Discussion on Ovechkin

[VaNtyLion]

Caps need to clean house. It ain't working and hasn't for years. Ovie is the core of the issue. They dropped him to third line. What more do you need to know. Presidents Cup means zippo in the NHL. Holtby is not a money Goalie. Fluery is.

The Ducks are the same out west. They never should have gotten past the Oilers. Game 5 tying goal should never have been allowed. Preds are an 8th seed and should beat them as Gibson in goal is very shaky.

Pens and Preds will be entertaining! Country Western will be on full display opposite the Cavs and Warriors rap.

The Caps get some relief in the number of free agents they have if they really want to give the team a new makeup, but also have hope that guys like Orlov, Kuznetsov and Burakovsky have bright futures. In this series, I was always more concerned when 92 and 65 were on the ice than 8 and 19.

They'll go full bore to re-sign Oshie but whoever gets him will overpay. His numbers this year are classic "contract year" bias. Great player, but unsustainable production given his career sample...and he'll certainly want a deal in the 5-6 year range.

Anyone thinking trading Ovie solves their problems needs to realize his contract is pretty much immovable. He has a no-trade clause and the only real targets that could afford him in terms of cap space, and have assets to part with are not likely destinations he'd waive his NTC to go to. I've seen Arizona and Vegas as primary targets without realizing Ovie is 32 yrs old and wants to win a Cup. He's not going to green light a move to a team in a 3-5 year plan.

Their best hope is to entice bigger market teams that may be more attractive for Ovie like LA, Montreal or even the Rangers by retaining a good chunk of his price tag.

If the Caps are serious about shaking up their core, they could dangle Backstrom. Moving him would seem very extreme. As a dynamic center, he'd definitely fetch more than they could get for Ovie but one could argue he's probably the most important player on their roster and short of a blockbuster #1 center for #1 center they'd lose that trade and end up worse for it.

 

[lionlurker]

The one bad thing about the NHL cap world is how hard it can be to move a big contract, unless you retain some of the salary. Toronto had to retain salary in order to move Kessel to Pittsburgh, for example, although I think both teams think it was a good move. It's tough to move an expensive player, however.

 

[Bessmoney]

Backstrom is signed through 2019-2020 with a cap hit of $6.7M per year. I actually think that's pretty favorable for a center of his caliber.

Marcus Johansson is a guy they could try to move and/or not protect during the expansion draft. He has two years left at $4.5M per year. That seems like a pretty high price for him. Burakovsky is only 22 and an RFA at the end of his entry level deal. They should definitely try to lock him up for 4-5 years. Kutznetsov is also an RFA who made $3M this year. I would think those two guys are their highest priorities.

Justin Williams and Shattenkirk will definitely be gone as UFAs. They probably won't have the money to sign Oshie unless they deal Johansson or Vegas picks him in the expansion draft. Oshie made $4.2M this past year as a 30 year old. Any team who gives him 5 years/$30M is crazy, but it will probably happen.

Supposedly Ovechkin's entire family moved here from Russia and lives with him in the DC area. Can't see him waiving his no trade clause

 

[The Spin Meister]

Backstrom is signed through 2019-2020 with a cap hit of $6.7M per year. I actually think that's pretty favorable for a center of his caliber.

Marcus Johansson is a guy they could try to move and/or not protect during the expansion draft. He has two years left at $4.5M per year. That seems like a pretty high price for him. Burakovsky is only 22 and an RFA at the end of his entry level deal. They should definitely try to lock him up for 4-5 years. Kutznetsov is also an RFA who made $3M this year. I would think those two guys are their highest priorities.

Justin Williams and Shattenkirk will definitely be gone as UFAs. They probably won't have the money to sign Oshie unless they deal Johansson or Vegas picks him in the expansion draft. Oshie made $4.2M this past year as a 30 year old. Any team who gives him 5 years/$30M is crazy, but it will probably happen.

Supposedly Ovechkin's entire family moved here from Russia and lives with him in the DC area. Can't see him waiving his no trade clause

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Does the expansion draft negate a no trade clause? Getting drafted isn't a trade...... They could leave him unprotected but that would mean they get nothing in return other than dumping his salary.

 

[Bessmoney]

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Does the expansion draft negate a no trade clause? Getting drafted isn't a trade...... They could leave him unprotected but that would mean they get nothing in return other than dumping his salary.

If you have a no trade clause, your team automatically has to protect you. Most guys' no trade clause includes a list of 10-15 teams they are not willing to be traded to, but it's different for every player. So Ovie is automatically protected and cannot be selected in the draft.

That's why the Pens will likely try to trade Fleury (assuming he waives his no trade clause). They have to protect him since he has a NTC. That will leave 23 year old Matt Murray exposed for the Expansion Draft since you can only protect one goalie and Fleury would automatically be that goalie due to his NTC. The other option is the Pens "buyout" the remainder of Fluery's contract, making him a free agent. No idea what the cap hit on that would be though. If they do buyout Fleury, they will need to sign a veteran goalie to a two year deal. The expansion rules require that you have a veteran goaltender that is unprotected, and since Jarry does not qualify, they would need to sign someone in order to have one goalie available if they are protecting Murray.

My question is....can they "buyout" MAF and then re-sign him to a more "cap friendly" number than $5.8M? Fleury would definitely take a "hometown" discount to stay in Pittsburgh and Rutherford has shown that he loves having two number one goaltenders, since we've needed both these last two playoff runs. If they can legally do that in accordance with the CBA, does that then put Fleury at a greater risk of being selected by Las Vegas? If he only costs say $4M at that point, and considering how well he's played so far these playoffs, he would be a very enticing goalie for Vegas.

So in all likelihood, the Pens will trade Fleury for draft picks and/or prospects since they can only protect 7 forwards and 3 defensemen. Or they can make a deal with Vegas (say offer up your 2nd round draft pick in exchange for Vegas not selecting Fleury). But I have a feeling they may already be planning on doing that for one of their defensemen. They will protect Letang, Maata and probably Dumoulin (RFA). That leaves Cole ($2.1M cap hit) and Schultz (RFA who makes $3.1M) exposed. Ian Cole is a very solid defensemen at only $2.1M per year, so he would be my pick (especially because Schultz was terrible before getting to Pittsburgh).