The Caps Hint At A Tumultuous Offseason By Saying Basically Everyone Has The Possibility To Be Traded Outside of Backstrom and Ovechkin

 

 

Giphy Images.

 

Yikes. Just a good ol' fashioned "yikes" from me reading that quote. What it says to me is "we are over Kuzy's shit, this team isn't built for a Cup, and we have to take a long, hard look at the entire roster and possibly really shake a bunch of things up". That's how I read it between the lines, at least. 

And it's obviously true. Kuznetsov has been a big disappointment, disappearing for games, if not weeks, at a time, taking bad penalties, and letting down both the team and the fans by being on the COVID list not once but twice this season, including in the playoffs when we needed him the most. 

I wrote on Monday that I have not been this concerned about the future of the Caps in my entire life

 

 

And weirdly, I feel better today after seeing GM Brian MacLellan openly recognize the team needs to be overhauled, or at least tweaked. The current roster is simply not up to snuff, and while Kuzy was a key component of the Cup team who worked well on all the lines, he's now more of a bump in the road. 

The more time that passes the more I expect Oshie to stay in DC which would be great,

 

 

 

And I actually have no read on Chara- he played well enough this year to warrant playing another season, but no telling if it'll be in DC or elsewhere if he does

 

 

And as for Ovi, everyone seems to think he'll re-sign after the expansion draft (the Caps get to protect an additional player if Ovi is un-signed), though something still makes me think he'll at least sniff around a few other teams, just to see what's out there. I hope not though, seeing him in another sweater would make me puke, but I get it's a business and all of that. 

Should be an interesting off-season, but I do expect the Caps to get younger and more well-rounded and come back ready to compete for another Cup next year.