The Capitals HAVE to Make Drastic Moves, Immediately
Post – Washington recalled defensive prospect Patrick Wey from the Hershey Bears Thursday, making him the 12th defenseman to spend time on the Capitals’ roster during the regular season.
Oh good, another rookie defenseman in the never ending rotation. As if THAT is the solution to this team. Basically, the Capitals are doing to Ovechkin what Cleveland did to Lebron. Ovi is a once in a generation goal scorer. He’s been rookie of the year, a three time MVP, and three time leading goal scorer, with very little else to show for it. Hasn’t even sniffed the Stanley Cup. After another playoff KO last season, the Caps looked to be contenders for the Cup this year, and if you have watched any amount of Caps hockey, you would know the current squad, short of some sort of miracle, is nowhere close to a Cup team.
The biggest problem this team has is defense. Always has been. George McPhee simply has not brought in an elite defenseman, and year after year after year it has burned them. They are currently allowing the third most shots per game of any team. Is that good? Is that how you win in the NHL? Not at all. Not even a little bit.
Let’s look at who has played on the blue line for them this season: Karl Alzner, John Carlson, John Erskine, Mike Green, Jack Hillen, Steve Olesky, Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt, Alex Urbom, Tyson Strachan, Connor Carrick, Patrick Wey. Out of that list, Only Alzner, Carlson, and Green (by default) would make every other NHL team’s roster. The rest of them have been weaved in and out of lineup, simply because none are good enough to play consistently as a top 6 defenseman. Mike Green is a terrible defensive liability every time he is matched up vs the opposing team’s top line. Erskine is one of the worst hockey players I’ve ever seen. And the rest are AHLers.
If this team is paying a top 3 player in the league, why haven’t they made moves to at least remotely be competitive for a Stanley Cup? He’s been on the top line with Marcus Johansson all season, who is 275th in the league in shots on net. 275th. Less than a shot and a half per game. Realistically, how much longer is Ovi going to give it his all until he becomes fed up with the organization and demands a trade? We have seen him several times this year take ridiculously stupid penalties late in games out of frustration. Something is brewing in him. He’s fed up. And so are we. Changes have to be made.
