Quoting: Capitalfail67
no way the dont play Eller... imo THEY should just trade him for any type of return but we are talking about the Washington Capitals. We played Chara over Seigs.. sign Panik over playing Stephenson. Theyll send him to the AHL and kill a year of development. not to mention why would he sign long term with the Capitals?
Chara over seigs was indefensible, but when the caps traded Stephenson he was already 25 with 33 points in 168 games. They gave him plenty of chances, and were right to move on given that they couldn't give him the center job between Pacioretty and Stone.
I really don't know why people are freaking out about McMichael's development/playing time. Should he have gotten more time last year? Probably a bit. But it is clear that his finishing and defensive awareness were not at the point last year where he was definitively beating out anyone in the lineup, including Eller. That said, Lav and Mac have repeadetly said this offseason that they are going to play McMichael at center and give him more time. There has been ZERO indication that they will send him to the AHL unless he has a terrible camp and is beaten out by two or three of Lappy, Protas, Borgstrom, AJF, at which point he SHOULD be playing in the AHL. As for him getting annoyed and not wanting to sign long term, until he shows that he actually can be a 2/3c, tough luck -- you need to earn that right.
Trading him 1-1 for Sandin makes no sense, especially with that contract you signed him to. At that point, submit the offer sheet for a second and there is a
very good chance the Leafs don't match. While Sandin was good last year in a third pairing role, he is like McMichael no guarantee yet. They should only be moving out top prospects for established NHL players, not other risky bets like Sandin.
No need at all to freak out about McMichael yet, even with Strome an RFA and Lapierre coming. When has having too many NHL centers ever been a bad thing?