Someone on TV said earlier that Caps fans should soak up the great season the Caps had and expect them to be better next year. I won't fall for that. I've been watching this franchise since 1985 (I was 11), and I have come to the conclusion that the Caps will never achieve playoff greatness. It's simply not in the cards.
When the Caps are bad, they don't make the playoffs. When they're good, they collapse in the playoffs. Even the ONE year they made the finals, they didn't win a single game. They may as well have not bothered showing up.
The Capitals, as an organization, are nearly as old as I am. That's more than enough time to win ONE Stanley Cup, even on a fluke or something. I just don't understand how a team can continuously find new and different ways to be humiliated in the postseason. They never play big in big games. When it matters the most, they fold the easiest.
Every team in my geographic area has won a title in my lifetime. Even the Wizards (as the Bullets). The Orioles. The Redskins. The Ravens. All of them. But not the Capitals.
I can't get real excited about next year, because it's just going to be more of the same. They'll play well for 82 games, maybe outpace Carolina for the division, they'll have a high seed for the playoffs and then get their butt handed to them in the first or second round. And I'll watch, because I love hockey. But I'm not going to buy into the hype again.
If I'm the Caps, I'm calling Claude Lemieux and Mike Keane. Between them, they have more titles than a mortage company. They know how to win in the plaoffs. I'm adding them to my coaching staff. I'm naming them my "Grit and Glory" coaches. They say you have to learn how to win? Well, those two can teach it. The Capitals have too many forwards who, if they aren't scoring, they aren't contributing. You can't win a title like that. Kozlov, Semin, and Fleischmann are basically the same guy.
I'm trading Fleischmann to Chicago for a guy like Andrew Ladd. Kozlov, I'll send to Columbus for Raffi Torres. I'm calling Brian Burke in Toronto. I'm asking if he'll deal me young and tough-as-nails Luke Schenn for super puck moving prospect John Carlson. The Caps defense played like a group of toothless lions. We need a defenseman with some bite and edge to him. Alzner should be with the big club next year, but he's a technician, not a terror. We need a guy who plays with a viscious, nasty streak. Not like Erskine. I'm talking about a talented guy with a mean streak. A Shea Weber type.
Something has to be done to add more chippiness to this roster, because as it is, the Caps will always be bridesmaids come playoff time.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
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5 comments:
Mike Green needs to petition Easton to start making the Synergy sticks again. He was invisible out there.
Actually, he uses the Easton "Stealth", which was appropriate because he disappeared.
I'm wondering if Mike Green should hope NOT to win the Norris. If he win's it, it'll be a huge spotlight on how ineffective he was in the playoffs.
I mean, the Staal goal last night. Green gave him a half-hearted whack, but didn't even move to follow him as he went from behind the goal to the crease area.
I found a lot of times that he looked like he was more of a passive spectator than engaged int he flow of the game.
In the post-game interviews, he had bags under his eyes, and didn't look like the same person.
I heard that he was sick at the beginning of the Rangers series...and I'm guessing he never got his legs back after that.
The Caps defense, as a whole, was completely ineffective against the cycling offense utilized by the Penguins. They had no answer for it whatsoever apart from taking penalties, which is just as bad as letting them run their offense unopposed.
The Caps are a puck possession, speed-based offense. The Penguins showed that if you can hog the puck against the Caps while disabling their ability to build speed through the neutral zone, you can thoroughly dominate this Washington team.
The Pen outplayed the Caps in all seven games. The reason the Caps won three of them was Varlamov. And man, did the wheels ever fall off of him in a big way.
The team needs to be more well-rounded. Like I said, we have too many of the same guy.
From what I have seen, the Caps have a really strong team, but they badly need improvements on the blue-line. They need Alzner to blossom, and even get a 2nd stay-at-home positional defensemen that clears guys out of the crease area more effectively.
Also, another good puck-moving defensemen is of dire need...the Caps are not the same when Green struggles; I cant imagine how they'd look if he were out for several weeks with an injury. They depend on him a bit too much...
As for the forwards, I don't think I'd change much....this group is as exciting as can be! If Fedorov retires, though, they'll need to pick up another guy that can feed the puck...I thought Sergei was great in the playoffs overall....he seemed to be with or near the puck all the time!
Anyway, at least they found themselves a goalie this playoff season!! they were never gonna win big-time playoff series with Theodore...I'd keep this team mostly in tact, but with 2-3 player upgrades. They've got a bright future!
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