Quoting: Mediumyeet
Miller would be awesome for the caps but the acquisition price might just be too high. I think what Washington really needs is to solidify their goaltending. I wouldn't be shocked if they acquire Varlamov.
I've been on the side of the Caps goaltending for quite some time, and I think last game against SJS summarized the issue with Washington. Samsonov was good throughout most of the night, and the goals came on: When he could do nothing about it, Got Kempny's ass rammed into his face, and shortly after Ovi attempted to assassinate him. Sammy kept Washington in the game for a long time, but the could never capitalize. I think there are a couple ways to fix this.
1. Bench Kempny immediately: Irwin has played better during his stints, and Kempny looks awful out there on a regular occurence. I'd even accept Cholowski over him at this point.
2. Hold more players accountable: Sprong was recently scratched, and I wasn't totally against that due to his poor defensive play. However, this needs to happen for more players. Specifically Eller and Hagelin, who have both played poorly as of recent. Put McMichael and Leason in over them for a game or two, and if the lines work then just roll with it, which leads me into my final one.
3. More Line Continuity: The lines for this team seem to change every game, which can't be good for players trying to find line chemistry. You have guys like Dowd going from being a theoretical 2C with Leason and Hagelin to being randomly inserted on the 3rd line with Sheary and Sprong. Laviolette needs to stick to certain lines for more than 3 games so the Caps actually get into some sort of rythym.
Any other suggestions I have would have to be on ice ones, like not leaving the goalies out to dry every 5 seconds, but that can't be fixed from an off-ice standpoint.
I'll probably repost this in the Caps Forum, but I had a roll going and didn't want to stop here.