Projected Washington Capitals lines for 2010-2011

[ritari330]

I have some comments on this thread, but just one to start which goes against the grain of what several people have said.

I'm not advocating for or against trading either Mike Green or Alex Semin, but saying they don't have a ton of trade value is an INSANE statement.

As to Green, any team looking to improve their power play (and there are a TON here) would love to have this guy. A team that already has a key blue liner would love to use this guy on their 2nd defensive line or pair him with their best defender and use him on the power play. For all his shortcomings, he moves the puck very well, he clears the zone, and he can bring the puck into the offensive zone with ease. He's got a good shot and solid vision on the ice. He led all defenders in pretty much every category and he can deliver a hit as well.

Alex Semin is a 40-goal scorer - there were only SEVEN of those this season. His numbers were nearly identical to Ilya Kovalchuk and Semin is already signed at the very reasonable rate of $6 million for next year. There were plenty of guys in the NHL who got paid that kind of coin this year and weren't even threatening to score 30. He finished 7th in points per game near guys like Malkin and Gaborik who make substantially more than he does. He's a dangerous power play addition for any team, has one of the nastiest (if on THE nastiest) wristers in the NHL, and can deliver goals through his own individual talents.

Plenty of teams are fighting in the middle of the pack to make the playoffs and would love to add either of these guys. They are young, their cap hits are resonable for what they bring to the table, and they will sell tickets. Plenty of teams will look at them and see some playoff shortcomings, but are either in a position to not worry about that yet or figure they can coach them differently.

I can see both sides on the argument of whether or not to trade one of these guys, but saying they have low trade value is completely wrong. Both are VERY tradeable assets with reasonable cap hits, youth on their side, and a lot of proven results in delivering abilities that plenty of teams need.

They both do have trade value, but after the playoffs they both had, their trade value has gone down a bit at this point. Once they start to play again next season and start to put up similar numbers, their value will go back up. But if we were to trade either one right now, we wouldn't get full value IMO.

 

[Squatchito]

Just a general note, many of you Caps' fans seem to be down on Brendan Morrison. I thought he had a really good season this year and prefer him to Belanger. Personally, I'd rather they resign BMo than Belanger who doesn't really add anything to the offense. I think they both do a lot of good things on the forecheck and defensively, but I think BMo adds so much more to the offense. He worked really well with Chimera and Fehr at times this year. Whereas when Belanger was on the ice I said during many games "Oh good, Belanger is on the ice. We won't be scoring this shift." I felt like the team didn't play as well the last 15 games or so as most of the rest of the year and perhaps not coincidentally, that was when Belanger was with the team.

That said, the coaches and GM seem to really like him.

Here's the list of UFAs I would not resign - Corvo (we simply don't need more offensive defenseman) and Shaone Morrison (just isn't very good IMO), Scott Walker (not worth the price tag and I think our 4th line is really good), and either BMo or Belanger, not both. As to the RFAs, I think the focus is on Backstrom (obviously), Schultz, and Fehr. Flash might command to much money and he certainly has been lackluster in the playoffs this year and last.

I am one of those folks on the Belanger train, but as I said, I don't think that Brenden Morrison is bad at all. Obviously stats aren't everything, however I think they are worth looking at for direct comparisons like this. Obviously, B-Mo has better numbers over the career. But he does have the benefit of centering that ridiculous line in Vancouver. As for this past year, he was paired up with Alex Semin for a good chunk of the year and ended up with 42 points.

Belanger on the other hand had never had more than 40 points in a season. He spent the 2 seasons previous to this year rotting in that Minnesota system and had 2 of the best years of his career. This past year he was doing well in Minny, averaging over .50 ppg for the first time in his career. Once the trade went down his production dropped of quite a bit, but I would presume he was on a scoring line predominately out there(and admittedly, I do not know how much he played with Marian Gaborik, obviously very little in 08-09). In the end he had the best year of his career and ended up with 41 points.

The Caps brought in B-Mo after a 30 point season in which he was traded and was able to stay healthy. I think it is worth the gamble because I think Belanger is perfectly capable of doing at least as good a job of it as B-Mo, and with a full year with Alex Semin I would be surprised if he didn't have a career year.

 

[johnnytata]

1. i would NOT NOT NOT trade mike green. 70 point d-men are just ridiculously rare. playoff failures are sometimes a necessary step to playoff success. the guy wants to win, you can clearly see it in how badly he took the loss. now is not the time to trade, now is the time to see how he responds.

2. semin can go. teams just dont need two 40-50 goal scorers to win championships. if they can get a good return for him, either a second line center or shut down d-man, either now or at the deadline, i say pull the trigger. and i agree that he should be able to garner good trade value.

3. turnover is good, too much turnover could be bad. they need to keep the guys that are truly destroyed about this year and have the game to do something about it. i know that's a vague statement, but in your gut, you should know who those guys are.

 

[elocomotive]

3. turnover is good, too much turnover could be bad. they need to keep the guys that are truly destroyed about this year and have the game to do something about it. i know that's a vague statement, but in your gut, you should know who those guys are.

Well, we know it's not Alex Semin. : ) Alex Semin is SO even keel during games it's almost disturbing. He reacts less to scoring a goal than maybe any player I've ever seen. I had a season-long running joke with friends and family while watching the games that after Semin would score a goal I would start imitating what Semin was likely saying in the group celebrating the goal and as he went to the bench. They would be something like this "Alright guys, just a goal. Hey do you guys get your oil changed every 3,000 or 4,000 miles? Just wondering. Man, I wouldn't mind a sandwich right now. Maybe I'll get the car washed when I change the oil too. Okay, tell me when my next shift is."