caps far less. Four coming to mind would be Ron Hainsey, Tomas Kaberle, Ryan Whitney and Flip Kuba all of which could probably be signed for around $3-4 million on a 1-2 year deal. If the Caps were so concerned with their youth prospects, they wouldn't have let Poti walk and bought Schultz out. They had guys who knew the system and had played well and choose to let them go. The GM didn't make moves in UFA with a strong defensive pool and instead slowly moved an upgrade for offense. The Caps D, poor GAA and shot against rankings would indicate that the youth will only bring better statistics. Why wait for a developing defense with a developing goaltender and not just eliminate the problem and get a known quantity.

As for a top-4 defender, there are still plenty available in free agency who would cost the Caps far less. Four coming to mind would be Ron Hainsey, Tomas Kaberle, Ryan Whitney and Flip Kuba all of which could probably be signed for around $3-4 million on a 1-2 year deal. If the Caps were so concerned with their youth prospects, they wouldn't have let Poti walk and bought Schultz out. They had guys who knew the system and had played well and choose to let them go. The GM didn't make moves in UFA with a strong defensive pool and instead slowly moved an upgrade for offense. The Caps D, poor GAA and shot against rankings would indicate that the youth will only bring better statistics. Why wait for a developing defense with a developing goaltender and not just eliminate the problem and get a known quantity.
- Bcase30

Whitney, Kuba, and Kaberle are no longer top 4 Dmen.
Whitney was horrid last year.

Darcy Regier overvalues his players, especially his core players. If the Capitals are going to make a play at Ryan Miller they are going to have to come strong like the Wild did with Pominville.
- Ryan_Wilson

It is apparent the guest writers dont watch too many caps games. Oates with his left right shot. Caps nees a top 4d that is left handed. Holtby wilson are on the untouchable list types. Neuvy is someone that could be moved and use one of the backups from hershey.

Fehr is loved in Washington, as he had a really good year in the shortened season. I am a Hemsky fan, but I'd rather see Ward or Chimera go up front before Fehr.
- Blackstrom2

I would be happy to see a deal based around Hemsky and any of those 3. I also am a fan of Hemsky, but he is no longer a fit in Edmonton. We need a 3rd line grinder who is defensively responsible.

It is apparent the guest writers dont watch too many caps games. Oates with his left right shot. Caps nees a top 4d that is left handed. Holtby wilson are on the untouchable list types. Neuvy is someone that could be moved and use one of the backups from hershey.
-kuznetsov

Actually, for the past about 3 years I have had NHL Gamecenter and typically watch every NJD game as well as the highlights from the previous evenings games. In addition, I have been in DC long enough to make an effort to watch as many, typically over 60% of their games for close to the past 7 years. However, I must admit I forgot and overlooked the fact that Oates does that, however, that still doesn’t change the depth regardless. It does change the projections, my apologies for the mishap. Thanks for reading and future information.

Neuvy or Holtby to be traded work for me. Remember you all thought Varlamov was going to be spectacular too… you also thought that about Neuvy. Varlamov was a water rippling trade, a first and second round pick from a rebuilding team is a significant pay off. Categories are games played, goals against and save percentage.

Neuvy:
2010-2011 Washington Capitals NHL 48 2.45 .914 |Playoff 9 2.34 .912

Varlamov:
2010-2011 Washington Capitals 27 2.23 .924

Holtby:
For 2012-13. 36 2.58 .920 | Playoffs 7 2.22 .922



I’m not saying he isn’t good, but don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Also, note that this was 2 years ago when Varlamov and Neuvy were both 23, while Holtby is 25. Just food for thought.

thomasp520: Adding to my prior response, if you think I am alone in my sentiment and concern for Washington this season, please read Puck Daddies article. In it, not only does it talk about a power shift to the east but also this nice quote which involves my favorite team and yours:

New Jersey could be truly awful, and I'm not sure how much I trust Washington to do well outside the Southeast, or Alex Ovechkin to replicate anything close to an MVP performance. I suspect the answer is "very little."
-Puck Daddy

Here is the link if you are interested in reading it. http://sports.yahoo.com/b...ing-topics-143606473.html

The Caps have missed their window.

The team they will ice next year will have some good offensive swagger, some decent goaltending and a questionable defensive corps.

The Forsberg trade still makes me scratch my head.

The Caps have missed their window.

The team they will ice next year will have some good offensive swagger, some decent goaltending and a questionable defensive corps.

The Forsberg trade still makes me scratch my head.
-OzBolts

Thanks for the read. Agreed on both accounts. However, I would say they miss their window if they aren't willing to adjust. In today's salary cap NHL, it is more cut-throat and loyalties to players are not the same. The Caps may find themselves having to give away some fan liked talent to revamp their team for the Metro division.

[quote=Bcase30]

GMGM LiKES holtby because of his mental toughness stuff thst does not show in pure stats. Also caps fans would like a chimmy lata wison fourth line with toughness

I know the majority of Caps fans want top 4 d-man. I understand why GMGM isn't addressing this and I don't necessarily disagree with him. I think he sees what Kondratek and Oleksky did last season, and he sees the potential of Orlov, Schmidt, and Schilling. My thought is that GMGM wants one of them to emerge and get a full year of seasoning. In other words, growing pains for the long term betterment of the d-core.
- thomasp520

Kundratek? Oleksy got the tab over him mainly because he is a right shot. Sort of like the same thought process he used on the second line center before he finally realized help from the outside is necessary.

As for a top-4 defender, there are still plenty available in free agency who would cost the Caps far less. Four coming to mind would be Ron Hainsey, Tomas Kaberle, Ryan Whitney and Flip Kuba all of which could probably be signed for around $3-4 million on a 1-2 year deal. If the Caps were so concerned with their youth prospects, they wouldn't have let Poti walk and bought Schultz out. They had guys who knew the system and had played well and choose to let them go. The GM didn't make moves in UFA with a strong defensive pool and instead slowly moved an upgrade for offense. The Caps D, poor GAA and shot against rankings would indicate that the youth will only bring better statistics. Why wait for a developing defense with a developing goaltender and not just eliminate the problem and get a known quantity.
- Bcase30

Kaberle, Whitney, and Kuba suck. Schultz had to be bought out for cap reasons. Poti sucks..that's why they let him walk.

@TomasAsp520-

I appreciate your response, however, I must say I strongly disagree with your assessment and believe it is a bit too early to say that Holtby will surely be greatness. Rather than dissecting that first, I am going to illustrate to you, as why you as a Cap fan should be concerned. I appreciate you thinking me of a Sabre fan, but it clearly shows NJD under my profile.

First and foremost, realignment has changed everything and is an upgrade in the competition that the Capitals are bound to see more of. Here is how the Capitals faired against East for 2012-13 and 2011-12 respectively and the categories are: Games Played, Wins, Losses, OT Losses, Total Points, Record vs. Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast.

y - Washington
48 27 18 3 57 27-18-3 4-9-2 8-6-1 15-3-0

x - Washington
82 42 32 8 92 38 34-22-8 8-8-4 14-6-0 12-8-4

When looking at how they did in 2011-12 against the West, here are the results. The last four categories going left to right are overall record against West, Central, Northwest and Pacific:

x - Washington
82 42 32 8 92 38 8-10-0 4-3-0 2-3-0 2-4-0

So while I can see why you may feel you are so confident in the Caps off of prior success, the truth is that more games against the West and less against previous Southeast opponents is going to be a problem. Cam Ward missed almost the entire season for the Canes and this significantly increased the Caps chances of overcoming early adversity. When looking at the previous two years of the Capitals performances, in which the roster is relatively the same other than Semin and Ribiero there are many interesting tidbits of information. The Capitals record against the West is concerning given that it is below .500. This is especially true because the realignment now has 28 games for the Caps this season against Western Conference teams, as proposed to 18. With a 44% winning percentage, the Caps would only win 12 games, thus losing 16. In addition, the Caps are abysmal at best verses the Atlantic division winning only 12 of 35 in the past two seasons and consistently being eliminated in the playoffs by Atlantic rivals. Even more concerning is the Caps record about arguable last season’s weakest conference, with 15 of 27 of their wins coming against the SE division. This means that the remaining 21 had 12 wins, which is barely above .500% again. It was a good thing this was a shortened season, as a full one may not have been to the Caps favor. Northeast division is also much tougher, and the addition of Detroit to the east doesn’t help either as now the Caps only have an 8 out of 16 chance to make the playoffs.

In addition, the Caps in 2011-12 were 21st in the league for GAA and 16th in shots against per game. On the other spectrum, Buffalo was 18th and 26th in the respective categories. Also, in 2012-13, the Caps were 18th for GAA and 28th for shots against per game as compared to Buffalo being 22nd and 30th. Ryan Miller didn’t have Tallinder and Myers was playing horrible this year. These stats should be concerning as well, the Caps are playing higher competition, as well as having statistics which illustrate weaker defense or goaltending. Also, as for individual stats, Holtby was 27th in GAA and 17th in Save %. The defense is getting weaker, the competition stiffer, and the Caps have a history for being out-goaltender by the Elites from the Atlantic. The stats don’t lie, but I believe your emotional attachment to the Caps has made for an over-confidence. I don’t think you want to hear what may be to come for the Caps.

Also, as for Holtby, he has only started 57 NHL games, 30 some of which were this year, which anyone who knows goaltenders will tell you is nothing. If he is so special, then why would a Boston franchise let talent like Khudobin walk out the door? Please read up in the comments section to look at a comparison of the two young netminders statistics. Note that young, hot goaltenders rise and fall all the time in the NHL. Having only started 30-some games, I wouldn’t get too high on Holtby until you have witnessed two full seasons of NHL starting ability. The ability to play 30 solid games in a season is what an NHL backup does, not an NHL starter. The rigors of an NHL season that has western conference travel is much more stringent and stressful. This was a great glimpse at the NHL for young Holtby, but definitely not the true story. Holtby has yet to prove that he can be that consistent through 60-70 starts. Oh and don’t forget the upgrade in goaltenders to be seen in the Metro verse previously in the SE. Thanks again for reading.
- Bcase30

Almost every East team played the West below .500. Also, how you can criticize him for basing his future projection on the past..when that is exactly what you did.

Regardless, your trade proposal is a gross overpayment for an upgrade we don't necessarily need, committing a huge gap in our defense as well. holtby also played more games than any goaltender in the NHL last year...if you include their time during the lockout in whatever league they went too.

The Caps have missed their window.

The team they will ice next year will have some good offensive swagger, some decent goaltending and a questionable defensive corps.

The Forsberg trade still makes me scratch my head.
- OzBolts

Your assessment sounds like the Capitals 4 years ago.

The Forsberg trade was bad for cap reasons, not because we acquired a top-6 winger in Erat and a bottom-6 prospect in Latta for a prospect, who may or may not pan out in the NHL, and looked completely lost in his few call-ups.

GMGM LiKES holtby because of his mental toughness stuff thst does not show in pure stats. Also caps fans would like a chimmy lata wison fourth line with toughness
- kuznetsov

Holtby is fine. I question anyone who wants to upgrade our goaltending, especially for just a year.

great stuff in this article. very informative. clearly this guy (author) knows his hockey. go rangers

I split my time between a Flames/Capitals fan and it is nice to finally have someone on here writing about the Capitals. I agree the Caps are a little unproven in goal but I think Miller and his supposed attitude could be a huge mistake. I think the Caps team for this coming year looks pretty solid. Green finally started to look like his old self last year and in a full season he could do a lot of damage I think, so trading him could be a mistake but do to his injuries keeping him may be a huge mistake too. I wouldn't mind the Caps trying to shed some salary on a guy like Laich or Ward. Both make roughly 4 million I believe and I know Laich is a popular player and a tremendous asset but he doesn't put up the points or the time (due to constant injury) to be worth that kind of money also I think the Caps could get a pretty good prospect in a trade for him or maybe package him with another player to get a goaltender. Ward although not injury prone is almost unnoticeable every game and probably not tradable because of that maybe the team can use their last buyout on him.

Almost every East team played the West below .500. Also, how you can criticize him for basing his future projection on the past..when that is exactly what you did.

Regardless, your trade proposal is a gross overpayment for an upgrade we don't necessarily need, committing a huge gap in our defense as well. holtby also played more games than any goaltender in the NHL last year...if you include their time during the lockout in whatever league they went too.
-Backstrom2

Again, you are wrong. The East actually did much better against the West than .500. In fact, between the Atlantic and Northeast, only one was under .500 and two were right at .500. However, your SE division, 3 teams were below .500. In addition, it is definitely arguable that teams in the Atlantic and Northeast have improved since the 2011-12 season (exception NJD and Buffalo). You still fail to acknowledge the increase in talent and competition. In addition, you fail to acknowledge the decrease of games against previous SE division teams and the impact of the Caps success against them on the Caps overall record. See below:

1
z - NY Rangers
82 51 24 7 109 47 10-6-2 3-3-0 3-2-0 4-1-2
2
x - Pittsburgh
82 51 25 6 108 42 13-2-3 4-1-1 5-0-1 4-1-1
3
x - Philadelphia
82 47 26 9 103 43 11-5-2 4-3-0 3-1-1 4-1-1
4
x - New Jersey
82 48 28 6 102 36 10-6-2 4-0-1 2-4-0 4-2-1
5
NY Islanders
82 34 37 11 79 27 7-7-4 1-3-2 4-1-1 2-3-1
Northeast GP
W
L
OT
P
ROW
vs WEST vs CEN vs NW vs PAC
1
y - Boston
82 49 29 4 102 40 11-6-1 5-0-1 2-3-0 4-3-0
2
x - Ottawa
82 41 31 10 92 35 7-9-2 2-3-0 4-2-2 1-4-0
3
Buffalo
82 39 32 11 89 32 11-6-1 2-5-0 4-0-1 5-1-0
4
Toronto
82 35 37 10 80 31 9-6-3 3-2-0 4-3-1 2-1-2
5
Montréal
82 31 35 16 78 26 7-7-4 2-2-1 3-3-2 2-2-1
Southeast GP
W
L
OT
P
ROW
vs WEST vs CEN vs NW vs PAC
1
y - Florida
82 38 26 18 94 32 5-7-6 0-4-2 2-0-4 3-3-0
2
x - Washington
82 42 32 8 92 38 8-10-0 4-3-0 2-3-0 2-4-0
3
Tampa Bay
82 38 36 8 84 35 9-7-2 3-4-0 2-1-2 4-2-0
4
Winnipeg
82 37 35 10 84 33 8-9-1 0-4-1 4-3-0 4-2-0
5
Carolina
82 33 33 16 82 32 8-6-4 3-3-1 3-1-1 2-2-2

As for your thoughts on Green: Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at Whitney’s career as he is a perfect example of a comparison player. It is easy to say a player simply sucked because he was playing for Edmonton for the past three years and also was battling constant injuries. However, here is the scoop on Whitney in case you didn’t know it. He was a 2002 5th round, 1st round pick by Pitt. He is currently two years older than Green, sitting at 30. In 2009-2010, he was also on the US Olympic team. He hasn’t been able to play a full season since his second in the NHL, 2006-07. In addition, his rookie season with Pitt in 05-06 was when they were second worst in the league. The fact that he played four years for a team that was either last or second to last every year except this past half season since 2009-10. Thus, in his 9 NHL seasons, he has played for a team in the bottom of the NHL 4 of 9. He also has a Stanley Cup ring on his finger (06-07), where’s Greens? Whitney, throughout his career averages .55 points per game. Looking at the numbers, one will see that it appears Whitney may be better as a set up defender, which could be a benefit for the power play and at even strength for Ovie. In addition, at 6’4, 210 he fits the type of play the Caps are going to be exposed to more.

As for Green’s history-He has played for a consistently, much better team and has similar stats. He also has injury problems. While two years ago Green still held high value, I think you’re a bit stuck in the past. Green has to prove himself this year. Last year, for all NHL players didn’t put the wear and tear on the bodies of players. The rigors of a full season will dictate how high these values truly are. Also, both players have 9 seasons in the NHL. Green is really more like 8, as 05-06 was limited time. Since the 2007-08 season, the Caps have been a perennial powerhouse in the SE, but yet there is no hardware. Even my NJD made the Cup finals more recently than the Caps, however, Oates and Kolzig can tell you about how that went (1996-97). Green throughout his career averages .64 points per game. At 6’1, Green is a good size for an NHL defender, however, is still more on the finesse side. Categories below for the stats are Games played, goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, pp goals, sh goals, game winning goals, shots, and shot %.

2005-2006
Penguins
68 6 32 38 -7 85 2 0 1 113 5.3
2005-2006 Wilkes-Barre Penguins-AHL 9 5 9 14 7 6 3 0 3
2006-2007
Penguins
81 14 45 59 9 77 9 0 2 129 10.9
2007-2008
Penguins
76 12 28 40 -2 45 7 1 1 119 10.1
2008-2009
Penguins
28 2 11 13 -15 16 1 0 0 42 4.8
2008-2009
Ducks
20 0 10 10 1 12 0 0 0 29 0.0
2008-2009 Wilkes-Barre Penguins-AHL 1 0 1 1 -1 2 0 0 0
2009-2010
Ducks
62 4 24 28 -6 48 3 0 0 107 3.7
2009-2010
Oilers
19 3 8 11 7 22 0 0 1 44 6.8
2009-2010 United States-Olympics 6 0 0 0 0
2010-2011
Oilers
35 2 25 27 13 33 0 0 0 43 4.7
2011-2012
Oilers
51 3 17 20 -16 16 2 0 0 41 7.3
2012-2013
Oilers
34 4 9 13 -7 23 0 0 0 30 13.3
NHL TOTALS 474 50 209 259 -23 377 24 1 5 697

2005-2006
Capitals
22 1 2 3 -8 18 0 0 0 13 7.7
2005-2006 Bears-AHL 56 9 34 43 79
2006-2007
Capitals
70 2 10 12 -10 36 0 0 0 68 2.9
2007-2008
Capitals
82 18 38 56 6 62 8 0 4 234 7.7
2007-2008 Canada-WC-A 9 4 8 12 2
2008-2009
Capitals
68 31 42 73 24 68 18 1 4 243 12.8
2009-2010
Capitals
75 19 57 76 39 54 10 0 4 205 9.3
2010-2011
Capitals
49 8 16 24 6 48 5 0 1 115 7.0
2011-2012
Capitals
32 3 4 7 5 12 3 0 1 64 4.7
2012-2013
Capitals
35 12 14 26 -3 20 4 0 2 96 12.5
NHL TOTALS 433 94 183 277 59 318 48 1 16 1,038 9.1
Whitney:NHL TOTALS 474 50 209 259 -23 377 24 1 5 697

Looking at Green in terms of comparison to Caps, you will see that his stats were actually at the bottom in terms of plus minus. Please reference the stats of Olesky, Kundratek and Hillen below. Erskine, Hillen and Olesky had significantly better plus/minus (+10,+9 and +9 respectively). They also put up decent offensive production, which in an 82 game season could look at all of them being 20-30 point producers, which is solid for 4th-6th spot defensemen. Kundratek was the only one who had a lower plus/minus (-5) and it was barely lower than Greens (-3). Also, a majority of Green’s points came from the PP, which would indicate he is far less of a threat 5-5 than previously, and is more of a defensive liability. In addition, he only had 8 points in the first 20 games, thus statistically finishing hot, which paralleled how the Caps last half of the season was. Yes, he is one of your top 4 D-men, however, Alzner and Carlson are more Metro division valuable I would say. They are also significantly younger than Green. You may just find that Greens career takes a very similar path to Whitney, it’s not that farfetched to believe. Here are the stats:http://www.nhl.com/ice/pl...status=&viewName=summary#

As for Chimera, he played an average of 12 minutes a game last year and was 11th on the team in points. We have plenty of players similar playing style of Chimera (Brouwer, Ward, Fehr). He was 2nd to last on the team in plus/minus (-6). Please reference his stats here: http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8466251

As for Holtby, the comp would be Cory Schnieder, and he went for a 9th overall pick straight up. For starters, Holtby was a diamond in the ruff with average NHL size and being a 4th round pick in 2008. Schnieder was a 26th overall pick in 2004. He too is listed at 6’2, so similar size to Holtby. However, he hasn’t had the luxury of sitting behind no-one, hence the Loungo problem. However, what this does mean is that he has been mentored by one of the best NHL goaltenders for three full seasons, and part of 2 others. He is more mature, proven, and better groomed than Holtby. Schnieder’s career and individual season stats are better but comparable to Holtby’s. Schnieder’s post season stats in 2010-11 and 2011-12 had games against the Cup Champion as well (also has Stanley Cup finals experience). Particularly, his 2011-12 stats against LAK are significantly notable as he posted a .96 save % and a 1.31 GAA. Here are the stats with Holtby at the top for both regular season and playoffs: Categories are games played, wins, losses, shutouts, shots against, save %, GAA and total minutes.
NHL TOTALS 57 37 16 0 4 7 127 1,647 .923 2.39 3,186
NHL TOTALS 98 55 26 0 8 9 197 2,715 .927 2.20 5,372

Playoffs:
NHL TOTALS 21 10 11 1 46 664 .931 2.04 1,355

NHL TOTALS 10 1 4 0 20 258 .922 2.59 463

Ultimately, Green is at a precarious point in his career. Chimera is a third line forward who is easily expendable with Wilson sitting in the wings. Holtby, is great but again I think the rigors of the Metro division, actual west coast travel this year, and a young defense will mean that Holtby will have to be outstanding, not average. I may be off in my assessment of value, however, I feel that the stats accurately portray that it might be time for Washington to try a new strategy. Afterall, trying the same thing over and over again expecting differing results is the definition of insanity…

Even refer to Dave Unger’s article which at the bottom of the analysis on our first round pick states it bluntly:

“The problem is, however, that in making this pick the Caps have sent a message that they intend on being the same old Capitals: They will continue to try to win games the way they did when they dominated the Southeast Division—by being a finesse-first team content on outgunning the opposition.”
-Dave Unger

Here is the link for your enjoyment: http://bleacherreport.com...s-2013-draft-picks/page/2.

Thanks for the comment, however, I think you are a bit jaded in your beliefs of the Caps and some of their players.

I split my time between a Flames/Capitals fan and it is nice to finally have someone on here writing about the Capitals. I agree the Caps are a little unproven in goal but I think Miller and his supposed attitude could be a huge mistake. I think the Caps team for this coming year looks pretty solid. Green finally started to look like his old self last year and in a full season he could do a lot of damage I think, so trading him could be a mistake but do to his injuries keeping him may be a huge mistake too. I wouldn't mind the Caps trying to shed some salary on a guy like Laich or Ward. Both make roughly 4 million I believe and I know Laich is a popular player and a tremendous asset but he doesn't put up the points or the time (due to constant injury) to be worth that kind of money also I think the Caps could get a pretty good prospect in a trade for him or maybe package him with another player to get a goaltender. Ward although not injury prone is almost unnoticeable every game and probably not tradable because of that maybe the team can use their last buyout on him.
-Holyhuselius

I agree with your assessment. Look at my above comments for feelings on Brouwer, Laich and Ward as trade bait. Thanks for the read and comment.

Hiller/Olesky.
Kundratek and Orlov are capable too.
(frank) no on that Miller trade.

As for your thoughts on Green: Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at Whitney’s career as he is a perfect example of a comparison player. It is easy to say a player simply sucked because he was playing for Edmonton for the past three years and also was battling constant injuries. However, here is the scoop on Whitney in case you didn’t know it. He was a 2002 5th round, 1st round pick by Pitt. He is currently two years older than Green, sitting at 30. In 2009-2010, he was also on the US Olympic team. He hasn’t been able to play a full season since his second in the NHL, 2006-07. In addition, his rookie season with Pitt in 05-06 was when they were second worst in the league. The fact that he played four years for a team that was either last or second to last every year except this past half season since 2009-10. Thus, in his 9 NHL seasons, he has played for a team in the bottom of the NHL 4 of 9. He also has a Stanley Cup ring on his finger (06-07), where’s Greens? Whitney, throughout his career averages .55 points per game. Looking at the numbers, one will see that it appears Whitney may be better as a set up defender, which could be a benefit for the power play and at even strength for Ovie. In addition, at 6’4, 210 he fits the type of play the Caps are going to be exposed to more.

Looking at Green in terms of comparison to Caps, you will see that his stats were actually at the bottom in terms of plus minus. Please reference the stats of Olesky, Kundratek and Hillen below. Erskine, Hillen and Olesky had significantly better plus/minus (+10,+9 and +9 respectively). They also put up decent offensive production, which in an 82 game season could look at all of them being 20-30 point producers, which is solid for 4th-6th spot defensemen. Kundratek was the only one who had a lower plus/minus (-5) and it was barely lower than Greens (-3). Also, a majority of Green’s points came from the PP, which would indicate he is far less of a threat 5-5 than previously, and is more of a defensive liability. In addition, he only had 8 points in the first 20 games, thus statistically finishing hot, which paralleled how the Caps last half of the season was. Yes, he is one of your top 4 D-men, however, Alzner and Carlson are more Metro division valuable I would say. They are also significantly younger than Green. You may just find that Greens career takes a very similar path to Whitney, it’s not that farfetched to believe. Here are the stats:http://www.nhl.com/ice/pl...status=&viewName=summary#


Thanks for the comment, however, I think you are a bit jaded in your beliefs of the Caps and some of their players.
- Bcase30

Once again, Whitney is no longer even close to top 4 material. After surgery on his foot I am willing to wager he is one of the slowest and least mobile defenders in the league. He was a healthy scratch numerous times this past year due to his horrendous play and pouted about it to the media. It was not due to playing on the Oilers blueline as you suggested, as his usual partner looked adequate in covering for Whitney. His partner was Cory Potter, a number 6/7 on the Oilers who was left to clean up after the inept Whitney. Anyone who has seen Whitney play over the past two seasons would take Green waaaaay before him, and probably would rather a pylon than him.

A couple other things, you mentioned his size as he is a bigger guy, but if you've seen him play you would know he doesn't use it, he is not physical. Also I noticed you used +/- while comparing Green to the other Cap Dmen