Most Improved Team?

[Jalili]

Kings look as if they should be contenders, the Avs may surprise some with their improvement (although that doesn't change how stupid and risky it was to trade their pick when they were 29th this year).

The Blues have something interesting going on there. Not sure how much or if they will improve, but the talent is certainly there.

 

[maplesyrup]

Improved or not, this is quite the overhaul;

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Yonkman looks like he could swallow Theodore whole.

 

[Damian]

Improved or not, this is quite the overhaul;

I guess overhaul=overpay as well....

 

[maplesyrup]

Handsome fella' isnt he?  :-*

 

[hockeyfan1]

Handsome fella' isnt he?  :-*

Y-e-s!  ;D

 

[maplesyrup]

My wife thinks so... but quickly changed her mind when she saw the bling on his teeth or mouth-guard or whatever... and FWIW, he hasn't played a game yet and is already the highest trending player on capgeek's buy-out calculatour    ;D.

 

[cw]

listened to Caps GM George McPhee this AM
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/

He's comfortable with the team's cap:
http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=30

because it looks like Poti's career is over due to injury and a couple of Caps will start the season on LTIR

He expects to re-sign Alzner this week.

 

[Zee]

It's always difficult to determine which team "improved" the most in the off season.  Some teams make very little changes and have better years because their existing roster of players have matured, or some guys have career years etc.  So I'll throw my vote for the most improved team around March of next year. 

 

[Corn Flake]

Handsome fella' isnt he?  :-*

Y-e-s!  ;D

Oh I see Richards had his really excited face on for that... or wait, is that his sad face..... or maybe its his angry..... bah nobody can tell the difference.

 

[caver]

It's anybody's guess as to the most improved team. The team that I think has the highest expectations but also the biggest chance of having a stinker season is Philadelphia. 

 

[bustaheims]

It's always difficult to determine which team "improved" the most in the off season.  Some teams make very little changes and have better years because their existing roster of players have matured, or some guys have career years etc.  So I'll throw my vote for the most improved team around March of next year. 

I've found it often is the teams that only made smaller, tinkering type moves that end up with the most improvement, because they don't disrupt the chemistry and such. While major moves and adding big name players looks really nice in the off-season, we've seen dozens of examples over the years of how those types of moves often don't bear fruit in that first season.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

It's always difficult to determine which team "improved" the most in the off season.  Some teams make very little changes and have better years because their existing roster of players have matured, or some guys have career years etc.  So I'll throw my vote for the most improved team around March of next year. 

I've found it often is the teams that only made smaller, tinkering type moves that end up with the most improvement, because they don't disrupt the chemistry and such. While major moves and adding big name players looks really nice in the off-season, we've seen dozens of examples over the years of how those types of moves often don't bear fruit in that first season.

That's why I liked what Washington did. Re-signed their key players, and brought in a few good depth guys (not to mention a terrific goalie. Chicago too in that sense, although Campbell was a pretty big part of that team.

 

[cw]

It's always difficult to determine which team "improved" the most in the off season.  Some teams make very little changes and have better years because their existing roster of players have matured, or some guys have career years etc.  So I'll throw my vote for the most improved team around March of next year. 

I've found it often is the teams that only made smaller, tinkering type moves that end up with the most improvement, because they don't disrupt the chemistry and such. While major moves and adding big name players looks really nice in the off-season, we've seen dozens of examples over the years of how those types of moves often don't bear fruit in that first season.

That's why I liked what Washington did. Re-signed their key players, and brought in a few good depth guys (not to mention a terrific goalie. Chicago too in that sense, although Campbell was a pretty big part of that team.

I think the Caps are going through quite a change

Vokoun replaces Varlamov

Poti & Hannan are replaced with Wideman (late last year) and Hamrlik coming in and a shift to more puck movers vs stay-at-home dmen in their lineup.

Arnott/Steckel & Boyd Gordon are gone replaced by Halpern and one of a few candidates for center

Sturm & Fehr (& Fleischman was sent packing earlier in the season) are replaced by Ward & Brouwer.

Their D gave up some defensive dman for offence. Their wings gave up some offence for grit.

That struck me as a fair amount of change to the extent that I suspect the Caps are going change their system again and return to being more of an offensive club next season.

To me, that probably exploits getting the most out of the talent they have though defensive issues may return. If Vokoun shows his age, they may be in trouble. But if he can play well, that team could be real trouble for anyone in terms of making the playoffs.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I think the Caps are going through quite a change

The thing is a lot of those guys you mentioned weren't really core members of the team. Arnott and Sturm were trade deadline acquisitions and were only Capitals for a few months. Hannan was a mid-season trade acquisition. Poti and Fehr were long-time Capitals but were in-and-out of the lineup quite often because of injuries. Varlamov seemed somewhat upset with how he was treated as a Capital so who knows how he meshed with the team. They still have all their core guys in Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Green, Knuble, and Laich. Plus they're allowing younger players like Alzner and Carlson to grow with the team.

 

[cw]

I think the Caps are going through quite a change

The thing is a lot of those guys you mentioned weren't really core members of the team. ...
Plus they're allowing younger players like Alzner and Carlson to grow with the team.

That's true. I more concerned with what I suspect is another shift in their system.

 

[bustaheims]

That's true. I more concerned with what I suspect is another shift in their system.

I'm not sure it's a shift in their system as much as it recognizing the areas of deficiency from the system they used last season and bringing in players to shore up those areas.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I think the Caps are going through quite a change

The thing is a lot of those guys you mentioned weren't really core members of the team. ...
Plus they're allowing younger players like Alzner and Carlson to grow with the team.

That's true. I more concerned with what I suspect is another shift in their system.

To be honest, I'd be happy to see them play a more offensive style. I think Boudreau got it wrong when he switched systems. The Capitals didn't lose to the Canadiens two years ago because of their system, they lost because they ran into a goalie playing out of his freaking mind. You didn't see the Penguins abandoning everything that made them great because they ran into the same problem too.

 

[bustaheims]

To be honest, I'd be happy to see them play a more offensive style. I think Boudreau got it wrong when he switched systems. The Capitals didn't lose to the Canadiens two years ago because of their system, they lost because they ran into a goalie playing out of his freaking mind. You didn't see the Penguins abandoning everything that made them great because they ran into the same problem too.

I don't think the change was just because of the loss to the Habs - it was more the largely inevitable result of a few years of playoff disappointment. The team basically had no conception of how to play defence and that cost them in the playoffs against the Pens in 08/09 (blowing a 2-0 lead in the series and basically getting stomped in game 7). Boudreau went a little overboard with it last season (not surprising, since I don't think he's a good enough coach to put the team over the top), but, the reaction was understandable - the Caps needed to learn how to play on the defensive side of the puck, how to compete harder and so on. Now that they've added some of the elements they were lacking in that system, they might actually be able to make it work.

 

[cw]

fyi: I saw somewhere today - don't recall where or I'd link it (it was just a note - not an article) that the Wings did make some sort of an offer to Vokoun.