Brian Maclellan’s priorities | Capitals Crossroads: Navigating Change and Building for the Future.

Brian Maclellan’s priorities | Capitals Crossroads: Navigating Change and Building for the Future.

on today’s show questions for bmac and the capitals what do they need to prioritize this summer I’ll discuss next on this edition of lock on [Music] Capital your locked on capitals your daily podcast on the Washington Capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day well hello and welcome into this edition of lockon 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 lock on and various other outlets before that 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 at 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 you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply so in this edition of locked on capitals we talk about how the weather’s warming up and in a lot of ways it seems like my mind and probably your mind is a million miles away from hockey I know that we have the Hershey Bears and the cder Cup playoffs and the NHL playoffs are going on but in a lot of ways it seems like hockey is in the distant future however the free agency and will take a look at that when the free agency is for the NHL on July 1st and what that means for the capitals we can’t spend too much time with our heads thinking about the summer and and the warm weather not all of us can Brian mlen has a lot of things that he needs to prioritize to get this team in working order we’ll talk about that a little bit later we’ll talk about scoring depth uh that is something that the capital struggled with this past season with Alex oetkin getting off to his slow start they need more scoring up and down the lineup we’ll talk about that a little bit later we’ll talk about the future of Nick Backstrom TJ oosi and the LTI situation and then in the final segment we’ll talk about answering the questions in net but just to get it going here talking about what needs to change and like I talked about there in the beginning it is summer it’s nice and warmer I guess late spring and in a lot of ways it seems like hockey is a million miles away but there’s a lot that needs to be addressed before puck drops in the fall just taking a look here the capital tast a roller coaster of a season culminating in a disappointing playoff exit at the hand of the Rangers despite a late season surge to secure a post season spot the capitals fell victim victim to a four game sweep leaving fans and players alike reeling from the abrupt end to their season and I talk about this quite often about them doing the unthinkable and making it to the playoffs and that victory in it of itself seems rather shallow when they were eliminated in four games as the dust settles on their season all eyes are on Brian mclen to steer the team in a New Direction with a cap seemingly stuck in the middle of the pack mcclelen faces the daunting task of charting a course for the team’s success whether it’s through strategic roster moves tactical shifts and gameplay or a combination of both a caps checklist will be a reflection of the team’s determination to rebound from this setback and aim for greater success in Seasons to come and you know there was a lot of things that were thrown at the capitals that weren’t uh expected I don’t think anyone had Nick Backstrom stepping away from hockey uh at least I don’t think it happened a lot quicker than I think a lot of us thought and then TJ OSI and the issues that he dealt with the capitals are faced with a decline in scoring prowess ranking a 28th in the NHL this past season with the potential departures of key players such as backr and Oshi and the recent trade of ketov the team is in need of significant offensive reinforcements and you know everything I’ve seen and read from a lot of the different insiders is don’t expect anything too big um don’t expect for Brian mclen to go out and get that big fish out there or that big free agent that he plans on doing small moves similar to what he did last summer like a patch ready Joel Edmonson and then hoping that you know these young players step up and play a bigger role the salary relief from backstrom’s ltir status will provide flexibility for the potential signings particularly at the center position where Dylan stro and McMichael may not fully meet the team’s needs that’s something to look at a little bit closer as well is that we take a look at stro and McMichael are good but are they Elite enough to play and help facilitate the goal scoring of Alex aletkin in light of the departures of Bakin Kus netoff there is a pressing need to acquire a dynamic center with offensive creativity to invigorate the team’s scoring capabilities again I think that Obie got off to his slowest start for a couple reasons a new head coach and the lack of chemistry at the center position furthermore the team’s lack of scoring depth on the wing is evident with only three Wingers exceeding 15 goals last season given oetkin age in the departure of mantha there is a clear need for additional scoring Wingers to complement this existing lineup here here and you know it’s it’s all going to depend on how aggressive Brian mcclelen chooses to be on July 1st is he willing to move out some big players to bring in some big players that is the question looking ahead to the 2425 season it is imperative for the capitals to address their scoring deficiencies in order to remain competitive the acquisition of multiple impact Point producers will be crucial for the team success whether the strategy is to pursue immediate playoff contention or undertake a more gradual retooling process uh addressing the scoring Gap should be a priority and I think they do have internal options I do expect to see more from Conor McMichael I do expect to see more uh from hendrik here and even Mir nenko those type of players but are they enough to make this team competitive enough to play with the likes of the Rangers the Hurricanes the Panthers the the Stars those kind of things to not just to eek out a victory here or there but to hold court with some of the best teams uh in the NHL and Nick Michael is going to be a key thing coming for we know that he is a restricted free agent so there’s we don’t necessarily need to to put that on the front burner but it is definitely something that needs to be addressed uh perhaps a bridge deal something like that the Caps are facing an important decision regarding the contract of Conor McMichael unlike the early signings of Alexi protus McMichael’s contract negotiations have been delayed after a promising rookie season McMichael spent most of the 2223 season in the miners where he showcased his offensive skills and contributed it to a deep playoff run the exper helped him make a significant impact in the NHL this season recording 18 goals and 15 assists in 30 games so taking a look at what McMichael has done uh for the capitals he has grown but is he is he G to make a big enough impact uh to fill the void that a lot of these aging players uh that are either showing diminished returns or have stepped away from hockey indefinitely given McMichaels relatively limited NHL experience and potential for further offensive development a shortterm bridge contract seems like a sensible option however the Caps recently signed protest somewhat recently here to a five-year deal despite his similar lack of experience in offensive track record which suggests that a longer term contract for McMichael is also feasible it’s something that needs to get done and I spoke about this last summer that you know this past season needed to be the season for Conor McMichael and I think that he has grown by Leaps and Bounds and primarily with how he showed up clutch in the color cup the previous year a lot of those players uh grew into their own and took it to the next level if the Caps opt for a a bridge contract it could be in the range of 2 million possibly structured to provide a higher qualifying offer at the end this approach would also free up cap space for potential roster changes in the upcoming summer on the other hand a bridge contract that extends into unrestricted free agency territory might exceed 4 million so as they say it’s best to strike while the Iron’s hot take care of this before it gets to be a situation where we need to take care of it now or he’s going to test the market impacting the team’s immediate cap space but potentially becoming a Team friendly deal in the long run we need players to fill the role of Nick Backstrom potentially TJ OSI and just a lot of the other play players that are probably going to depart Max Patch ready Nicholas AB cubel um you know Nick Dow potentially maybe a net minder that things could get shaken up at least a little bit this summer the decision on uh McMichael’s contract will likely depend on the Cap’s plans for the upcoming season and their willingness to allocate cap space for the future so a lot of intriguing questions for Brian mlen and the capitals to decide on how do they they plan to proceed going forward or are they going to hope that this youth movement is going to take them to the next level all right so coming up here Straight Ahead we will talk about Nick Backstrom and TJ Oshi and the flexibility that potentially those players being on the LTI will provide I’ll discuss Straight Ahead game time makes getting NBA Finals tickets even faster and easier prices on the game app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off with killer last minute deals all in prices 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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 all right welcome back into this edition of locked on capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day so it’s unfortunate that Nick Backstrom stepped away from hockey and will probably play his last season or be on the roster for the last season on the LTI R uh that potentially could also be said for TJ oosi but that bad news if you will could also be with some good news is if those players are on LTI what that means for the capitals and the flexibility that that provides last season the Caps faced significant challenges with key players dealing with long-term injuries Backstrom who had returned from hippers surfacing surgery had to shut down his season just eight games uh due to ongoing issues with his hip it was a tough thing but I saw the writing on the walls I think that he saw that Conor McMichael was breathing down his neck that you know hey uh this guy is not the player that he once was put me in coach I’m ready to play as a result it seems unlikely that he will be able to return in the near future the situation allows the capitals to place him on ltir freeing up his 9.2 million salary for potential use in free agency or trades during the offseason so again a bit Bittersweet I’m going to say some silver lining in the bad story from Nick Backstrom stepping away from hockey but in addition to Backstrom TJ ooshi he’s also been battling significant back pain which has impacted his day-to-day life we heard about his struggles that at when it’s the worst he has to lay on the floor and sometimes urinate into a bottle a tough situation and how he had to fly his doctor and his back specialist from Minnesota to get him in game shape how much is TJ Oshi willing to put himself through how much do we want him to um at a certain extent it’s like we need to save TJ Oshi from himself we know that he is the ultimate competitor he’s the guy that talks about even you know playing competitive sports with his family when they come over for get togethers that you know hey you didn’t wrestle your relatives during Thanksgiving that I think that the competitive blood for TJ oi runs so deep that to a certain extent uh either he’s going to do the right thing or maybe a decision will have to be made for him he has mentioned the possibility of not playing through it in the upcoming season and ultimately I think that is the right thing if in fact uh there is no guarantee which is what he said that he was looking for some sort of guarantee that he won’t have to deal with that I don’t know if there’s a doctor or surgeon that’s going to provide him with such a guarantee if Oshi ends up on the ltir an additional 5.75 million could also become available however the decision regarding o Oshi status may not be made until the start of the season so that flexibility might not come into Focus until closer to the start of the Season unless he does the right thing um and say he makes a decision you know around you know July at some point that would be optimal to say hey I’m going to step away from hockey I’m G to be on ltir uh that’s going to give you guys some flexibility to address any roster positions that would be the best scenario if he in fact is not good to go this potential increase in ltir funds provides the caps with flexibility and additional resources to consider for the roster needs again uh we might need to move some pieces out but if we can also free up uh some cap uh by putting a couple players on ltir I don’t think that that is the the end of the world the Cap’s approach to utilizing ltir will be influenced by their overall direction and goals if they are FOC focused on immediate success and want to add win now pieces they can use the available funds to pursue impactful players in free agency or through trades if I was the GM that’s what I would do because I think to a certain extent people are like I want to do this rebuild it’s going to take a long time are you going to be okay with the capitals being less than mediocre for years to come or would you like to FastTrack it if at all possible I know there were the promises made to O but we don’t know exactly a lot of it is speculative we don’t know it’s anecdotal things that have been said about uh how that that whole situation will play out but on the other hand if the team’s focuses on long-term Planning and Building for the future they can leverage ltir to take contracts that include future assets providing them with additional resources to strengthen the team in the long term again a long-term plan would be good but if we remember what the Rangers did a couple years ago they sent out a letter to the season ticket holders and said listen guys hold on to your seats it’s going to be you know a rough year or two here but we’re going to be the better for it in the long term and it wasn’t even that it was maybe a season a season and a half and then all of a sudden they were back into contention and look at where they are now so it doesn’t necessarily need to be this long drawn out process ultimately the Caps have the opportunity to strategically leverage ltir to address the roster needs and align with their overarching team strategy whether it be immediate immediate success or long-term planning so I know what I want but ultimately I think that Brian mlen is looking at the long-term plan I think that he’s hoping that Meo laier are going to be the guys to be the faces of the team in the future um Coler me skeptical that that’s going to be enough we saw the addition of patch ready and that didn’t really move the needle a whole lot um that I think they need an up Echelon Center perhaps two and some pieces on the blue line as well if we want to keep Pace with an increasingly improving NHL team uh teams out there that are getting younger and faster so it’s not going to be easy but I think that is the plan going forward all right so coming up here Straight Ahead we must answer the question in net this is probably the most pressing uh one of the things that the capitals have is a luxury of wealth whether it’s on the big team and prospects or down in the miners they have plenties uh plenty of options to consider how will they answer those questions and how will they proceed I’ll discuss Straight Ahead all right welcome back into this edition of lockon capitals part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day so on this show quite often uh if you’re an everyday or you know I talk talk about the situation in net that Darcy keer won a Stanley Cup and you know is he as bad as we saw last year in a vacuum and why aren’t we willing to look past that and look at his career in total and Charlie lingren uh even though he had a really great season was that good in a vacuum or is that sustainable I point to Anthony mantha who played really good in a contract here but the seasons before kind of a nothing Burger the capitals are in a good unique situation where Darcy keer Charlie lingren A+ goalies I guess some people could argue about the grading a little bit but competent net minders suffices to say but the unique situation uh the luxury for the capitals as they also have Great Net minders in Hershey they have some in prospects they have some in this for the sting race so that there are plenty of options most notably Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson who I think could fill in flawlessly so moving out one of those net minders would definitely present another opportunity uh potentially for the team the Cap’s goal tending situation underwent significant changes this season Darcy CER was initially signed as the long-term starter well Chucky sideburns was brought in as a lowcost backup however their roles reversed this season with lingren establishing himself as the starter while camper struggled and became the backup we’re paying camper a boat load of money to be a backup and if he is going to be a backup next year uh it just seems like a misutilization of funds if the team if there’s a team willing to take him move him we’ve seen the struggles in net for Toronto we’ve seen the struggles in N for Edmonton uh Carolina to an extent those are just off the top of my head that there would be teams I think willing to take on Camper’s contract but is that the right one I think they could maximize all of this uh return if they moved out lingren a guy with a year left 1.2 million left on his contract that could fetch a handsome return again I think that you bring Hunter Shephard up I think it would be Flawless uh um or you know I’m not opposed to Darcy keer getting moved out but I’m talking about maximizing the return both goenda for next season but there is speculation about the Caps GM mlen May seek to make changes the direction the team will take whether to retool or rebuild will determine which goenda Charlie lingren all that he did yep I hear that but have you seen Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson number one and number two not just for the Hershey Bears but in all of the American Hockey League and to quote br H the difference between the NHL and the AHL is Razor F if the Caps aim to win immediately they may explore trading camper for another underperforming goalie uh given the unusual number of goalies potentially changing teams this offseason and and the availability of veterans with similar contracts a trade involving camper could be feasible despite his limited no trade clause I think that camper if he sees what’s up I think that if he you know sticks his finger to the wind and sees like I’m going to be a backup again on the capitals um is there a team that will be willing to take me on as a starter I think all of a sudden he would be willing to to move that a bit there on the other hand if the team decides to rebuild there could be interest in trading lingren despite coming off a strong season assigning him to an extension now carries risks with a relatively low cap hit lingren could have trade value for teams seeking cost effective goal tending op how much better would the Oilers be right now with lingren how much better would the Maple Leafs be with lingren again some teams just seemed doomed to failure Maple Leafs but I think that on paper it could be big for those teams and ultimately it’s you know I think people get caught up in the fact of those players moving out I’m talking about the players we could get for moving out such players Additionally the capitals have promising prospects in Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson providing further flexibility so fear not capitals fans there is a luxury of wealth on this team in the net minding Department that if one of those net minders moved out I would not push the panic button for a second the capitals are well equipped while Mack has suggested that both goal tenders will return next season it’s prudent for the capitals to explore potential trade options in the coming weeks again I agree with that I I I don’t want to give away L I don’t want to give away Charlie lingren but if you can get a really good return I think in particular Charlie lingren could fetch a huge return and not by himself I think that if you bundled it with draft capital I think that if you bundled it with a younger player a prospect maybe a younger player on the current roster you could fetch a pretty decent return for example you move out lingren and Nick Michael for something you’re going to get a pretty big return uh lingren and ler a pretty good return now some people like whoa whoa whoa stop the clock here we can’t we can’t move out MC Michael we can’t listen I there are a lot of prospects on this team and if we can get a a a player that’s more NHL ready if you will I think that puts the Capitals in a really good position uh we don’t want to hope that McMichael is going to turn into a premier goal scorer we don’t want to hope that for L here either um I just think that you need to widen the lens take the fa the face off the clock and look at the gears see what’s going wrong with these this team and address it and some of this is going to take time but the attitude that’s uh quite uh prevalent out there is that it’s going to take a long time and just get used to it okay I I’ll remember that when we’re talking about that next season when the capitals miss the playoffs or they get eliminated in the first round um we saw what happened the previous season they didn’t make it to the playoffs period did we see this last season they got eliminated in four games how much of that as capitals fans are you willing to endure again if you’re the GM how would you pursue uh go ahead and hit me up on Twitter at danc caps 28 or at lockon caps you could also send me a v a message on YouTube um if you’d like to send a video I could put that on the show as well if you are the GM of the team you just heard my ideas how would you proceed with this team and the roster would you move keer or lingren what players would you move out to make this team better and what are some of the big fish out there on July 1st do you think that BAC should go after I’d really like to hear your thoughts as well all right once again I want to thank you for joining me on this edition of lockdown capitals your only daily yearr 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 ultimately what makes this show successful when you’re done here head on over to lockton’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 lockon capitals part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day my name is Dan homy and I’ll talk to you again next time

The Washington Capitals faced a challenging season, and there’s a lot to consider regarding the team’s future. The Capitals need to see more from Alex Ovechkin. But also have to answer questions in net about Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren. Are Connor McMichael and Hendrix LaPierre ready to take on a bigger role?  From addressing scoring deficiencies to making decisions about player contracts and utilizing LTIR, there are numerous factors to weigh in planning for the next season. It’s clear that the Capitals are at a crossroads, and the decisions made in the coming months will significantly impact the team’s trajectory.

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