Capitals Offseason Outlook: Pursuing Premier Goal Scorer and Goaltending Dilemma

Capitals Offseason Outlook: Pursuing Premier Goal Scorer and Goaltending Dilemma

on today’s show we know that there’s promises that were made to Alex oetkin that he would play on a competitive team were the capitals last season competitive and does GM BR mlen have what it takes to make a big acquisition on July 1 we’ll discuss next on this edition of lockon capital your lock 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 Hy I’ve covered the capitals for the last three seasons for lockdown 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 danc caps 28 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 $200 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s $200 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet visit fanduel.com locked on to get started so in this edition of locked on capitals Gill of the power playpoint podcast joins me once again and we’re talking Alex oetkin and promises that were made to him that he will play on a competitive team is it your perception that the capitals that we saw last season competitive and should bigger moves be made we’ll talk about that a little bit later we’ll talk about GM Brian mclen and uh does he have what it takes to make a big move on July 1 or is it ultimately Ted leonsis holding shut the pur strings we’ll talk about that and then a little bit later we’ll talk about this team uh and what it looks like in the fall and once again in this episode I have Gil of the power playo podcast as it is now so as capitals fans and I don’t know you can weigh in on this what the kind of the belief that I hear from people I’ll on my show I’ll talk about you know these upper echelon players and you know oftentimes I hear people say there’s no way that that’ll happen why is capitals fans don’t they believe that the capitals can have nice things what you know it’s always for someone else you know you saw the golden knights and you know despite the fact they got eliminated in a hurry that is a GM that swung for the fences at the trade deadline picked up some huge names um and when I talk about a Stam Coos or a marcheso or those kind of players why is it a belief amongst capitals fans and maybe you have a different opinion why is it that capitals fans do believe that we can’t have nice things really nice things well um it’s it’s for me me being a longtime fan it goes all the way back to the the early 80s where um um the previous ownership um did not encourage uh that kind of spending that kind of um Making a Splash uh so the GM at the time David pil kind of had you know had to do with uh something of a shooring budget and and make do he he turned out he did do very well for himself just not enough to build a championship caliber team um so I think there’s that carryover for us older fans um but I I think it’s also the fact that the Caps have had just so much heartbreak in the playoffs and maybe there’s a bit of a stigma to you know the team because of that and why would why would any bigname player uh even if you know so much double digigit millions are thrown at him why would they want to be part of that culture why would they want to be part of that team I think that plays into it as well yeah I mean it is possible we have seen it historically Darcy keer at the time was coming off a Stanley Cup win and uh that was a hail Mar pass by GM Brian mle and and I didn’t know was going to connect with the wide receiver but it is able to happen and I think that ultimately that is what the capitals need to do is go out and get that upper echelon you know we’ve heard about that top six forward it almost seems like a slogan that you can put on a capitals t-shirt on the back it says on the front it says capitals on the back it says that top six forward seeing is believing and Mac has not made good on that and as we come up on July 1st do you think Mack has what it takes to to reel in that top six forward and is there a top six forward you have in mind well so let me let me kind of deflect that back to you a little bit Dan when you say has what it takes are you talking are you asking about uh mullen’s character or the resources he has to deal with so he can make such a deal yeah and touche about that Ted leonis might have tied shut the pur strings on that I guess I don’t know um so talking about that I ultimately think that uh I think that he has the blessing of Ted leonis I guess I’m not inside the meetings there but I think that you know you take a look at it oftentimes people will come to me and they’ll say Dan well what would you do how how would you get this done to that I would say listen I’m not a GM of a team if I was I would not be doing this even though I love doing it uh that the most creative GMS out there uh figure out how to get big things done I think back you know I don’t know at the time flies here when ninan and orpa came to this team and I remember thinking to myself wow that really upgraded the blue line on this team that was something where they swung for the fences um if we talk about uh GM Brian mlen say he is given the resources uh why the reluctance are we still so desperately holding on to that Alex oetkin will not play on on a t down to the studs rebuild or do you think that he just really wants to to you know vet out what we have internally well as far as the uh the why aren’t we blowing it up argument um why would you blow it up now because we we’ve we’ve halfway done that the the team is halfway done that uh look at all the deals they’ve made just in the past two years worth of deadlines orlov is gone Hathaway’s gone Johanson all all veterans that W you know needed to move on this year uh uh is ketov a longtime staple of the team now really it was they they they’re down to what is it four or five uh players who won from from the cup year so you know they might they might not have blown it up entirely but you know given what they’ve done the past two years and and maybe it wasn’t all in one sweep but they’ve pretty much done most of a tear down if not all of it now a lot of uh a lot of uh pillars remain oetkin Carlson Wilson um Wilson’s probably in the only one of those three in the long-term plans um but you know not not a whole lot of veterans remain um they I wouldn’t call this a swing for the fences type of deal but um think uh mlen kind of dipped his toe into that water by signing uh Edmonson and pater ready and um frankly between you and me uh I don’t think uh either one of those deals worked out very well at all and uh Edmundson was sarily sent off uh at the trade deadline and um I would be shocked if uh patchy ready were even given any sort of an offer at all to return um now so that leaves the question go after that top six forward um well it’s painfully obvious they need the offense um and that’s probably the way to go if they want to get it but I’m going to be a contrarian again and say if they’re going to do anything that involves uh a huge signing or perhaps a huge deal um then it needs to begin on the backline um all three of their right-handed defend defensemen um are older than 30 on the way wrong side of 30 um and if I were the GM that would be where I would begin because yes they’re having a ton of trouble scoring goals but yes also defense keeps you in it and more often than not uh the defense did keep them in it um not notwithstanding Charlie lingren heroics also but um to me that’s where they need to start they need to get younger on that right hand side um Nick Jensen is uh has two years left on his contract if I’m not mistaken or one year um in my mind he’s regressed uh I think van rdik has reached his Peak he’s probably going to start regressing if he hasn’t already um maybe it’s time for a Vincent iorio to get a longer look but he may not be ready so again I think it it it would be worth a look to see what’s out there in free agency somebody who can shoot right-handed put them hopefully they’re uh not older than say 28 put them on that right side and I think that’ll start paying dividends all right so coming up here after the break we’ll talk about that there were promises made to Alex oetkin that he would play on a competitive team but with that said would you say the capitals team of last year is competitive and does GM Bri mlen ultimately have what it takes to pull off a big move on July 1st and what players are we even talking about that’ll be available we’ll discuss Straight Ahead a lot of life is unpredictable but a good life insurance plan gives your family a financial safety net to protect you against some of the unknowns policy is the country’s leading online insurance Marketplace it makes choosing the right policy for your family easy and quick and it’s one of the things that I took off my checklist is life insurance listen I have a wife I have kids at home I want them to be prepared in the unfortunate event that something happened to me policy genius helps you easily compare your options from America’s Top insurers in just a few clicks their award-winning agents can even walk you through the process step by step your work life insurance policy may not offer enough protection for your family’s needs even worse it may not come with you if you leave your job policy genius has no incentive to recommend one insurer over another so you can trust their guidance they have thousands of five-star reviews on 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back with this same lineup that’s hard to say um La Pierre is uh is going to be a year older so will McMichael uh so will marash nenko all three of them are worth a long look and I I guarantee you those first two names make the team out of training camp by themselves are they going to be enough to make the difference no um I think the reality of the situation is going to be uh mlen is going to roll the dice with some sort of mid tier free agent signing just as he did with pachetti and Edmonson um I would be I would be uh dubious of anybody of him going after a big name um unless he found out that you know this was going to be a big fit it has to be for chemistry sake that that big fit I don’t think he’s going to be able to find it whether other teams outbid him or it just turns out to not be the right piece so I agree in the sense that something has to be done pieces do have to be added um but I I I would not expect any sort of a large scale splash of a move and as a capitals fan how does that make you feel does that make you feel like buying the latest Swig you know rock the red let’s go caps are you is there a a certain resentment towards this team that they know what they have on the ice is good but it’s not enough and and for me and I’ve talked about this with lock the Old lockon Nationals host he always talked about it’s all about butts and seats it’s about people buying jerseys and one of the things that was broken this past season is there was a long string of sellouts at Capital One Arena that was broke this past year based on the play I think in large part and the economy that kind of thing um should you know if we widen the lens here shouldn’t Ted leonis uh shouldn’t he be concerned if there’s not a competitive product out on the ice that he’s not going to sell out Capital One Arena uh that is what is paying the bills I know that Alex oetkin will Garner some attention just based on who he is but uh it’s not the capitals of old where it was sold out for years uh talk to me about that should there be any concern from that level I honestly I don’t think he’s going to be concerned um as far as uh butts in the seats um even empty seats are if you think about it are paid for uh there there’s plenty of uh corporations in the area there’s plenty of large companies uh plenty of businesses that you know even if there’s not a physical body then you know the the tickets paid for the seats are paid for uh there might be a few Pockets here and there that aren’t you know that aren’t going to have a warm body in there and and might get missed but you know if if if he’s if he’s bold enough to consider a deal to um alienate a good chunk of his fan base and move the entire bit of operations to you know a a completely different part of the region uh then I don’t think he’s over he’s worried about money at all if he’s floating the idea whe however informally of buying the Nationals um I’m not sure he’s worried about money at all so I don’t think it’s it’s a financial worry about you know not Fielding a competitive team um I might sound like an elitist but uh from from my point of view and this is this is part of why I do my podcast I try to encourage fans you know to be smarter about the game realize what they see realize that not every game is going to end in a 6-1 victory that that our team’s not always going to put you know all these goals pump all these goals into the net that not every game’s going to be like that that the nuances of the game between the whistles along the boards you know shift to shift that kind of thing that’s where games are won and lost and the sooner you realize that and how to look at that lens look through that lens watch the game that way enjoy that part of the game more you appreciate it um so I think if you know as long as that type of fan is included then I don’t think there’s there should be this worry about you know how many more casual fans can we draw in because you know Alex ovin or Dylan stro or whoever you know gets a hattick three times a week so as we take a look at it right now we’re talking about the success of the team we’re talking about moves that are made and perhaps not made um just kind of going back to a question I asked a little bit there ago if the capitals do you know kind of do a nothing Burger move and that’s what I’m going to call about Max Patch ready and Joel Edmonson it didn’t really move the needle a whole lot uh say they make a similar move where do you see the capitals finishing next season uh I think they will still contend for a playoff spot again I would not be surprised though given the competitiveness of the the middle tier of the Eastern Conference uh Detroit is definitely going to be better Ottawa is probably going to be better um if I’m not mistaken this is I think the last year of John tortorella’s contract so you know the Philadelphia Flyers are going to be better because that’ll be his last shot uh so there’s three teams right there they’re going to be in a race with probably for that last playoff spot um so it wouldn’t surprise me if they take that small half step back the uh you know even with a small scale move um but by the same token um making the splash for that top six forward in and of itself also isn’t an indication um especially if you know again that player doesn’t acclimate well now doesn’t doesn’t you know look at you know the other side of the ice the other 900 feet of the ice as his responsibility uh which is going to be is is ever increasingly something that Spencer Carberry is trying to hammer home to his guys and I think did uh to some extent so it it’s it’s really hard to say but you know anything anything’s possible um but I I think what you’re going to see is ultimately a competitive team barring know a a severe slump uh by someone barring uh maybe Charlie lingren taking a huge step back which I don’t think he will um but uh I think you’re going to see a very competitive team um and it’s it’s a good bet that they make the playoffs but you know they could also not make the playoffs but simply because that whole that whole conference is extremely comparative there’s a lot of par in that part of the league right now all right so coming up here after the break we’ll talk about this team last season it was good but is it good enough to get a different result next season in the event that GM Bri mlen is not able to pull off a big move we’ll discuss Straight Ahead summertime means baseball the NBA finals and more and you can bet on all of it with FanDuel right now new customers get $200 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 200 bucks you can use to bet on everything from the finals MVP to who’s going to hit one out of the park and let me tell you something guys here I’m going to be candid with you sometimes you’re watching a game and you’re not that into it say the Nationals they’re not playing that well or whatever team you’re watching and you’re not that into it open up the FanDuel app put a little bit of money on the game all of a sudden the game is that much more exciting so visit fuel.com Lockton and add a big win to your summer bucket list fuel America’s number one sports book all right we’re talking capitals hockey with Gil from the power playpoint podcast let’s switch topics a bit here and talk about the net minding situation isn’t it interesting how things play out that Darcy keer you know let’s just rewind time to the beginning of last season I think it was a no-brainer the Darcy he’s got the pedigree he’s got the history he is the number one and then he p posted his worst numbers in his career last season and Charlie lingren who kind of took over the role we know that happened but the previous season uh he played really well in the month of December and faded away but that wasn’t the case this year Charlie lingren took the Reigns and didn’t let go and was just that Premier net minder the capitals find themselves in an interesting position that the pipeline is full for net minders from Hunter Shepard to Clay Steven to Garen Borland to Mitchell Gibson to Antoine Keller all the way down to the Mississippi they have goalies um should the capitals view Darcy camper or Charlie lingren as Expendable as fuel to get that top six forward and if you are the GM are you moving Darcy or are you moving Charlie so to answer the first part of the question uh yes if it if it it pardon me if it improves the team to the point where it you know it’s marked and it’s obvious doesn’t harm the chemistry and benefits the team short and longterm then yes you you do that deal now uh there was that story that was floated I’m sure you saw it Dan um about uh some sort of rumor that was uh uh pitted um I think it was Jeff Merrick who floated it or or heard about it and then aired it uh Darcy keer for Pierre Luke DUIs of the Los Angeles Kings and I’m sorry but uh no that’s not the type of deal you want to do because no that is not the type of deal that would improve the team um and I understand that Darcy keer has his passionate haters um no one knows that better than I because I hear a lot of it from people in my own group on Facebook but know as okay so as as passionate as you want to be about getting rid of him uh bring taking on somebody who will make the team even worse is not going to solve that problem it’s it’s just going to make things worse so again it has to be the right deal or as close to the right deal as as you can make um now as far as who gets traded um unfortunately between the two of them I think lingren is going to be the easier to move um and if he comes out of the gate you know winning his first 10 out of 10 out of his first 12 games then a team that is really in need of goal tending and is really struggling that first part of the season is going to say huh we could use this guy because we really need to make the playoffs um there are a lot of teams that are like that right now um it would it would cause a lot of uh the the the pitchforks and the Torches coming out but um if it comes to that then um it’s probably going to be uh lingren that gets moved not that I would do that um but if that becomes a reality then that that’s probably what’s going to happen because he’s so much easier to to move with you know not much term left on his contract and so little you know it’s it’s the more bang for the buck syndrome is is what the team the other GM is going to look at and then you try to sign him and that’s that’s on them so you kind of get rid of one problem while you know adding another but to them it to to us it’ probably be something of a wash if that makes any sense yeah and mean you take a look at Charlie lingren he’s got one year uh left on his deal like 1.1 or 1.2 million so it’s very appealing to a team like maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs come to mind as a team that is always just right there but they’re one net minder short of being competitive uh that I think they could maximize the return and I think there was the Temptation uh to move him at the trade dead line but I think that Brian mlen kind of said I don’t think that we’re in it and I I just want to maximize my return this summer I think the capitals could ultimately get a handsome return for Charlie lingren um I don’t think that Darcy keer is not movable uh but I you know people will look at the back of his hockey card and say hey what’s up with his numbers uh he’s got a lot of years left on his deal uh we’re paying him a boatload of money uh and that’s the hardest part so say they don’t find a dance partner for Darcy keer they’re paying him a substantial amount of money uh to be a backup and if we take a look at the cder cup for example I would have absolutely no problem with Hunter Shepard taking over to be honest with you the number one or number two um and you take a look at Kay Stevenson who I think is going to be the long-term answer in net for the capitals that it it it does find them you know they find themselves in an interesting situation on how to proceed uh for you I’m sure you’ve watch some of the cder cup here would you have any reservations about Hunter Shephard taking over the Reigns as either the number one or number two um not much except that I have this one caveat and that is if they’re going to make such a move they need to make it at the beginning of the season and the reason being is that um the speed of the game the way the game is played I’m I’m not going to say there’s a huge Gulf between the AHL and NHL levels but uh I have heard that for a goenda and Stevenson have the benefit of playing the North American game for most of their lives so it’s not going to be that that much of a leap as it was for say an Ilia samsonov when he was here um but um at the same time they’re going to need probably something of a half a season to three quars of a season just to make that leap make that adjustment um now the Caps are in a transition period they can afford it they’re not they’re not considered cup contenders nor will they be probably going on at least one or two years from now um so they’ve got that time they can spend it um but you throw a Stevenson or a shepher in the middle of the season and expect them to change things overnight night that’s just not realistic that’s not the proper way to develop a goalie and I think um that is that has been part of their problem since Braden Holby left this team they have not they have not put in that time the resources and effort to properly developing their their their goalies um and I just don’t want to see that happen with Shephard or Stevenson yeah and I’ve heard some kind of crazy things this is the season or the off season the dog days of summer I’m going to go ahead and say for the capitals and the NHL I know the Stanley Cup playoffs are still going on but it seems like the NHL season was uh forever ago and some insiders are saying they should trade one of the net minders and then get a veteran and I’m like no I think the capitals are pretty good with either Hunter Shepard or clay Stevenson I think they have two really great options down in Hershey uh but at some point they need to um utilize these players or they need to to view them as assets uh so they can flip them I’m talking also about Hunter Shepard and Kay Stevenson is there a home for them or if not we don’t want to have what happened with Zack fuk um where they weren’t able to you know maximize and get anything for him he’s just like I see the writing on the walls and I’m G to get out of here so a tough position for the capitals again that’s my reaction for right now is I think Charlie lingren is the guy to move because you’re going to get the biggest return uh with that said people said well why Charlie lingren it’s not going to be just Charlie lingren alone that’s going to fetch that top six forward I really don’t think so it would be Charlie lingren and you know you know I’m gonna go ahead and say a Conor McMichael or Hendrick slob here and some people are like oh my God Dan’s drinking he’s he’s crazy listen that’s the kind of things you’re going to have to do to get that oh wow Bri mlen did that kind of thing I think that is what is needed and I think if you could move H you know a Charlie lingren or Hunter Shephard or a Darcy keer and you had to move like a hendrik SLO here or Conor McMichael to get you know a Bonafide goal scorer as of right now Conor McMichael and Henrik SLO here you know potentially ostensibly will be great goal scorers interesting questions that is for sure all right I want to thank Gil for joining me on this edition of lock on capitals make sure and check out his podcast called the power playpoint podcast available wherever you find your podcasts and I want to thank you for joining me once again on this edition of lock on 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 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 lockon capitals part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day my name is Dan homy and I’ll talk to you again next time

In the latest edition of Locked on Capitals, Dan and Gil from the Powerplay Point Podcast delve into the perception among Capitals fans that top-tier players are reluctant to join the Washington Capitals. Throughout the episode, Dan advocates for Capitals GM Brian MacLellan to take a bold step and pursue a high-caliber goal scorer in the upcoming NHL free agency on July 1st. They also thoroughly explore the goaltending situation, analyzing the team’s options with Darcy Kuemper as the primary netminder and Charlie Lindgren as the backup, both of whom are considered to be competent and offer significant value. Additionally, they discuss the potential of trading either Darcy or Charlie and possibly promoting Hunter Shepard or Clay Stevenson.

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