Comments on: The Report Cards for the 2008-09 Washington Capitals

By: paul b hrdlick

paul b hrdlick — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:34:44 +0000

Caps need a clean out D man like Pronger
Ove is too much a one man team
Varly totally stunk in game 7. no excuse for that
M. Green was the WORST in playoffs. Just terrible.
Semin lacks DESIRE
Theo is perfect for a back up now.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:34:30 +0000

Player OFBGrade
Forwards
Nicklas Backstrom B+/A-
Backstrom has really matured fast…at times his puck possession reminds me of Forsberg. Among the most consistent of the Caps on an inconsistent team. OFB grade a bit high B+/B+
Matt Bradley C/B
Brads disappeared at times this season, but brought it in the playoffs most of the time. He brings high energy to a team that could use some pop. OFB grade is fine.
Donald Brashear C/D
Brash does what he does. I agree he is on the way out, but who steps in? Brads? Not sure that works. This team does not need to get softer. OFB grade is fine.
Chris Clark I/D
Clarkie, like Brads brings that rough edge that the Caps so desperately need to have playoff success, but during the playoffs he never looked like the leader of this team and took way too many bad penalties. I’d revise to I/F.
Sergei Fedorov C/B
Fedorov showed his age at times this season. And as a veteran guy took really bad, ill-timed penalties (how many delay of games do you guess he had?). In the playoffs he won game 7 but I think he didn’t do much else to help this team win. OFB too high, C/C-.
Eric Fehr C/D
I don’t get Fehr. He plays like he’s 5 ft 2 in. No heart and a model of the lack of mental consistency this Caps team had this season. Bring in Aucoin instead. OFB too high, D/D.
Tomas Fleischmann B-/F
This is like the Caps’ version of the Orioles’ Daniel Cabrera debacle. Like Fehr he is mentally inconsistent. Has all the tools and potential but cannot put it together. Trade him while he’s worth something. OFB too high, C/F.
Boyd Gordon C/B
Gordon is exactly what the fourth line of this team needs. More guys like him and Steckel and you have a Caps team that can win in the playoffs. Good on the PK and plays with heart. OFB a bit low B/B.
Viktor Kozlov C/B+
Koz plays a good solid game. I hope we re-sign him. His production was down from a year ago but I think he’s a good 2nd or 3rd line guy to give some scoring support and puck possession. Raised his game a bit in the playoffs too. OFB a bit low C+/B
Brooks Laich B+/C
Brooksie had a good regular season, but needs to find more consistency. It’s not for lack of trying, but sometimes he tries too hard as evidenced in the playoffs. If he raises his scoring touch just a bit he will be the player the Caps need. OFB grade is fine.
Michael Nylander D-/I
Ugh. F/F
Alexander Ovechkin A+/A+
Ok so I think OFB overstates the case. Ovie got schooled by Crosby on being a leader of a hockey team in the post season. Sometimes he tries too hard and wants to carry the team the same way he carries the puck over the blue line with 4 guys back…most of the time he loses the puck…kid’s got heart though. Skill alone does not win playoff games. The pretty hockey of the regular season is over. Ovie still needs to learn how to change his game for the playoffs and how to lead. Also, backchecking? Don’t show me the 1 or 2 videos where he makes a spectacular play…I want to see it 82 games a year, 3 periods a game and in the playoffs. He cannot spend that much time in the penalty box. OFB too high, A/A-
Alexander Semin B/C-
Semin is another guy who can take over games. He just has to want to. You can see him get frustrated and give up when he’s getting physically abused. If it wasn’t for injury, his regular season stats would have been great. And the penalties?!?!!?!? Ridiculous! He carried the Caps in round one though. OFB high/low, B-/B-.
David Steckel B-/A
I want 3 more Steckels on the Caps. He really raised his game for the playoffs and Boudreau should be thinking about the C for big Dave. OFB grade right on.
Defensemen
To all the defensemen….on a 2 or 3 on 1 YOU MUST PLAY THE PASS!!!!
John Erskine C/A-
Erskine’s another guy who showed up for the playoffs. I hope this experience has helped him turn the corner. At times he reminded me of Derian Hatcher back in the day. Needs to work on clearing the crease. OFB is fine.
Mike Green A/F
A tale of 2 seasons for Greenie. For 82 games he drew comparisons to Orr. Then for 14 games he hurt the Caps by being on the ice. Say what you will about sticks and injuries, he made terrible mental errors. Did he read too many columns about himself? Is he on drugs? The lethargy and weak passes aside, he made mistakes that you learn not to do in midget hockey. OFB to moderate, A+/F- ;P
Milan Jurcina C/B+
Like OFB said…he showed up for the playoffs in a big way. I liked how his game got sharper and he made good decisions most of the time. Cut down on the penalties and use his size to clear the crease and he should be a stalwart on the Caps blue line.
Shaone Morrisonn C/B
I’m not sold on Morrison. At times he’s solid then he has a huge mental lapse. He also has bad timing in pinching in the offensive zone and takes bad lines coming back. OFB is high, C/C+
Brian Pothier I/B
I like Pots. I hope he can contribute a full season next year. He played pretty solid hockey for the time he was in. I’d like to see a bit more defensive responsibility given we already have Greenie flying around from the back end. OFB fine.
Tom Poti B/B+
Poti is another guy I can’t make my mind up about. He’s a tiny bit more solid than Morrison, but has the same mental lapses in positioning and decision making. OFB high B-/B-
Jeff Schultz C/D
Sarge kind of played himself out of the lineup with his play all year, topped off by the Dubinsky goal. Too many good D in the minors as OFB said. I’d like to see Sloan and Alzner up next year and Schultz and Morrison gone. OFB grade is fine.
Goaltenders
Brent Johnson B / I
Had a great beginning and really made a case to be #1. Probably won’t be re-signed. OFB is fine.
Jose Theodore B- /F
I think Theo is overrated. How is a guy who was benched overrated? He finds a way. The way he played this year was like watching Lidge close a game. He was a model of inconsistency and his goals were generally bad. His record is the product of a skilled offensive team in front of him. How many 1 goal deficits turned into 2 with him? How many games did the Caps need to come back after he gave up a soft goal. He played well at times, but I’m more concerned with the type of goals he gave up. OFB high, C+/F.
Simeon Varlamov I/A-
Varlamov made his case. He may be the goalie of the future. But not next year. 2 reasons: Neuvirth played great and may challenge Varlamov. Also, his conditioning was an issue in 1.75 playoff series and you saw his mental lapses in some really bad goals. He will not be ready for a full NHL season next year. I say split him (or Neuvirth) and Theo next year evenly. Should be an interesting pre-season at the goalie position. OFB grade is fine.

By: OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)

OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:38:14 +0000

SECTION 117: Keine ist los. Schultz and Theodore actually started in the playoffs, though both played themselves out of a spot, thus they get grades.
Nylander, due to his regular-season play, was reduced to injury-callup status, so doesn’t deserve a playoff grade — just like we didn’t grade Sloan (though if we did, B- from me: impressive how well Sloan kept pace under the pressure of NHL playoffs).

By: Jimmy Jazz

Jimmy Jazz — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:28:25 +0000

Feds gets a C.
He was wholly mediocre in the playoffs. You don’t get to play another day just because you won Final Jeopardy.

By: Section 117

Section 117 — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:24:14 +0000

So Nylander plays in as many playoff games as Schultz and Theodore, but Schultz and Theodore get grades? Was ist los?

By: CapsFan1975

CapsFan1975 — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:16:49 +0000

Very interesting analysis and grades of the players. I don’t agree with all the grades. Specific points:
1) Don’t agree with C- for Semin for the entire playoffs. He was great in the Rangers series. Even in the Pens series, as subpar as he was, he contributed key assists in 2 games. And he was injured for most of the Pens series. I would probably give him B+ for regular season and B- for playoffs.
2) Think F is too harsh for Green for playoffs. He was subpar due to injury and should probably have had his minutes of playing time reduced. (Maybe the poster who thought he had mono was right. He did seem to be bothered by the “flu” a lot this spring.)
3) While Ovi is great, I think A+ is too high. I would probably say A- for the regular season and A for the post season. Even he’s not perfect.
4) While Fehr did not have a great post season, statistically speaking, his absence was keenly felt. I noticed the 4th line got barely any playing time when he was out. They got more time with him there.

By: NS2NOVA

NS2NOVA — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:35:20 +0000

Grades for individual players overlooks the fact that the whole team needs improvement if they want to make it further next post season.
I believe that a more accurate picture would be to assess the team overall, maybe look at individual lines or D-pairings. For as we all know well, there is no “I” in team.
I’d give the team an overall grade of C+ or B- for their 82 game performance. Areas for improvement would be:
1) playing more consistently from period to period and game to game. No more second period siesta, or phoning it in every third game.
2) putting more bodies at the net and digging for the dirty goals. A dirty goal still counts on the score sheet.
3) clearing bodies from our own net to keep opponents from getting dirty goals.
4) less fancy play, more of the basics. Just because it looks nice, if it doesn’t go in the net, it doesn’t count on the score sheet.
5) Cut the giveaways to an absolute minimum.
6) Play as a team regardless of the score. Individual effort doesn’t get rewarded nearly as much as team effort. You don’t have to do it all yourself, there are at least 4 other guys out there with you. A loss is a team loss, a win is a team win.
This team has performed quite well, and has shown improvement as each season succeeds the next. This year was a great year points wise, but I would still only give a middle grade because they really didn’t play to their full potential each and every time they stepped on the ice. There were spectacular games, and there were stinkers. Yes we finished 2nd in the East, and 4th overall, but what is disappointing in hindsight is that we could have finished higher.
As for the post season, it was what it was. And if you take a good hard look at how it went, it really was reflective of the main season, compressed into 14 games.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:07:54 +0000

The best thing Eminger ever did for this franchise was get traded to Philly and allow us to draft John Carlson. He played on 3 teams this season, he’s not a valuable player.

By: OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)

OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki) — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:25:53 +0000

Great input all! We shared the grading duties for this post, so I cannot explain each grade… but here are a few replies to comments:
TG: I don’t think I was hard on Schultz at all. “C” equates to perfectly serviceable, which was his regular season. His brief playoff performance was terrible. And with guys like Alzner and Carlson and Finley in the wings, he really is running out of time to earn a permanent spot.
As for Mike Green: well, any athlete worth his salt wants to play no matter how badly he’s hurt, or how badly the meds are messing up his focus. In the post-season he hurt the team, plain and simple. But it’s the Coach who needs to make the call and say, even to a superstar like Green, “Siddown and get well.” Bruce was terrific in most of the playoffs, but he definitely rode a clearly injured Green far, far too long.

By: Sombrero Guy

Sombrero Guy — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:05:46 +0000

Schultz had a broken rib, which is why he looked so bad in game 1. I still think he has a great future as a second pair guy. He’s not flashy, and when he screws up EVERYONE notices but he plays a solid game most of the time.