Game Day - Habs @ Caps
by J.P. on Feb 18, 2009 7:00 AM EST
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To say that the Caps and Canadiens are two teams headed in different directions would assume, probably incorrectly, that the Canadiens actually have some direction right now.
A popular pick to win the East back in the Fall, the Habs have won just three of their last thirteen games and have dropped to fifth in the Conference, seemingly challenging the Rangers to see who can drop out of the top eight quicker. Their star goalie is 2-7-0/4.00/.863 in his last nine starts (and 0-2-0/6.00/.824 in his last two), they have more than $10 million of salary on injured reserve, and they've just told their leading scorer of a season ago that they won't be needing his services for the next couple of games (this despite scoring just two goals in five of their last six outings). Oh, and in case you hadn't heard, the Canadiens are currently celebrating their centennial season (and celebrating heartily, at that).
Yes, the Habs are in turmoil as they come to D.C. to face a Caps team that has already beaten them twice (Simeon Varlamov's stellar debut and Jose Theodore's redemptive shutout) against one victory (an ugly third period Capital collapse) on the season. And to top it off, Montreal is 1-8-0 in their last nine road games, while the Caps have the East's best home mark at 22-4-1.
But despite their recent struggles, the Canadiens are not to be taken lightly, and the Caps, for their part, have suffered three of their four regulation home losses on the season in the first game back after a road trip, so the trap is indeed set - the Caps would be wise to tread carefully.
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Ya.
This one’s not as easy as it looks, and we’d be wise to come out like we would for any other top-eight team: flying. If the Habs collapse, that’s their problem. I also think that their callups are going be smelling a legit shot at the big-time, and will come out like their butts are on fire. The rest of the team will come out like their rears are on fire because they’re afraid for their jobs.
Let’s see, the Caps are facing a team that started the season on fire, but since has been in a long slump. Their top stars are under constant criticism, their head coach is being blasted by the press, they can’t score goals and their power play is awful. On paper, the Caps are catching their opponent at the perfect time. Yep, that describes the NY Rangers to a T when the Caps went to play them a week ago. Unfortunately, we all know how that turned out. So tonight, we have another badly wounded team ready to be put out of their misery. The question is which Caps team shows up? The one that goes to Ottawa to face a dying Senators team and loses or the one that goes to Florida against the hottest team in the league and wins. I have no idea, but if I were a betting man I know where I’d put my money.
Save that talk for Sunday.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Feb 18, 2009 10:05 AM EST up reply actions
That about sums it up.
Actually, I don’t think it’s even as perfect as that – this team just had a shock sent threough its locker room, and it has callups who smell the big-time. We’d better come out flying, and my money isn’t exactly on that happening.
Mine is. I think the Caps win decisively tonight and the gambit backfires. I think the players remember the collapse in Montreal and they usually get up to play the Habs.
I sure hope you're right.
I hope the Habs GM has shot himself in the foot in spectacular fashion, because if the Caps crush the Habs tonight, he’s going to hear about this one for the rest of what is likely to be a short career.
If ever a strong first ten minutes was important, it’s tonight. If the Caps can jump to a quick 2-0 lead, Montreal will go home.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Not if Gabby tells Ovi, Feds and Semin how much Guy Carbonneau hates Russians (and Russian speakers) and how useless he thinks they are (as evidenced by his treatment of Kovalev and Little Tits).
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
You're being too modest.
I wouldn’t feel comfortable if it was 5-0. No lead is safe, so goes the old saw.
But that’s me.
I'd prefer
that it be the team that showed up against NJ @ “The Rock” and trounced the home squad 5-2, while the Dev’s were in the midst of an 8 game winning streak.
Let’s talk Kovalev for a moment.
He’s a free agent come July 1, and has a cap hit this season of $4.5m.
He’s a RW, a Russian, and a Cup and Olympic Gold winner.
He has 95 points in a whopping 112 NHL playoff games, and was over a point per game last season, in which he was also +18.
He has buckled a bit under the pressure in Montreal this season, but could certainly flourish on a team he wasn’t expected to carry.
All that said… should the Caps be interested in him? Most folks don’t think top-six forward is a “need” area for the team, but with Kozlov’s wonky groin, might it be?
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I agree that top-six F is not a need. But even if Kozzy’s groin prohibits his return, I don’t think a floater like Kovy fits how the Caps should replace him. AO has always played well when paired with a Kozzy/Zubie get-it-out-of-the-corners, possession-type. So I think that’d be what you’d want for him if Kozzy’s done for the year.
On the other hand, for all Kovy’s indifference, throughout his career he has shown up for the playoffs.
Kovy
seems to be an older, more experienced version of Semin. He takes aggravating penalties, has extreme lapses in judgement, seems to float around on a cloud not caring for 3-5 games at a time, and yet has more skill than almost everyone on his team. I don’t know if my poor, young heart could take Semin, Sr. on this team.
I agree with this assessment of Kovalev and it’s significantly more damning when you’re talking about a veteran guy with his experience still doing this crap. I’ve never liked Kovalev and think he would be a bad influence on the kids on the team.
Kovalev’s attitude would certainly be a question mark but I think the hope is that he’d be rejuvenated by coming to Washington, which I don’t think is all that unlikely.
As for his effect on younger players: if any of the younger guys are going to have their work ethic or attitude ruined by three months of Alexi Kovalev, they shouldn’t be on the team anyway.
Ok, fair enough. I’m seeing the bright side of a deal. The question then becomes exactly how much do the Habs want him gone, and what would they want back?
Right now it seems like the Canadiens don’t want Kovalev on the team down the stretch run and, as an impending UFA, there’s no value to keeping him for next season. Ergo, I think the question isn’t “What does Montreal want for him?” but rather “What are other teams willing to give up for him?”
I think if the Caps decide they want him, they can outbid the other interested teams without breaking the bank.
There’s a reason Kovalev has played for a number of teams despite his great talent. After he gets somewhere, his great ego overcomes his great talent and puts him in the dog house. Adam Oates was the same way. If the Caps go after him in the offseason (and they don’t need him…) it’d likely be a short term deal. I can’t see them pursuing him though.
The Habs are pretty much torpedoing his trade value by keeping him home instead of taking him to DC for the game. They’re telling the league that they don’t think he can help anymore, and the Habs need some help.
At the rate the Habs are going, they may be passed by Carolina and Pittsburgh before the end of March and out of the playoffs…
by MikeL-Pivonka on Feb 18, 2009 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
Kovalev seems to be on the same career trajectory as Alexi Yashin. He just seems to have lost all interest in the NHL grind which should make Don Cherry giddy. I wouldn’t be surprised to find him in the KHL next year ( if it’s still around). In answer to the original question, I wouldn’t touch him with a 20 foot pole. He’s the bizarro world version of Fedorov.
Frankly, I’m not sure people weren’t have been saying similar things (“seems to have lost all interest in the NHL grind " and "be surprised to find him in the KHL next year”) about Fedorov before the Caps traded for him last year.
The Yashin comparison isn’t fair either – when did Yash score 21 points in a single playoffs for a Cup winner? Kovalev also has 18 points in 18 playoff games since the lockout.
No question Kovalev hasn’t delivered a consistent effort throughout his career, and his effort has rarely matched his skill, but he’s not Alexei Yashin either.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
True, through his career he’s no Yashin, but I was specifcally looking at these last two months. He just doesn’t seem to care anymore and when you compare him to someone like Feds, the difference in attitude is startling. As to people saying those things about Sergei last year, I think his disinterest was a direct by-product of his playing in the stifling defensive system of Hitchcock. That excuse doesn’t work for Kovalev.
No, but it is an excuse, so what difference does it make?
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
It’s not an excuse, it’s reality. Feds wasn’t disnterested in playing in the NHL, he just didn’t like playing in a system that stifled his creativity. It would be like taking Adrian Peterson and telling him we want you to become a blocking back. This is a first ballot Hall of Famer, an MVP winner who was told he had to become a checking winger because he no longer had the skills to be an offensive player. As we can now see, nothing could be further from the truth and Sergei knew it. The fact that he still loved the NHL was evident by the rebirth of his game when he arrived in Washington. Remember, it wasn’t like Feds asked to be sent to Columbus. Kovalev, on the other hand, has always wanted to be in Montreal. The system fit his skills. The city fit his personality. He’s just lost his desire. Maybe with a few days off, he’ll get it back. However, if he does, I highly doubt it will be in DC.
How about the excuse for Kovalev that Carbonneau isn’t holding all his players to the same standard for accountability that he’s holding his Russians (and Belorussians) to (sound silly? Farber doesn’t think so)? I could see how my desire to play for a guy who singled out people of my ethnicity might be somewhat zapped.
As for Feds in C’bus, he was bumped to a checking line when he didn’t/couldn’t work as Rick Nash’s center (admittedly, in a much more restrictive system). The argument could be made that he has flourished in Washington, in part, because there isn’t as much pressure on him as there was in C’bus or Anaheim, which better suits where he is at this point in his career – just go out there and play your 16 minutes and play your game.
It doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to envision a simillar rebirth for Kovalev, were he to come here.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Well, we could go round and round on this. I think Kovalev has always had a bit or a rep as a guy with limitless talent who’s work effort has never quite matched his ability. That’s never been the case for Feds. That said, if Kovalev does end up here, I’ll root like hell for him to succeed. Maybe having Feds, Alex (Ovechkin not Semin) and Kozlov here will force him to get his act together. I just don’t see the benefit of bringing in a guy with issues top a winning club with great lockerroom harmony. However, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him land in Pittsburgh.
I agree on nearly all counts. The only place we differ is that where you don’t see the benefit of bringing in the guy with issues, I wonder if he might come at a great discount because of them and recapture his mojo here – a gamble, to be sure, when this is a team that should be looking more for sure things than gambles.
But I’m a notorious chronic tinkerer.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
For me, it’s primarily addition by subtraction – if this is a chance to offload Nylander, it may be the last one the team ever gets. And it’s all about the contract – I don’t think Nylander is a cancer per se, but I do think the Caps desperately need that cap money if there is a way to free it up. The potential reward of Kovalev this season is icing on the cake.
But if Nylander isn’t going, I’m not interested in Kovalev (and it would likely be impossible under the cap anyway).
Of course, if one were a conspiracy theorist, they could argue that a Kovalev trade with the Caps is in the works and Gainey doesn’t want him playing against the Canadiens.
I think if he’s a repeat of Fedorov as it relates to the cap that it should probably be avoided.
Besides, I’d be willing to not let Kozlov comes back in the next couple of games if it meant, you know, scoring a goal or two in the playoffs.
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Feb 18, 2009 11:45 AM EST up reply actions
I don’t see the team being able to fit him under the cap this year all that easily (though with Alzner in Hershey and Morrisonn shipped out, it could happen).
I could see the value in giving him a one year contract in the offseason instead of re-signing Kozlov, depending how Kozlov’s postseason goes.
I’m actually only interested in him as a rental right now, but I’d be willing to see that as an audition.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I think he has the potential to come in and do very well for the Caps this season but with their cap situation, I’m just not sure I like the idea. They’d almost certainly need to move Morrisonn and keep Alzner in the minors to stay under the cap, and I’m not sure it’d be worth losing the defensive depth to get Kovalev
Now, if Kozlov’s groin stays hurt and he winds up on LTIR, it’s a whole new ballgame.
Any chance the Canadiens could be persuaded to take Nylander back? They need help at center and you’d THINK that Nyls would be more likely to accept a trade there over most places. Despite my distaste for Kovalev, if the Habs would take Nyls and something (like Mo), I’d do it.
Oh, and Nylander has 4 points against Montreal in 3 games this year…
Oh, and they lack centers under contract beyond this season (Koivu and Lang are expiring). I’m sure a pick or prospect would be necessary to grease the wheels but the more I think about this, the more possible it seems if the Habs are in true panic mode.
Kudos to you, grapejoos
For throwing out a Michael Nylander trade scenario that actually makes some sense!
Obviously I have no idea how realistic it is or what the specifics would be but I would love a trade based around Nylander for Kovalev. The one concern is what the Capitals do about a second center over the summer but I would think that with Nylander 4.875M and Fedorov’s $4M off the cap, the could come up with someone.
Very interesting stuff. If you have the time and the interest, I would encourage you to write it out into a paragraph or three and do a Fan Post.
Nyles is the obvious “fit” there. Hell, people always say that Montreal is the most “European” city in North America, so maybe Mrs. Nyles wouldn’t even mind moving there.
Kovalev doesn’t solve a (major) problem the Caps currently have (and if the Caps were to trade Nylander, depth at C actually becomes a problem they didn’t have), so I think he’s low on the list of priorities. But it’s at the very least mildly intriguing, to me at least.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I agree that without Nylander center depth for the 09-10 season becomes an issue but there will be guys in free agency, Laich is a possibility, and I think that whatever happens the team can use 4.875 million in cap space more efficiently than spending it on Nylander. T
I definitely think Kovalev would give the Capitals a better chance to win this year than Nylander does, and the added cap space might prove valuable if the team does decide to move Morrisonn and pick up another defenseman.
Everyone brings up depth at C as a reason to keep Nyls, but truthfully he hasn’t contributed to our C depth much, if at all, this season. Aside from a handful of decent games he hasn’t been a viable scoring center for us, he’s been looking more and more like a PP specialist that can’t crack to top unit.
If you think Nyls will find a groove once Feds moves on, then cool, that’s a legit argument. But if this Nylander is the Nylander we get from here on out then losing him isn’t going to hurt our depth as he’s already an empty roster spot with a nearly-5mil cap hit.
I think the team is fine at center for this season, but with Fedorov presumably retiring this summer, Nylander is going to be a key in terms of depth for 09-10.
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