Nelson would be your best center 😂😂😂 - on pace for 40 goals is mediocre 🤨

The difference is that the Isles aren't like the Coyotes. They've had lots of issues between the long road trip, the Covid outbreak, and injuries. On top of that, the individuals are all having down years. It's essentially the same roster that made the ECF in back to back years. They're capable of going far, they've just struggled this year. A few changes in the offseason combined with bounce back years for most of their guys will turn them into a playoff team again, they don't need to rebuild after one down season.

I think it will be too expensive to bring in those players, and Mantha is on a really good contract. I dont think they are overachieving much i think they are there on merit and the younger players will only get better

Hasn't meshed well? He's been the Caps best play driving player since he joined the team. He's great.

Look at the last 5 years, besides from this year Carlson has been better than both pelech and pulock combined. Mcmicheal is already better than wahlstrom and Fehevary is better than Dobson already.
Trotz has had to coach a bottom 10 team and brought them to the playoffs for three years. You are really dumb

Hes played like 30 games for the caps, and that is not true in the slightest.

That’s what happens when defenseman get old buddy, Carlson is 32 , he regressing. Pelech and Pulock are both 27 and already better than him.

Can you prove that Mmichael and Fehervary are better than Wahlstrom and Dobson?

That's the thing-tons of cap space. Likely picking around 20thish OA in the draft adds a player on an ELC that likely gets into the lineup in 2-3 years, which is when the cap crunch will start. No reason not to be aggressive and also keep your assets, especially considering Mantha's shoulder issue.

@Lenny7 said everything on the Ducks trade already.



Protas isn't an A prospect and two 2nds aren't as valuable as a 1st (meaning you don't give up two 1sts but one).

Absolutely not, Sorokin is our future

What? The guy was a goal per game with DC when he arrived, and was fine in the playoffs as well (dealing with injured line mates and being forced to do Ovi levels of play was not his fault). His injury is my one concern, but there is absolutely no reason to trade him. Yeah Caps fans had an emotional connection to Vrana, but the guy was horrid on his way out of DC, that shouldn’t knock Mantha in any way.

On top of this, the Samsonov trade is ridiculous. Despite the popular narrative, he’s been alright this year, with many of the goals given up at the fault of the defense (looking right at you, Carlson, Schultz, and Kempny), and he has great potential for the future. To dump everything for a Hail Mary in Sorokin would be insane.

Also, why would Washington look to make half of these moves in lines? Dowd is a great 4C, benching him for Pilon would be crazy given the energy Dowd brings to his line and the game. Alexeyev also shouldn’t be forced to play on the right when you have TVR who plays well there and Orlov also able to play RD? If you really want to force Alexeyev and Johansen to play, move Orlov to the Right, and have Fehervary, Alexeyev, Johansen on the right.

The Capitals need to look at defensive help (and perhaps a trade of Carlson should they get an elite RD back somehow), not at goaltending. That’s just been the scapegoat all year, and I hope it stops soon, but it seems Caps fans have been spoiled by years of Elite goalie play with Kolzig, Varlamov, Holtby, Grubauer, the couple months of Halak, that as soon as the goaltending isn’t the best in the league and takes a slight step down, people freak the hell out.

I always get a kick out of how many "A" prospects teams seem to have....

McMichael and Wahlstrom both toil on a lower line and get less than adequate ice time, so they must be the same right?!?!?

Seriously. I’m one of the biggest Protas fans there are but this is ridiculous, the guy isn’t a franchise changing talent, realistically his peak is a 2nd Line guy who can occasionally be moved up or down to fill holes.

Both 4th liners by Trotz standards

and both scratches by Laviolette standards

Carlson is 32 and you've got him for 4 more years at $8M AAV. He's a star now but if he keeps that up for the rest of the contract, he will be an outlier. I'd wager that most executives around the league would take on Pelech *or* Pulock's deal before absorbing the tail end of Carlson's.

Wahlstrom and McMichael are both young enough that making any sort of concrete statement about either is foolish, but I'd personally take the guy scoring more goals (10 vs. 6 in less games played) and with better possession numbers (56.1 vs. 53.3% Corsi) in Wahlstrom.

Saying Fehervay is better than Dobson already, though, is a bit much. Fehervay has been a negative defensively at even strength (on pace for -2.1 GAA) while Dobson has been much better there (3.2 GAA pace), and Dobson's also more than doubled up Fehervay's scoring pace in less games (6-12-18 vs. 3-5-8). Fehervay might develop with more time in the NHL, but it's indisputable that Dobson has been the better player this season. Take off those Caps-colored glasses for a second so you don't sound like such a homer.

Look at the Caps on ice play with him on the ice and when he's off. Caps are so much better when he's on the ice.

Ive heard the same tired talking points for 4 years now. Isnt that what they said when tavares left? The isles have plenty of good pieces and certainly arent rebuilding. As much as ypu want sorokin it ismt happening. We are very sorry samsonov busted for you and truth be told i qould actually like samsonov as the backup/1b behind sorokin but this package is pathetic.

Wtf? We are very sorry that the islander fans on CF and basically everyone else in this thread doesnt agree thet your horrific trades are fair value, or that you have any clue about the islanders considering your preposterous statement about rebuilding. You also have either some serious biases or some serious hockey evaluation deficiencies even on just a casual fan level. Fehervary better than dobson is just laughable at this point and im taking wahlstrom over mcmichael 10 times out of 10.

I agree with everything you said, except the knock on Fehervary defensively at even strength. He's been decent on that line but has to deal with the black hole that is Carlson right now, which seems to bring down his stats. Unfortunately the stats seem to screw him at every turn, while somehow making Carlson look better than he is. I still think Dobson is better right now, but Fehervary isn't as far behind as the stats say.

Samsonov isn't a bust, Caps fans are just being ridiculous.

Yeah, I think you can also make the case that Fehervary is also at a different point in his development than Dobson is - he's got 51 games experience at the top level while Dobson has 118. Dobson definitely looked shaky at time his first year in the league, and this year has really been his breakout to a good everyday player. I think there's a good shot Fehervary develops into a solid top-4 guy, but to say he's already better than Dobson *right now* the way OP was is just flat-out wrong.

Absolutely agree.

I think it's hilarious that y'all are telling each other to stop being biased when arguing in favor of your own guys. McMichael's limited ice time plays a factor in his lower numbers, but when he plays regular minutes he's usually a factor in the offense. Fehervary's pure speed helps defend in the rush super well, and he did an excellent job on McDavid off the rush right before the All Star break. I can't really speak to Dobson and Wahlstrom right now because I don't watch a lot of the Islanders, and I know y'all don't watch enough of the Caps to really speak on our guys either.