The up and down season of Alex Ovechkin. Who will be in net in the fall?
on today’s show what to make of Alex oetkin in the 23 and 24 season and what can we expect from him in the fall and questions in net for the capitals we’ll discuss next on this edition of lockon [Music] capitals your locked on capitals your daily podcast on the Washington capital part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day well hello and welcome into this edition of lock on capitals I’m so glad you decided to join me today as always this podcast is free and available on all the major platforms including the Sirius XM app and on YouTube and I want to thank you for making this your first listen each and every day my name is Dan homy I’ve covered the capitals for the last three seasons for lockdown and various other outlets before that and I’m also the host of the weekly show called the capitals minute cast available wherever you find your podcasts you can find me on Twitter it’s danc caps 218 you can find the show on Twitter it’s lockon caps and the best way that you can help grow the show is to subscribe to lockon capitals on YouTube and comment anything down below today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning $5 bet visit fanduel.com locked on to get started so in this edition of locked on capitals we talk about the up and down season of Alex oetkin he started slow he came on strong and then was non-existent in the playoffs who is Alex oetkin at the end of the day a little bit later we will talk about the questions in net for the capitals will it be Darcy camper and Charlie lingren in the fall and then in the final segment we’ll talk about free agents on the team and where are they going to get the goal scoring from in today’s episode I’m also joined by hockey troll of the Caps chirp podcast in this episode we are talking with hockey troll of the Caps CH podcast let’s let’s next talk about the great eight in his slow start Alex Ain getting off to his slowest start through 43 games had only scored eight goals finishing with 31 that brought him up to 853 41 shy of tying Wayne Gretzky a bit concerning for me in an up and down season for Obie got off to his slowest start ever was getting a lot of assists and a lot of people are saying he’s washed he’s done you know he should hang it up he went to Dubai rode around on a camel Found Jesus out in Dubai or something and came back a changed man talk to me about Alex oetkin who is he he started slow second half of the Season hot in the playoffs non-existent and I understand some of that was out of his control they had him double covered the shots he was uh getting in were shot wide or this or that or sometimes it even looked like he was disinterested talk to me about Obie and and what’s up with Obie anyway oh man life comes at you fast doesn’t it um you know yeah so the elimination game Obie looked totally disinterested and was barely skating around um said he was healthy you know I mean time’s catching up clearly um but if there’s a guy that you don’t count out on the goal scoring race like it’s got to be Alexander oetkin right imagine Brian mclen just finds that playmaking guy that can slot in if it’s a wing you know somebody who compliments both stro and Obie uh would be incredible and then Obie just bags the record this year 42 goals come on that’s chump change right um for for oetkin career uh I mean I I don’t think that the records in Jeopardy by any stretch of the imagination I think that though there are lots of times when I was just and there’s been lots of times in recent years where I’m like okay just get that first line off the ice please get the puck out of Our Own Zone and then you can put him back out there um you know so with and and again carbs was definitely feeling his way out through the season right like I mean he was mixing things up just getting looks where he could uh which is good he should be doing that in his first season as coach it shows a lot of uh confidence in his own ability and and you know his curiosity as well trying to learn here I think that’s great sign um but when it comes to OV yeah I mean look it’s it’s a meeting in preseason like yo how much defense can we really expect out of you and he’s going to probably say like you know let’s tall 8020 offense defense and I think that’s always been kind of Obie’s thing but um yeah I mean with him not leading the way and scoring because you know when he did score in those games it was like a whole the whole place the whole lineup just ignited right um with him not scoring putting the puck in the net it’s tough I think that he’s gonna have to rely on some secondary scoring I think the team is going to uh but to be successful especially and you know to be so miserable in goals four it’s tough but ultimately the way that Paulie and I on caps trip uh envisioned it or explained it was you know it’s just like the engine just needs a long time to get worn warm up right like uh he had a pretty good post Allstar Break um and what else can you expect I guess at this point um trust me I would love to see oie put in 50 next year um but you know I don’t think 30 is unrealistic yeah 31 goals uh far exceeded my expectations if someone had told me in the first half of the Season that hey Dan things are going to change a lot in the second half of the Season I’d be like yeah okay just stay over there um but you take a look at it do you think that he’s going to be able to catch Gretzky under his current contract or do you think it will require an extension uh I the the fan and The Optimist in me says it’ll be done halfway through his last year uh I think that’s where I would put him on Pace for uh would love for him to just crush it this season and then have one year and it’s just gravy right an entire season to work on padding the stats between Gretzky and you that would be that’s the dream I think um you know over overall I think Spencer Carberry system required a lot I mean a lot of skill and a lot of skating um the way that they broke the puck out you know I it it the camera angle doesn’t do it good Justice right because they’re focusing on the puck and it’s just one defenseman back there but what you don’t see is everybody else is running a circle right everybody else is is doing like just whatever they can to get open um constantly ska not a lot of people standing around and that’s probably not what Obie wants to do hell you see him on the power play like he’s like so far away from the play until it gets into the zone right um and on top of that he’s usually caught with the puck like flat-footed and that’s just how they’ve been using him now that’s probably wi it’s because he’s kind of like a mortar you know that you set up and fire off but but uh you know back in the day Obie does have that part of his game when he used to dust guys Coast to Coast obviously um you know I think that his play in front of the net is underrated as well he’s a huge body to move and uh you know Lavi used him in front a lot uh I think that that’s probably something that we’ll see a lot more of I hope uh but overall record still safe I would love for him to just smash it this next season and then use his last year in his contract is like just a Victory lap yeah and that would be a good thing I think that he will catch him uh I just don’t know if it will be under his current contract with his kind of inconsistent last season it draws into a lot of questions I don’t think there’s anyone that challenges him except Austin Matthews I think at some point uh could battle for that at some point I think part of Alex oetkin slow start uh was Spencer carberry’s new systems we talked about that but also things were constantly changing it was stro it was McMichael it was Dow at at points it kets his longtime uh friend and and linemate there uh Nick Backstrom stepped away from hockey indefinitely and I think that was a blow to Alex oetkin even though they didn’t play on the same line too often anymore how big of a difference would it be for Alex oetkin to find a Nick Backstrom esque Center to play with I think that that was in large part where he struggled and he even said uh on breakdown day or the videos that followed the season that he struggled because listen it was up it was down it was all around that he had a hard time gaining chemistry with any of any of his centers I guess stro was the center who he had the most chemistry with how big of a role do you think that played into it and do you think like an upper echelon Center would be a GameChanger for oie I think it was a yeah I think it was a huge deal um being a new coach new system lines in the blender constantly uh is definitely you talk to any beer league forward all the way up to the NHL they probably don’t like that um but uh yeah so there’s that for sure OB is gonna have to figure it out though as a pro um and do I think a playmaking center like a top three playmaking Center would help him yeah of course I do yeah I mean look the the capitals I thought did a real like when they were clicking they really did an incredible job of moving the puck around you know to points where I was like that’s a shot and then it’s a pass and then it’s a goal right I mean tricking uh the fans of the team to you know thinking when a goal is going to go in so I think that’s there maybe just a another Cog that can feed a little bit more and maybe even simplify it and be able to make a play out of nothing is huge um so that type of player and then you know to add another guy who can bury would be would be great like we said um so to answer your question yeah I absolutely think that like an elite playmaking Center would be great the problem is is that the Washington Capitals have for the first time in a long time a glut of centerman right I mean protest is a centerman McMichael laier right they’re all centerman um so one of those guys down later in the lineup is going to have to figure out who’s gon how to play Wing right and sometimes that’s not the most natural of changes especially if you are a born and bred centerman so I think there’s a little bit of line juggling and and there are guys in the lineup that are a little bit of odd man out considering where they’ve always played in their career but who knows I mean you want to play on this team you’re gonna have to get with the program and uh clearly I mean it’s it’s worked a little bit so we we’ll see all right so straight ahead we will talk about the questions in net for the capitals it’s Darcy camper and Charlie lingren but is there a possibility that one of those net minders gets dealt this summer and who will be on the team I’ll discuss straight ahead it’s winter take all in the NBA and NHL and fanduels giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more let me tell you something guys maybe you are watching the NBA playoffs and maybe it’s a team you don’t care about that much or say you’re watching a National’s game and this this the game’s not going quite the way that you want open up the FanDuel app put a little bit money on the game all of a sudden a game is that much more exciting so visit fanduel.com locked on and make every playoff shot count FanDuel America’s number one sports book are you watching Fox Sports on ESPN on your TV all day have to turn down the volume with all the shouting make the switch to lock on sports today a 247 sports streaming channel programed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming locked on sports today brings you the can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day about the drama and net with the capitals and this summer is no exception keer and lingren listen we started uh this season and Darcy keer was the starter of course he has the Stanley Cup on his resume he’s got his great record but something crazy happened this last season and he posted his worst numbers statistically and Charlie lingren a relatively unknown guy before he came to the capitals came here and killed it we saw it in the previous season in the month of December and that dissipated uh so let’s talk about camper and lingren in particular here I think that Darcy keer gets a lot of grief uh because we look at this season in a vacuum like uh we isolate this season and we forget what he’s done historically and then you take a look at Charlie lingren in a vacuum he was really good this year but is that sustainable see Anthony mantha that kind of thing so what direction should the capitals go in do you think they should try to move keer that’s a bit difficult considering his term and how much they’re paying him Charlie lingren could yield a tremendous return one year left on that deal at like 1.2 million that would go a long way towards that top six forward I think they have a viable option in Hunter Shepard if keer and lingren departed weigh in on your thoughts in net yeah yeah you so that’s the nuclear option trading them both um we better be returning Conor McDavid if we’re trading them both that’s what I say uh I think um look I’ve never been a Darcy keer lover I was glad he came because he showed commitment from you know first of all that management understood goal tending was an issue commitment to pulling the trigger on it and they did they let they traded one of their goalies and let the other one Sam sonov walk that’s a first round pick walk uh you want to talk about returns we got absolutely hosed on the Sam sonov draft but it’s a draft pick so it’s not like we you know Martin E added it or anything but you know you look at Michael L too let’s not forget that true Michael L uh big you know really big during that uh Chicago uh special with the uh the outdoor game there they uh I can’t even think of it the the game that they play Winter Classic or what which one are we thinking thank you yeah yes sorry um I’m like three beers in so you know just getting warmed up but uh uh so when it comes to the goal tending though man I think that they should move ker I don’t I don’t think Ker’s contract is that bad for a desperate team I mean you know you’re looking at okay you’re looking at the Oilers right now okay I just turned the game off they were down three to2 and almost and just gave up her breakway to make it four to two and and Skinner came up big but like is Skinner the guy of the future for the Oilers I mean you know the Oilers at in spats have looked really good against who I think is the Western Powerhouse and that’s Dallas just sleepy good right quietly been good all year absolutely dominant throughout this playoffs just you know all of their best players are playing their best right now um which is crazy right everything’s clicking for Dallas everything’s clicking for Edmonton but you know what happens a couple defensive breakdowns and would love to get a Save Right who knows $5 million doesn’t seem to be that much you know I know they’re cash drapped but uh they could probably make that work just a little bit of a shift in uh in in their lineup you know one in one out but uh is so I would love to see Darcy keer moved I don’t think that contract’s going to be that hard to move especially you know you got to capitalize on the Heartbreak of last season right so these teams that are making and you know keep your eyes open on the teams that are going to be coming out of the out of the race here in this round and in last round you know what is what’s the problem do we need a goalie uh people get desperate things happen so Darcy kempers like you said Stanley Cup vzna had a bad Had a Bad season anybody who knows hockey knows that goalies are voodoo and a Bad season could be followed up by an absolute career heater of a season in a Stanley Cup um as far as youth in net I would feel okay with lingren and uh rookie tandem uh honestly that’s what he’s not exactly a veteran but Charli Ingram’s older right he struggled for a shot finally got it with the Washington Capitals and you know he’s got a couple years under his belt now hopefully keer has been a good teammate um I would say that like the middle option you know the neutral option is just to run it back lingren ker tandem hopefully ker picks it back up statistically he should regress to the to the norm and then you have you know lingren who’s probably your starter but in this situation you got to fight it out in Camp if you go back to free oie kig but oie kig was the first big name to do it the Washington Capitals have never had a goal tender that didn’t steal the net they’ve never had a long-term goenda by Michael newth when he was gonna have his first full season newth is like I think he’s my my weakest uh opponent here you know Thomas vun as well remember that odd odd exactly right exactly so vun was still in the picture and we’ll bring in guys to stock the bleeding like vun but vun was coming in as as somewhat of a backup who knew he had to steal the net in DC you know it’s it’s truly a dog fight in the goal tending position first of all like you said we draft well we Scout really well especially in the go tending Department I think the Washington Capitals probably do at some of the best in the league um but they also have to come into Thunderdome and the big team and fight it out and every goalie man I mean if you look back to it even Jose thedor right like I mean he was brought in as like a Golden Boy and then we got rid of him and like before that OE King and and I mean it goes back a long way I did a whole segment on it in caps CHP like a year ago uh maybe even two at this point but uh it’s it’s still the case so when it comes down to it whoever wins the dog fight at Camp if we have ker still uh I think that it would be we would need a huge return for for us to move L Gren and I mean that’s a top six forward is what I if if it was a hockey trade a top six forward for Charlie lingren and that’s where the conversation ends you start feeding BAC you know number sevens number eights no we need a top Bonafide top six and hopefully it’s a playmaking wing yeah and the thing about it is is we’re talking about the capitals net minding and they’ve done such a great job four years there’s so many you know guys in the pipeline that there’s they’ll never have a spot on the capitals they’ll probably move on to other teams at some point but that’s a good position to be in you take a look at it they have uh Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson two guys that kind of uh vacillated between number one and number two as the best net minders in all of the AHL so there is plenty of great options for the Capitals in net in the unfortunate event I guess you could say that Darcy keer gets dealt or Charlie lingren I think the capitals would be in a great position all right so coming up here after the break we will talk about unrestricted free agents on the capitals listen we know the capitals need to make some big changes this summer who will be on the team in the fall I’ll discuss Straight Ahead let’s take a look next here at unrestricted free agents on the team there’s not a lot there’s Max Patch ready and Nicholas ABI cubel to be honest with you if they both left DC I’m not going to shed a tear uh then you take a look at restricted free agents Conor McMichael Beck malen Stein and Mitchell Gibson who is a future talent in net for the capitals uh one things that the capitals do very very well is in the net mining department that pipeline is stocked from front to back um talking about Max patre OB cubel Conor McMichael Beck malen Stein those kind of players um uh what are your weigh in on your thoughts on Pat and Abby cubel and I would assume they’re GNA try to get a deal done for Connor Rick Michael and Beck malen Stein wouldn’t you say yeah I think that uh Conor is gonna be locked in but I think it’s gonna be a bridge deal I don’t think it’s going to be term uh three years Max and probably a couple Mill per it’s a show me contract and it should be uh Beck probably the same way less money um you know Beck might be able due to his age be able to squeeze a little bit of a fiveyear out uh you know and go for more of a longer term at lower money but I would think that he’s probably going to get a three-year deal as well something along those lines um patches and and Nicholas AB Kel dude I was so pumped that patches was coming back I was like imagine a team in Washington DC when Max petti and Alex oetkin are both on this team um I’ve liked Patch’s game in the past obviously suffering from the Achilles and then the second tear uh you know I think that Patch’s Behavior at trade deadline saying you know I’m not going to wave the no movement Clause like let’s finish what we started I like it here is essentially what I got from patches and how he was treated uh and and you know doing whatever he could do on the ice which wasn’t a lot but you know uh I think that he liked it here and I think that’s another Testament to the culture that that that DC has the Washington Capitals have um AB kubel look Nicholas AB kubel is not a bad player but I think that he’s type one of those types of players that’s destined to be a journeyman all right he’s a replacement level player he competes hard he plays the body many teams will pick up Nicholas a kubel’s services for short term and unfortunately he’ll probably never be signing in a 10 million doll contract but I think that a kubel uh will have you know a ton of opportunity in this league especially for a guy who can stir the pot who can get it in deep he can he can check but like I said at the end of the day he’s a replacement level player if we were to extend him he’d likely be looking at a small raise I think it’s best to let that guy go and same with patches and you know what maybe patches hangs him up uh who knows but uh I’m sure they’re talking about it and if you get patches for league minimum you bring him back but after coming off a season where he’s probably netting like seven I don’t think that’s gonna gonna happen you know yeah and I I hear here with what you’re talking about as far as his loyalty is concerned uh that there was opportunities out there for him to go to New York and to your point he said that he didn’t want to do that let’s next talk about Nick Dow a guy that everyone was talking about at the trade deadline Frank saravali Elliot Freedman all the big names said that there’s so many peoples interested in the services of Nick Dow do you see him being on the capitals past this summer and into next season or do you think he gets dealt at some point through the summer well he’s got a year left does he yes yeah I think we keep him um caps are good about that stuff keeping those guys they have the value already right they’ve already maximized and and overed their value on Nick Dow’s contract I think um so they’re like you know this is house money yeah stay like we want you to stay if somebody’s like we’ll give you two first rounders for him or we’ll give you a 30 goal scorer for him maybe that perk Samir is up but clearly the trade market wasn’t what Brian mclen wanted for him and it just didn’t work out uh I would imagine with a glut of free agents coming off in this off season that the Market’s a little bit more flooded and nicked out is maybe not so much of a hot commodity uh which is good because I want him to finish his contract here and probably sign another one you know see that’s the type of guy that you give him some money a little bit bit more uh but he’s cool with that like he’s he knows he’s a fourth line center now if it comes down to his contract ending and and it’s a j beagle situation where he’s gonna get like $4 million a year he’s gonna sign like a $20 million contract everywhere you give that guy a kiss on the cheek and wave him good like pack his bags for him you know that’s just good money like you gotta you know I guarantee that was the conversation that that you know management had with Jay be and Beagle was like I’m going back to western Canada is my home uh and I’m going to make a boatload of money and everybody again the kisses happened and the bags were packed the only problem I have with players like that like Nick Dow he’s got one year left is the capitals should test the waters with the agent is there any odds that he wants to come back because if he doesn’t and he walks the capitals get nothing and I’m always a guy that I want something in return that’s why I’m not a great Gambler at the end of day I I want to get some sort of return for my investment so if the capitals perceive that he’s not coming back then I think that uh trading him would be a good option especially to get that top six forward that we’ve talked about and other positions or players that might be in flux if you’re an everyday and you’ve had you’ve heard me with hockey troll on here is I like I want to thank hockey troll the capitals chur podcast for joining me again on this edition of locked on capitals again check out the capitals chur podcast wherever you find your podcasts and I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of lockdown capitals your only daily year own podcast covering the Washington Capitals and I want to thank all of you that listen on the audio side and watch this on YouTube you are what makes this show successful when you’re done here head on over to locked On’s 247 streaming channel available on the free Amazon Fire TV channels app and on YouTube all right once again I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of vlog
With Hockey Troll
Alex Ovechkin had a sluggish beginning in the first 43 games of the season, concluding with 31 goals.
This brought his total career goals to 853, just 41 goals away from matching Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894.
Ovi is now closing in on Gretzky’s record.
Changes in line combinations resulted in a lack of chemistry between Ovechkin and his centers.
Assurances were given to Ovi regarding playing on a competitive team.
The question arises whether this team is competitive.
Players like Backstrom, Oshie, and Kuznetsov are part of the team.
There is a discussion about which players in Hershey deserve a promotion, including Todd Nelson and Spencer Carbery.
Follow Dan on Twitter: @dancaps218
Follow Locked on Capitals on Twitter: @lockedoncaps
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOCapitals?sid=YouTube
Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Indeed
There is no “I” in “team.” But there is one in “Indeed” and that’s the hiring platform you need to build yours. When you’re hiring, you need Indeed. Claim your SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR CREDIT now at Indeed.com/LOCKEDON. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed.
Policygenius
Check life insurance off your to do list in no time with Policygenius. Head to policygenius.com/lockedonnhl to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save.
eBay Motors
For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.
FanDuel
FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
#WashingtonCapitals #Caps #NHLHockey #allcaps #ovechkin