We gave up leads in the 3rd period all season (and usually lost).
We gave up leads in the 3rd period, in Games 2 and 3 (and lost).

We have a line-up of old guys, who give up leads (and usually lose).

Vrana would have been helpful, but I do think Mantha will be more than a "potentially" dominant player at some point.

OV showed flashes of speed and power I haven't seen in a long-time (see first game highlights lol), but then he went a long-time between even moving his legs, so I don't know...as someone said earlier, he isn't going to dominate like McTurnover et al. anymore, but he can definitely be serviceable and clutch when needed.

His overall skating has really declined though.

Caps seemed to peeter out as season wore on, and they looked near death during that double OT - need fresh legs next year if they want a real push!

Kuzy was an absolute ghost out there; time for a change of scenery?
Hagelin is fast, but his hands/finishing is terrible; surely wheels-only costs less than 3mill (or whatever his hit is).

Is Wilson really a top-6 guy? I'm not sure.
5mill+ on that guy is a lot of cash-money.

Cap Hits: 2.75 Mill (Hags), 5+ (Wilson), 7.8 (Kuzy) would be nice to get off the books.

Bring up McMichael! Bring back MoJo! Give Sprong more game time! Guy is a sniper and works his arse off.
I liked Sheary all season, but he seemed to disappear (might be just nature of his playoff duties).

OV-Backs-Oshie?
Mantha-McMichael-Mojo (3M line!!!!)
Sheary-Eller-Sprong
Dowd-Hathaway-???


Defense is another matter...

Jensen/Kempny need to go
Chara seemed ok, but a move towards a faster mobile D-corps has to happen.
That Schultz deal is going to haunt us...

Orlov / Carlson / Schultz ( ) / ??? / TVRD / ???

Maybe I'll wait for NHL'22...

I would have kept Anderson in net.
- PogBoi

This as well; let the guy sort out the cobwebs.
Oh well...

What happend to Kuzy, am I right? In the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup run, he led all scorers with 32 points in 24 GP. Ovechkin had 27 points. Its been downhill since there. Off the ice issues and then 0 points in three games played is no ideal. I dont know how much this year hurts his trade value. He is locked in for 7.8M for for four more years. CBJ are lookin for a top line center? Trade Kuznetsov for Texier straight up?! Maybe get the CBJ to throw in a 1st or 2nd rounder
- Brian Sickles

I don't know what happened with him but there is 100% something going on.

I just watched an interview with OVI where he said Kuzy will be back next year stronger than ever. so who knows if he's going anywhere.

I do think it could be worth it for the Caps to pick up maybe Anthony Duclair. He's fast, can score and is cheap to sign and was positive and fantastic in the room for Ottawa and seems to be doing well with the Panthers.

Brian, great analysis. Here's hoping the Caps trade Chara back to us and let him finish his career wearing the spoked B. It never looked right seeing him in another jersey. I thought he still played well on the PK, especially game 5.

And if they want to send Wilson along too I wouldn't object. The fact that so many folks around here hated him proves he'd be a great addition to the group. A team with Marchand AND Wilson would be tough to handle - nobody would be able to focus their ire on just one guy.

Great season, Caps. Sometimes it doesn't go your way in the playoffs, but no reason to give up on this team.

What happend to Kuzy, am I right? In the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup run, he led all scorers with 32 points in 24 GP. Ovechkin had 27 points. Its been downhill since there. Off the ice issues and then 0 points in three games played is no ideal. I dont know how much this year hurts his trade value. He is locked in for 7.8M for for four more years. CBJ are lookin for a top line center? Trade Kuznetsov for Texier straight up?! Maybe get the CBJ to throw in a 1st or 2nd rounder
- Brian Sickles

Kuzy has to go. The team needed him and he was not available for whatever reason. He makes too much money to be a mercurial enigma, showing flashes of brilliance and then disappearing for long stretches. There was the cocaine incident after the Cup win that may still be playing a part in what is going on.

Brian, great analysis. Here's hoping the Caps trade Chara back to us and let him finish his career wearing the spoked B. It never looked right seeing him in another jersey. I thought he still played well on the PK, especially game 5.

And if they want to send Wilson along too I wouldn't object. The fact that so many folks around here hated him proves he'd be a great addition to the group. A team with Marchand AND Wilson would be tough to handle - nobody would be able to focus their ire on just one guy.

Great season, Caps. Sometimes it doesn't go your way in the playoffs, but no reason to give up on this team.
- gerrharr66

Thanks for the comment @gerrharr66 ! Caps are keeping Wilson!!! He is one of the few young guys we have left on this roster, relatively speaking of course. I really liked Chara for the Caps this season. He is a force on and off the ice for sure.

Brian, great analysis. Here's hoping the Caps trade Chara back to us and let him finish his career wearing the spoked B. It never looked right seeing him in another jersey. I thought he still played well on the PK, especially game 5.

And if they want to send Wilson along too I wouldn't object. The fact that so many folks around here hated him proves he'd be a great addition to the group. A team with Marchand AND Wilson would be tough to handle - nobody would be able to focus their ire on just one guy.

Great season, Caps. Sometimes it doesn't go your way in the playoffs, but no reason to give up on this team.
- gerrharr66

As you say - we already have Marchand. WTF would we want Wilson?

As you say - we already have Marchand. WTF would we want Wilson?

- Nasty_Duck

Cracking up thinking about Wilson and Marchand on the same team

As you say - we already have Marchand. WTF would we want Wilson?

- Nasty_Duck

or Chara.. he proved why the Bruins didnt sign him.

or Chara.. he proved why the Bruins didnt sign him.
- 77emac77

Not missing Krug so much either...

It will be Interesting to see what kind of bad term and money the Caps offer the soon to be 36 year old broken down diva If he gets anymore than one year at 3 million It's a terrible Investment.

It will be Interesting to see what kind of bad term and money the Caps offer the soon to be 36 year old broken down diva If he gets anymore than one year at 3 million It's a terrible Investment.
- Shady1962

He's still a point per game player.......

Will he get too much? Probably. But financially, he's worth a lot to the caps in ticket/merch sales as well. Caps probably have one more decent shot at the cup, then 3 years of cap hell and a rebuild. Hard to be a contender forever.

Cracking up thinking about Wilson and Marchand on the same team
- Cptmjl

C'mon, just imagine the irony of Marchand taking Wilson under his wing to show him how to change his ways. It's gold!

What happend to Kuzy, am I right? In the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup run, he led all scorers with 32 points in 24 GP. Ovechkin had 27 points. Its been downhill since there. Off the ice issues and then 0 points in three games played is no ideal. I dont know how much this year hurts his trade value. He is locked in for 7.8M for for four more years. CBJ are lookin for a top line center? Trade Kuznetsov for Texier straight up?! Maybe get the CBJ to throw in a 1st or 2nd rounder
- Brian Sickles

I mean, he could be regressing, but my guess? Well. Might be apathy. He got his payday and his ring.

Wouldn’t be the first time. He’s livin the high life. Some people lose the drive after that. Occasionally they mature enough to gain it back. They decide they wanna legacy to go along with that bank account. They wanna make others happy. Maslow’s top two levels of self-actualization kinda stuff. Not everyone hits that, especially in their youth.

Come to find that Backstrom has a hip issue, which explains why he looked so slow in the Boston series. Along with Carlson's knee (he sucked too) explains why they just broke down. Good on Boston to keep the pedal to the metal. They deserved the series for sure but those injuries don't help and they obviously came at the worst possible time.

Come to find that Backstrom has a hip issue, which explains why he looked so slow in the Boston series. Along with Carlson's knee (he sucked too) explains why they just broke down. Good on Boston to keep the pedal to the metal. They deserved the series for sure but those injuries don't help and they obviously came at the worst possible time.
- marky

They are too old and slow. Boston had their own issues as well.
This team may not even make the playoffs next season, the power is starting to shift.