Quoting: CD282
Apology accepted.
Only 3 Washington forwards outscored Foegele at 5v5 this season, pretty funny that you think he'd be a 4th liner on your non-playoff squad. I mean, he's a 3rd liner on a much better team, that should've been a clue for you.
Kulak is, once again, elevating his game in the playoffs. But I guess that's not something Washington would be interested in? After all, their aim is is to get Ovechkin the regular season goals record, not to go deep in the playoffs.
Caps top 9 forwards as of right now are: Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Wilson, Mantha, Backstrom, Oshie, Milano, Strome, and McMichael. 3 of those guys missed 20+ games, Milano didn't play until mid-November, and Mantha was either benched or buried on the 4th line most of the season. The only guy Warren Foegele would bump down now that Mantha might get a fair shot is McMichael, and I don't think that's gonna happen now that Laviolette is gone since MacLellan has basically said McMichael has an opening night spot to lose. Honestly the only player I would see Foegele knocking out of the lineup is Aube-Kubel, because Dowd certainly isn't getting scratched, and Protas has all but guaranteed himself a spot on the team next year.
And I'm watching the playoffs too, Kulak has played great. But again, the Caps have 6 NHL defenseman for next year, including three 23 year olds down the left side (where Kulak would play if he came to DC) that the organization thinks very highly of.
Brian MacLellan explicitly said the goal for this offseason is to "find a scoring winger" and to "get younger" and with Laviolette gone, the kids will probably get an actual shot at playing, which fills roster spots. Foegele isn't a scoring winger, and Brett Kulak pushing one of young LD off the lineup card goes directly against the idea of getting the younger guys some playing time.
Again, it's not that they are bad players or whatever, it's that they don't fit the Caps needs/plans going forward. The current rumor is the Caps will be targeting a top 6 winger like DeBrincat or Ehlers if he is made available.
Also, at the end of the day, this all stems from a trade proposal where the Caps would have a good laugh and hang up the phone, so it's a moot point anyways.