As a Caps fan I truly believe if Caps don't make it pass the 2nd round he'll ask for a trade and I would QUICKLY take that deal. Honestly it's kind of an overpayment, especially if you're taking Orpik.

Guys, are you kidding me?

First of all, I personally don't think he will be leaving because he knows how much Washington means to him.

Second of all, he's a megastar.

And last but not least, that's a terrible trade for both sides but mainly Washington. Absolutely brutal. So the Caps have 3 centers capable of playing at the 1C position? If they were to trade him - it would be with his permission - they would trade him to get younger which means high-end prospects and many picks. Not another 31-year old C that they already have in Backstrom (28).

Absolute NO point.

It would be interesting to see if they pursue trading Ovi if a cup run doesn't turn out. At 32 at the start of next season with a huge cap hit I don't think the return will be as high as people think. It will still be high, but I can't imagine a team throwing away all it's youth and picks for him. I could be wrong too.

If caps don't make it past round 2, backstrom will be leaving. Not ovi

Pavelski plays RW frequently and would provide similar offensive totals (points wise) and better defense. If Ovechkin wants out and we were offered this - I would 100% do it. It frees up ~$6M in cap space which would likely be the difference between signing our UFA's and not.

I would take;

Johansson - Kuznetsov - Pavelski
Burakovsky - Backstrom - Oshie
Vrana - Eller - Connolly
Meier - Beagle - Wilson

Orlov - Niskanen
Alzner - Carlson
Dillon - Schmidt
Chorney

Holtby
Copley

over;

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Burakovsky
Johansson - Kuznetsov - Connolly
Vrana - Eller - Wilson
Barber - Beagle - Scrub

Orlov - Niskanen
Alzner - Carlson
Schmidt - Chorney

Holtby
Copley

any day.

Though do the Sharks stay together if they don't make it past the second round? They have an easy road, but if they fail to get past the second round, Marleau won't be back and maybe even thornton will jump ship. This offseason could be a hot mess if certain teams don't perform in the playoffs.