Quoting: Ciccarelli22andOvi8
Thank you. You actually read the post. A few questions for you.
1. Why Oshie on the top line? He has shown inconsistencies with Ovi and Nicky. Was a 2nd line guy in STL and doesn't really give that top line a distraction to get guys off Ovi/Nicky. Love Oshie, but always viewed him as a 2nd line guy. The reason I love Stone is that he is a big body with great adv numbers(as well as scoring). Remember Oodles of Knubles? The line of Ovi/Nicky/Knuble was the last devasting top line we had. I see Stone filling that role and more.
2. Really with Bura? Can you break down why everyone likes him so much. And outside of our team what 2nd line LW would work with Kuzy and Oshie?(obviously not a top 5 guy. You know what I'm getting at.
Thanks again for actually engaging in real discussion.
PS- Grabner could work...never heard/seen much to write home about with him tho.
PSS - There goes Grabner...lol. womp womp
Thank you! Yeah, I'm here for the conversation, too.
Knuble was a force to be reckoned with. Oshie is more of a quick reflexes and soft hands guy. I don't know why that works with Ovechkin and Backstrom, but that was their most frequent line combination last year and the year before and they won the President's trophy each year, so it must have worked
http://www.puckbase.com/stats/team-lines?team=WSH&year=2015
I'm on record saying last Spring that Oshie had better highlight reel goals finishing off Kuznetsov's insane behing the back passes from behind the net, but this year he's once again working better with Backstrom, so maybe they should go with that. WIlson certainly tried out for the role of Mike Knuble and, for a week there, seemed like he had it down. Maybe next year?
I think part of the reason for changing up lines is financial. The Caps have a couple more years to decide whether to offer a big enough contract to keep Backstrom through retirement. They're probably running stats and seeing what he gets done with different linemates, and trying to figure out how much he has contributed to Ovechkin's success and vice versa. Some of the worst contracts in recent NHL history have been given to guys who seemed like they were pulling their weight in a great group, and then, on their own, didn't seem to be as good. Take Wade Redden, for instance. Plays great with Chara for years. Never takes a shift with anybody else. Rangers sign Redden for an insane amount of money. And he's terrible. At the start of this year, it seemed like Alzner was going to be a similar disappointment in Montreal without Carlson, until a Weber injury put Alzner on a pair with Petry, and they got something going.
And speaking of defensive pairs:
Quoting: Oggsford_Blues
Agree with everything here (esp samsonov) but would love to see Orpik in VAN (maybe with a d prospect like williams/hobbs for a late rounder?) so I could watch an Orpik/Gudbranson d pair make people's heads explode.
I don't think Washington needs a late round pick, or that Vancouver has cap space for Orpik if they're keeping the Sedins. What sorts of picks and prospects would get Alex Edler to Washington and Orpik to Vancouver?
Or is the ability to take back Orpik's remaining cap hit the main reason everybody's buzzing about McDonagh and the Rangers?