HOW GEORGE McPHEE EXECUTED HIS PLAN
Caps GM shares 4-year vision, as Ovie stars in OT
10:15 pm, The NVMC - Good on the Islanders for showing major stones in the third period when the Washington Globetrotters were on the verge of “Sweet Georgia Brown”-ing them out of the building. But at Point Blank our goal will always be to take in the big picture whenever possible.
In a column last month entitled “The Very Model of a Modern Rebuild,” I opined that it is the Capitals - not the Crosby lottery-gifted Penguins or any other team - that have set the example the Islanders must follow.
During the second intermission tonight, I spoke with Capitals general manager George McPhee about the trials, tribulations and eventual execution of his plan to rebuild his hockey team in Washington:
“For starters, I should say that rebuilding and talking about being patient is easier said than done,” said McPhee. “We had a plan. It was to tear down a team and build it back up.
“The program taken to ownership (Ted Leonsis) was a four-year plan. The plan was to be back in the playoffs by then and start to contend. We made it in three years, but we were prepared to need four.”
I asked McPhee how hard it is to be patient, seeing the light ahead but having to endure the losses before the team reached its first goal.
“Rebuilding, tearing something down, is a very difficult thing to do. It’s tough walking into arenas knowing you may have some long nights. But that’s where I have to give credit to (former head coach) Glen Hanlon. Over time, he instilled an attitude, a work ethic. Our guys played really hard. We lost our share of games, but we made it difficult most nights.
“I will say this: what made it more tolerable was knowing we had a plan and we were determined to be patient and see it to the end.”
Next up was the crucial issue of scouting - not just McPhee’s staff but his personal involvement. (Garth Snow has already spent a lot of time on the road this season).
“Scouting is the lifeblood of your organization at all times, but of course it’s even more essential when you’re building your franchise back up. If you think you’re picking high - as we did - you better go out and see the players. We have a great scouting staff that has done an amazing job for us the last four years, but as general manager I had to go out and look at all of the top kids.”
I asked McPhee if the Capitals shared their plan with the fan base, as the Islanders did in frequent Town Hall sessions in the summer.
“That was important. We made it clear to our fans, especially the season ticket base, what we felt we had to do and why we felt we had to do it. It was a difficult message, but we outlined it for them: we wanted to get ready for the CBA, clear space and bring in young players - hopefully some special ones - who could really make a difference.”
And they did, led of course by superstar Alexander Ovechkin, who tonight had an overtime for the ages. Finally, I asked about the role of Ted Leonsis in the rebuild. If the Capitals’ owner flinched after year one and said, “I can’t take this anymore. Make us better,” McPhee’s plan would have gone down the tubes.
“Another hard aspect of the whole thing is, you can come up with a plan, and for any of several reasons, it just does not work out. But we were fortunate the pieces came together for us. And yes, we had the commitment from ownership. A general manager is only as good as the ownership of a team.”
While there were undoubtedly some rough patches, Leonsis hung in and is now rewarded with a contender and - as on display tonight - one of the most exciting teams in the NHL.
Your reaction to George McPhee’s comments, in Comments.
94 Responses to “HOW GEORGE McPHEE EXECUTED HIS PLAN
Caps GM shares 4-year vision, as Ovie stars in OT”
Please Wait
God I hope we land John Tavares!
If this is the plan and we’re going to rebuild can we please just fully commit to it already? I’m all for seeing lines with jackman, walter, and comeau together; as well as bailey playing with okposo, etc. Let’s just do this already.
Couldn’t agree more, Steve. Brendan Witt was minus-5 tonight. It’s the veterans who are making this process difficult to watch. I would have coped with tonight’s loss better had it been Josh Bailey who coughed up the puck in OT rather than Doug Weight.
P.S. — If the Isles choose Tavares over Hedman, than he better be the next Crosby. I’d much rather have a stud No. 1 defenseman than a No. 1 or 2 center. Case in point: Who is the most irreplaceable player on the Red Wings? Answer: Nicklas Lidstrom.
I agree with the about comments …
I’ve always said that I’d rather watch a bunch of kids hustling out there that might provide the light at the end of the tunnel during a rebuilding rather than watching vets …now, I realize injuries to some of the young guys have put a damper on that to a degree but I’d still rather see guys from the Bridge than the AARP squad we’re putting out there
great article chris. glad that mcphee was nice enough to give us that insight. i agree that garth should be following a similar plan that mcphee followed. glad that garth has been on the road scouting most of the season b/c the more we know about every draft eligible player the better. great effort by the isles tonight but ovechkin was (as usual) just brilliant.
I know it’s been a rough go, but I have a feeling we’re not going to have a shot at Tavares OR Hedman in the draft. Assuming that, anyone care to opine who the #3 guy in the draft might be? Perhaps an offensive minded finisher if there is one?
J. McDonald starting to fall from clouds to reality giving up soft goals, Witt/Sutton playing terrible… Please, Please, Please bring on the youth and start the rebuild process….
CB,
McPhee’s 4 year plan is all well and good. But let’s be honest, despite the fact that they’ve got several other exciting young players on the team, if the Caps don’t get the opportunity to draft Ovechkin, that 4 year plan goes down the toilet. We needed to be right with Okposo and Bailey. And we need to be right with the upcoming pick. Getting a gem in the later rounds would be icing on the cake, but we need to get the stud with the first pick. And I’m sorry, but it just ain’t right if a team already with a stud (Lecavalier, Kovulchuck) gets the first overall pick ahead of us.
Yet another great article CB, you really give us an amazing insight to the league and the Islanders.
Can we please, please bring up Mike Iggulden and Trevor Smith now
i thought that walter played a really solid game even thou he got caught with his head down. I cant wait to see KO and Tamby with bailey, blake,and walter i think this might work in the long run
DEAR FREDDY MEYER RATHER THEN STANDING STILL AND WAITING TO GET THE CHARGING CALL ON OVECHKEN STEP UP AND INTO HIM AND HE DOESN’T SCORE THE WINNING GOAL IN OT!!
Guys, I agree with what has been written here. A few weeks ago I would have be certain Witt would remain until at least the final year of his deal but now I say for the fight deal everyone except the younger untouchables can go. It has come to that. Glad they grabbed a point it was easier to watch. Interesting to see Brashear acting like a solid citizen to avoid a beat down.
No reason this couldn’t be the Islanders in a few years. Great job as usual.
Some need to realize you can’t “bring on the youth” when you don’t have it. The likes of Smith, Joensuu and others are not elite youth talent. They are not ready. The NHL is not a developmental league, and you don’t put together an NHL team based on date of birth. The likes of L.A. Kings and Phoenix Coyotes can fill their teams with kids because the kids are good enough. Their NHL kids are light-years, lighthouses better than what NYI has in Bridgeport. Yet even then the Kings have 1st round pick Brian Boyle in the AHL because he’s not playing aggressively enough. Rebuilding doesn’t mean developing 2nd rate talent in the NHL, it’s a much larger process, a long-term thing. Several long-term rebuilding pieces are still playing junior and college hockey.
No matter what great plans any team has, the element of luck still plays a HUGE part in any rebuild. If the Islanders don’t get one of the top 2 picks in 2009, the rebuild will be a lot harder. How come McPhee didn’t mention any veteran players?
Oh, and some of us are mere lay-people and don’t know hockey very well, so we’ve never been through a rebuild and don’t know what caliber player exists in the AHL vs. NHL. Some of you gurus and experts need to give us newbies a break sometimes when we mouth off about how we want things to go. We’re the same people who laugh at the “you suck” chant after the goal song, doncha know.
Ovechkin’s OT goal really reminded me of Bossy the way he hit the top corner…it actually made me dig up the Bossy “Legends of Hockey” segment on Youtube…and I might add that I helped Ted Leonsis in rebuilding the Caps — by keeping AOL dial-up service until this past winter
Iggulden and McLean are AHL vets, by the way, not designed to be rebuilding pieces. Iggulden’s claim to fame in his only NHL game (for San Jose) was not tracking Andy Hilbert in the defensive zone and letting him score. These guys are nonentities as far as the rebuild goes. They’re not even young. Obviously Iggulden has done well this year, but he is doing no more than competing for a 4th line checking role in the NHL. I wouldn’t worry about it whether he gets called up or not, although it’s always nice to see hard work rewarded.
What are you saying? The Isles are going to follow in the footsteps of the Caps?
I would have had a much better feeling about this rebuilding plan had we not given up 2 prospects and a 1st rounder for Ryan Smyth 2 years ago. According to your article had we been patient and had a 4 year plan ALA the Caps we would be 3/4 the way there after this season. I for one am not seeing that plan. I for one did not like the Ryan Smyth trade which bought us a 5 game series. If we are going to accept a 4 year plan of rebuilding well lets accept a starting date!
PS, anyone who feels that we need a stud #1 D man as oppossed to a sniper should play the game. A defensive system can be implemented as well as special teams however snipers dont grow on trees! That tree has been gone since Ziggy guys!
Just wait until Petrov comes to the Islanders. Just wait.
Mike Iggulden is 25, Trevor Smith is 24….I forgot there has never been an NHL player who has found his game after the age of 23
“What,” I think that by any count, this would be year 1 of the rebuilding plan, not year 3.
Giving up those players and potential player for Smyth was at a time when we weren’t rebuilding, so your point is moot. The rebuild didn’t happen until last season when the Islanders saw that looking for vets to create lightning in a bottle wasn’t going to work. Call this year one.
Strummer,
Meyer actually had a good game tonight. He took the body and stood up Ovechkin multiple times on one on one breaks - and my buddy, when I mentioned that to him after the game, told me Mears and King were all over that on the radio broadcast as well.
Mcefee should get all the credit in the world, not for Ovechkin, but the supporting cast he’s assembled. Also, the fortitude to finally get rid of Kolzig. Jeez, was it time for that guy to go, or what?
Akeem:
Meyer did have 6 hits and that is positive but if your trying to tell me a guy who was minus 4 for the game had a good game then I have to disagree. Guys who are minus 4 didn’t have a good game. The goal in OT would have been prevented if he stepped into Ovechenkin, he might have even created a break out the other way.
Disagree on the OT goal: Regardless of the rest of his game, that one’s not on Meyer. It was a quick turnover play: Ovechkin receives the puck as he’s changing direction so Meyer is flat-footed (through no fault of his own, because possession changed suddenly), so Meyer has to guard against Ovechkin deking around him, which Ovechkin had ample space to do since they were high in the slot.
It was just an incredible, inside-his-body shot from Ovechkin, one that superstars pull off from time to time. Had Meyer suddenly lunged up from his flat-footed position, Ovechkin would have deked around him the way Nigel Dawes deked around Chris freaking Pronger tonight in Anaheim.
so he’s flat footed but it is not his fault and you’d rather have him standing there doing nothing then attempting to make a play which he was more then close enough to do even being flat footed and give up the winning goal, then to risk having the player (Ovechenkin) not get the shot he wanted but to have to make another play and/or several more moves to set up because Meyer would have stepped up and either hit him or missed and then Ovechenkin would have deked and maybe got a shot off or lost control of the puck or had to pass or do something else? Not sound logic considering standing there doing nothing cost them the game.
Had Meyer hit him he wouldn’t have scored, had he missed he would have been forced into another play that may or may not have worked. The best thing to do with great players is to put them on their butts. When Sutton did it earlier in the game to their top center I said “good that is how you keep them from scoring put them on their butts”.
Why cant it be that Ovechkin made a great play?
Meyer was awesome tonight… regardless of +/-.
Ovechkin is a superstar who made an unbelievable shot on a quick play. Meyer and Mac had no chance.
During regulation, I remember at least 4 instances where Meyer did stick to Ovechkin, hit him solidly, and neutralize the play. Considering, when we first got FMIV from the flyers 2 years back, I thought he would never deserve a single minute of NHL time…to get from that point to sticking to one of the game’s top scorers 4 out of 5 times in a night is not too shabby. I would not pin this loss on Meyer.
If you are looking for a scapegoat, look at MacDonald giving up the post when the puck was still behind the net, or many of the countless other times when he wasn’t positioned where an NHL goaltender should be positioned. I remember at least one other that he should have had [Not saying its all JMac's fault, but if you are going to blame the whole game on Meyer...]
I agree with a post earlier that said the element of luck played a big part in a rebuild. No GM in sports has the secret recipe on how to rebuild a franchise. Patience by the organization is important and in order for the franchise to be patient, they need full support from the fans. If the Isles are going to turn this franchise around, they need the fans to understand the rebuild process and the salary cap issues. Fans assume a rebuild doens’t involve vets. Very wrong. First, the young players need guidance and what it takes to play in the NHL and be successful. Secondly, we need vets at high $$$’s to meet the league minimum for cap purposes. What is going to hurt the rebuild process is the fact that none of our vets are considered assets to most teams so no GM wants to part with prospects or good picks for aging vets. Edmonton traded Smyth to us and they received a package of prospects and picks that aids a rebuild greatly. We don’t have Smyth type players. And last, the lighthouse project will be an important piece to the rebuild as well. In 2 years when we have a lot of the pieces in place and we have an opportunity to land a big UFA, the direction of the team as well as the facilities will play a a large part in landing that big fish. Patience and Luck Isles fans…I for one am in for the long haul. I made it this far, why stop now.
To RB’s comment. You kind of stole my thunder on the Bossy comment. The second Ovechkin scored that goal, I had a flashback to the goal Bossy scored against Vancouver in OT in game 1 81-82 finals. Scored from just about the same spot, same type of shot and same reaction. It was creepy. I’m sure you could find it on youtube somewhere. Give the boys credit for not giving in when they could have easily done so.
Great rebuilding plan; Suck for as long as you can, hoping you get lucky and a generational talent like Ovechkin comes along, then draft him. Without Ovechkin, the Capitals are a mediocre to terrible team.
Luck was their plan.
But luck is the residue of design. Stick to a well thought out plan and see what happens. Maybe it won’t happen on the scale of the caps but a really competative team will come out on the other end. Then you add the big free agent type if need be.
this is a loss i will take. great third period
strummer,
it really sounds easy to stop ovechkin when you describe it from your couch. maybe we could bring you in to tutor the defenseman on what to do when Weight coughs the puck up in the slot to perhaps the best pure goal scorer in the NHL.
Good article CB! I actually find it hard to believe that we will be able to pull off a 4-yr rebuilding plan. That puts us in playoff contention 2012-13. Uhh… Another wrong move by Snow and we would push back contention until 2014-15… Uhh.. Bailey is not Semin.. Okp is not Ovie… We do not have a Mike Green either. I gotta say this doesn’t look good at all for us… Tavares is not Ovie/Crosby/Malkin either. Jeez…
Oh well 10-69-3!! Lets make it happen!
I guess we’ll see DP soon! Man is he going to go bananas when he realizes we suck!! We could always trade the overrated primadonna uhhh oh I forgot…
just curious as well as to how easy you think it is to knock ovechkin with a head of steam and his head up onto his butt?? sure sounds simple, just wondering why it doesnt happen more often??
I agree with bossy 22 as well… I am in it for the long haul. Jeez been in it for the long haul with this mess for last 16 years…
oh well Lets Go Islanders!
Re-build starting date hopefully was the 2008 draft… But… The trade down by our genius GM uhhhh… We may have to push back the start date…
You cannot blame one guy for Ovechkin scoring a goal. The whole idea of a “super star” is that they can win virtually every one-on-one battle. If you have only one guy anywhere in the vicinity of a super star with zero support, then your defensive scheme needs to be altered to acknowledge who is on the ice and when. It’s difficult with the caps because you have to pay attention to Semin and Backstrom on the same line. The only thing that bothered me about last night was that it was not only that line dominating in the offensive zone, but their fourth line of Brashear and two guys I never heard of. Every shift that line was all over the zone and making the Isles run around. The Isles were good in the offensive zone last night for sure though. Nice to see a little creativity, esp on the pp. And just a note…it was the vets scoring goals last night…kids were invisible.
Dissillusioned - How are we to know what the trade down of 2008 holds for the future? With the extra picks and Bailey, as opposed to Filatov? Who knows - we wont know that until 2011, 2012 at the least. I keep reading from all of the closet GM’s what we should do. I think what we should do, is leave it to the GM and scouts and see where we land a few years down the road. I would like stars in the line-up also, but we do stink, and #1 or #2 wont look so bad in June.
What really gets me is how everyone want the kids -the kids-the kids here. The vets are the ones doing all the scoring last 2 weeks.
Jason is dead-on, and it’s yet another sad comment on the state of the fan base. It can never be that Ovechkin played like one of the best goal-scorers of the last 20 years, it has to be Meyer sucks and this guy sucks and everyone sucks because Ovechkin intercepted the puck on a turnover and planted a perfect shot in the top corner of the net.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - it’s incredibly disingenuous to blame Snow for the sins of Milbury and past ownership. The above comment is absolutely right - we’re in year 1 of a 4 year plan, so let’s see where things go. Just remember, Mike Green was I believe the 29th overall pick a few years ago. Semin came in the middle of the first round, and a few of those guys came in from either smart trades or smart UFA signings. Luck is involved with Ovechkin, but you need the skill to evaluate talent since there are 7 rounds in a draft, after all. Let’s just hope they’re going in the right direction instead of using every freaking article to say the exact same thing (the team sucks, everyone sucks, doesn’t matter where we finish because we’ll blow the draft, I hate this team, blah blah blah).
If the team is going to be this bad-the Isles need to clear some more roster spots (Guerin, Weight, Sillinger, Comrie, Hilbert, Sim, Maybe even Witt & Park)before the trade deadline to give some of the players at Bridgeport some NHL experience to see what they have to offer.. the Isles talk like the youth movement has already begun(?) If you look at their roster there are not many young players at all.
Also - I agree JMac is coming down to earth. Holding the post and closing all the holes to stop a bouncing puck are the first 2 things they teach goaltenders (I should know, I was a goalie when I played). He’s clearly either mentally or physically burned out, but this now creates a bit of a problem for the Isles. Danis hasn’t shown me anything, and Mannino didn’t look good against Boston either. What do we think - should Danis get one of the weekend games? Should they start being more of a platoon until DP gets back?
Brian - as above posters have mentioned, rebuilding doesn’t mean throw in a bunch of young players who aren’t ready. Let them develop at their own pace, either in the AHL, ECHL, or college, and have a few vets on short-term deals to stay salary cap compliant and give the kids that earned the right to play in the NHL a good example.
I love Richard Park and I know he played awesome last night but I do not get why he and John Sim get powerplay time…I am assuming Bailey was playing through some kind of pain last night because he barely saw the ice. He needs to get more PP time. Ben Walter played pretty well last night, I would like to seem him on the team for an extended period of time.
Ideally, a few high-character vets have to be around in order to teach the kids how to handle themselves in the NHL and get the most out of their skill. It isn’t just who’s talented, but also who’s determined and prepared. Arguably the most important player on the Islanders from ‘72-’79 was the captain, Ed Westfall. His example helped mold Potvin, Trots, Nystrom, Gillies, Bossy, etc. into a formidable dynasty.
Obviously there had to be talent there, but it’s also important for them to have had his example all those years. I don’t think it’s wise to try to ditch Doug Weight or Bill Guerin - they are more valuable as Isles than as 2d or 3d round picks (which is all they’re likely to bring back). Who are Bailey and etc. going to learn from if the most experienced player on the team is Trent Hunter?
(Incidentally I think Ed’s #18 should be retired by the club. He brought them a lot of credibility during those dark early years, helped them come farther faster than anyone thought possible - certainly faster than any expansion team before them.)
The answer as to why the “kids” don’t play more at the expense of guys like Weight and Guerin, well…maybe they’re just not ready yet. And to avoid losing games 12-0, we need to have a modicum of respectability and professionalism. Sure, I’d love it if our top 5 goal scorers were under 25, but that doesn’t happen anywhere else, and sure as hell not with us. So if we need Doug Weight to chip in 25 goals and 75-80 pts. this year, so be it. As the rest of you note, I’m fighting myself in being ok, to better than ok, in us losing. Just remember a few things here. We had just won in Montreal, were up 3-0 against Pittsburgh, and playing some damn good consistent hockey. The talent is as crappy as some of you think. We’re not a playoff team, but its not like we’re the worst thing ever created. It’ll take time, but I’d take this over 1998 anyday (except for the Yanks season that year, and the Jets going to the AFC title game). We were so noncompetitive in those years (1995-2001) that it was a joke the NHL allowed us to remain in the league. This, being somewhat competitive 4 of every 5 games, I can handle. Just hang in there, Isles fans. We’ve sat through years of steaming piles.
am I the only one that would have preferred Ovechkin to score that goal with 10 seconds left in regulation instead of ot ?
bring on the losses
Re: Nick (43)… Spot on. Ovechkin is amazing. I was actually yelling at my tv for him to get off the damn ice and take a break once in a while. Seemed like he never left the ice in OT. Bad turnover and he made Isles pay for it. Pretty simple.
Also agree with your last comment. Getting real tired seeing the same negative comments being made by the same people no matter what type of entry CB puts out there for us. You’re pissed. We get it. Now come up with something new to add to the actual discussion taking place, please.
Defense has certainly not helped lately, but MacDonald has been exposed as what he really is: a backup who has played WAY too much. If/when DiPietro gets back HEALTHY, then Joey will probably be just fine for what he was signed for. Until then… ugh. Starting goalkeepers need to make saves to cover up for the defense’s mistakes, not to compound them by letting in soft goals. Entirely too many of them lately.
Can we lay off Joey Mac? Yes he has looked bad at times, and has probably been over-exposed. If you want to get on someone, get on Charles Wang for giving DP the huge contract or on Snow for not having any depth beyond J. Mac. Denis has proven he can’t even back up for a backup. Mannino looked overmatched in the one game he played here. Where is the depth at this position?
Speaking of Joey Mac, how come they never had an official presentation of his Islander Player of the Month of November award before a game like they do with the other players of the month award winners?
Also, anyone catch Jason Blake’s shootout goal last night?
mrlbem on Dec 16th, 2008 22:56:39 said:
“…if the Caps don’t get the opportunity to draft Ovechkin, that 4 year plan goes down the toilet.”
Don’t just focus on Ovechkin. Keep in mind the impact of Semin, Backstrom, Green and soon (if not already) Alzner.
All important pieces in the puzzle.
I dont think MacDonald was the player of the month… he was the 3rd star of the month.
Am I remembering this correctly?
DOC
Great piece, it would most certainly be advantageous for the Islanders to use the Cap’s plan as a roadmap to rebuilding (hopefully with a few shortcuts).
Why is everyone drinking the Doug Weight Haterade? He has been everything and more this team could have expected. Terrible giveaway last night yes, but the guy is 38 years old, why is he logging so much ice time, and why is a clearly tired Doug Weight out there 4 on 4 against the leagues most dynamic player? I think Gordon is to blame no Dougie.
Is there anyway a counter can be added to this website “Day’s until Ricky Returns”? I really do believe the outcome of this game would have been a lot different if #39 had been in the net. Joey has played very well this year, but he’s not the same player as pick number #1 of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
Richard Park continues to amaze, he always seems to be in the right spot at the right time; with exception to that bad penalty in the 3rd, talk about a momentum killer.
The Weight haterade is ridiculous. He has been one of the few bright spots. I wasn’t a fan of the signing in the offseason because as I have said many times here, rebuilding teams don’t sign 38 yr olds. I think Weight will being back a nice pick or young player at the deadline. Ricky would have made a difference last night, but on most nights even with him they didn’t play well enough to win. I already know people will say “Well the boys would play with more confidence in front of Ricky.” The boys are the boys and the effort should be the same despite the netminder.
Well CB; nice blog however if your trying to make the comparison of Washington to the Islanders i think a BIG factor here is Ted Leonsis and Alexander Ovechkin.
For starters i feel Charles Wang is more committed to the LightHouse than a 4 year plan for the Islanders ( and that will tell tale in JULY ) As far as Ovechkin goes we dont even have a Sniff of a player like him in our organization, this guy is an Elite Talent that Instantly gives Washington an Identity and a Goal Scorer Which the Islanders still do not have or have found. Thats where the 4 year plan starts and differs from the Islannders. and i feel Garth Snow is know George Mcphee. Just my opinion.
Did anyone watch what Weight did all game long in the offensive end? By far the most dominant Islander…and probably the only Islander in the top 5 dominant offensive players for the game. Watching Weight and Streit on the point for the power play has been one of the very few sources of entertainment so far this year, and I was dead set against signing Weight in the offseason (and still believe there were other younger centers that could have been had instead). But give credit where it’s due - watching the way Weight was able to create space for himself last night showed me how far our “kids” still have to go.
Paul - come on. Ted Leonsis bought the team when they already had a new building, so that comparison is a bit off. And we’ve said before, Ovechkin is a generational talent, but you need to be bad in order to have a chance to get someone like that. Maybe Hedman or Tavares can be that guy for the Islanders if they continue on this year. You’re putting the cart before the horse - the Lighthouse is the essential component of the 4-year plan since the team will suddenly have more revenue streams, a more attractive place to play, and a guaranteed future right where it is.
I guarantee you that if the Caps were still in the old USAir Arena replacing it would be at the top of Leonsis’ agenda.
I have to say how surprised i am to see posts that want the Islanders to lose. I realize the need for a Franchise Player, however there are so many other things that factor into it, I just dont see how rooting against your favorite team is the answer. Do you really think that the top 2 picks are the only guys worth picking in the draft? Yes, I want an Ovechkin type player. That being said, Carolina and Anaheim won cups without a Domiment Forward. Do people honestly head to the Coliseum in Mid-December hoping the Isles lose? Thats nuts.
Another great blog! But McPhee has an many, MANY advantages over Snow. State of the art arena even Snow admitted the Coliseum is not a place NHL players want to be a part of. The Isles, as least at the present pace need a lot more than 4 years to be able approach what the Caps have. Hats off to the Caps though. Also, let’s not forget McPhee has been doing this for 11 years. 11 Years! IF George McPhee was to head-up the Isles rebuild, I’d be a bit more confident. I don’t question the fact that ‘rebuilds’ have worked, I question whether or not Garth Snow has the faculties to lead a rebuild.
Also “Prior to joining the Capitals, McPhee spent five seasons as the vice president and director of hockey operations as well as alternate governor for the Vancouver Canucks, assisting then general manager Pat Quinn with all hockey-related matters.”
Garth’s prior experience consisted of watching Chris Osgood & Rick DiPietro play goaltender. Hats off to the Caps & McPhee, but they’re past plan & the Isles present plan have nothing in common.
Why was Jon Sim playing with Bailey the entire game? Why did Bailey get 43 seconds of PP time the entire game? Why is Jon Sim who was bad enough to get waived playing with our first round pick? I love Richard Park and I know he scored a goal but aren’t we “supposed” to be evaluating our youth? Walter looked good why didn’t we see more of him? By the way that last play where Ovechkin scored was caused by Bailey first coughing it up along the boards in the offensive zone than GUERIN one hand stick checking weakly in the nuetral zone than weight coughing it up. That was a team effort blown point not just Weight. Ovechkin also made a beautiful play but saying he scored because he is Ovechkin is weak, If you give just about any NHL player that much room most will score. You just can’t keep backing up you have to stand up a player even Ovechkin.
Scott W. “Carolina and Anaheim won cups without a dominant forward”??? Seriously, so Eric Staal and Teemu Selanne are not dominant players? That’s an inaccurate statement. I’m actually a diehard fan who wants a one or a two at the top of this year’s draft. I want a dominant player and from everything I’ve read, these two kids have a shot at being that type of player. So, do I root for them to outright lose, no, but I don’t get upset with a loss if that makes sense. My expectations going into this year were to watch Okposo, Frans, Bailey (now that he’s here) develop and to see the team give a hard fought effort every night. For the sake of this franchise, we need one of those two players and the only way to do that is to draft them because they aren’t signing here.
Geezz, you guys need to lay off Meyer, he did a heck of a job against Ovie most of the night. As a Caps fan and a guy that gets the pleasure of watching Ovie a couple of times a week I can tell you charging him in that situation would not have changed a thing. He is not some little guy you can easily knock off the puck, he is 230 or so pounds. Once he had that space it was over. You cannot give a superstar like Ovechkin that much room and the turnover and good pass from Backstrom allowed for it, not the play of Meyer. The goalie had no chance either.
The Caps rebuilding was some luck with getting Ovie, no doubt. But look at their AHL team in Hershey. Calder cup in 2006, deep in the playoffs last year, 11 game winning streak this year. The caps have a solid organization full of young talent. They had 10 players injured for an extended period of time this year and during that time still managed to keep a solid record. The orgainzation is now deep. That comes with patience and good talent evaluation. Luckily, the Caps learned a lesson with the Jager signing years ago. Good luck with your rebuilding, as a fan that has been through it I know how painful it can be. Believe me, there were days I was calling for the owner to fire GMGM or to sell the team. I was wrong.
I think McPhee is humble enough to realize that but for the bounce of a ping-pong ball he probably would have been fired by now. He makes their C+ players in to B players and that makes all the difference. Take him off the Caps and put him on the Isles and their records reverse immediatly.
Well “Bomber” it appears some people here haven’t seen a good defensemen in so long that they think minue 4 and freezing on the play that cost the team the game (hey Weight also coughed up the puck) is some how a great game by an Islander d-man. I guess by recent standards it is but it isn’t the type of defense that wins anything.
Meyer did nothing on the play. Other teams hit Ovechenkin plenty. Not the easiest guy in the world but good teams know you have to hit the oppossing players and not stand there watching the best players in the world do what they want.
What would have happened if Rich Pilon and Darius Kasparaitais stood there and let Lemuix and Jagr have their way? That playoff series would have turned out much different. Especially when your less talented you make life misearable and pound them. That is why Jagr was quoted as saying Eric Cairns was the d-man he hated to play agaist the most.
The Mick,
Staal and Selanne are great players, superstars. However, I was refering to the Crosby, Ovechkin, Lecavalier type. I think there is a drop off from those guys. Maybe i shouldn’t have refered to them not as Dominant Forwards. However, You do not need to tank a season and hope to finish last to get a player in the caliber of Staal or Selanne, you just need to draft the right players with the draft positions you get. So hoping they lose every game is not the answer.
Nick, Pittsburgh has one of the oldest Arena’s in the league and yet the have and signed to of the best players in Hockey, Crosby and Malkin! Yes they did it through the draft and had nothing to do with a New Building. Also having a real GM helped them as Well. And Charles Wangs only goal is the lighthouse “You will see in July”
Speaking of Ping-Pong balls, we finish 2nd to last and we’re one bounce away from neither Hedman or Tavares.
It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is for loosing this game. Give guys some credit. They put a lot of work and effort yesterday. They also had the best 3rd period of the season so far. Almost everyone on the tream looked good. The kids did not score, but they played with a lot of heart. I was pleased how Walter scated and most of times was in the right place. But don’t you forget, it was Capitals who is much bigger, faster, and more talanted. As mumch as Strummer’s Army hates russians, Caps have 5 of 27 russian players in NHL. And they all big points producers (starts with Ovechkin).
So for us even to push the game to OT is already an accomplishment. Not to mention all the scoring chances Isles had. Even Sutton woke up and started to score.
The only player on the team is making me sad (not pissed, but sad) is Witt. He looks a lot different from the last season. Did he suddenly got old?
Vlad I hate Russian’s like Kvasha or Yashin or Zednik but I’d hate players like that no matter where they were from. Now the ones who play like Ovechenkin or Petrov I dig.
Its hard to get mad at Witt isn’t it? The guy has always been great for us, you have to love him. But there is definetely something wrong with him. There were some rumors with him along with Guerin having some problems with Gordon but they were rumors so who knows. He certainly doesn’t hit like before and his defense has been deplorable. Maybe he is hurt or maybe he wants out, who knows. He certainly isn’t driving up his trade value with the way he has been playing. Hope he turns it around.
How do you know how Petrov plays? For all anybody on here knows he could come here and play worse than Kavasha. Thats even if he comes here. I love how everyone on here talks about Petrov like they just went to see him play last week.
Matt many of us on this site have gotten the opportunity to watch Petrov play on TV, even before the Isles drafted him. He is like a freight train around the net, plays hard and doesn’t want to be denied from scoring. If he plays at WJC this year watch him it is on NHL Network. There is a reason people say he was a top 10 talent last year if not his contract status.
On Witt, I agree, he isn’t himself. People say he isn’t injured but Guerin played a lot of last year injured before anyone found out. If he isn’t injured the system just doesn’t fit and it would be hard to see him moved but the right thing.
I don’t give Pitt’s GM too much credit. A trained monkey could have chosen Crosby and Malkin, I think, and let’s face it, they have other quality players, but without those two, they are above average, but NOT a dominant team in this league. Not to mention, the “face” of that franchise came down to the luck of a lottery draft after the lockout season. Not much brilliant maneuvering by the GM there. I think they just happened to really stink for five years straight at a very fortunate time wrt the draft. If they walk away with a cup in the next few years, I’ll give the GM full marks for building a team around the obvious draft choices. Sorry for the tone here, and I’d trade rosters with Pitt in a second if I could, but I think I’m just sick of hearing how brilliant Pitt is all the time, by everyone, for making two very obvious draft selections.
Didn’t mean to come off like I was attacking you in particular but the guy has never played in the NHL and for that matter on a NHL surface. Sometimes people on here come off like Toronto fans with the way we talk about players we haven’t even seen play here yet. I plan on watching him in the WJC, no doubt about it but lets not get all excited about a player that we don’t even know is going to play for us. I know I’ve read the press releases too. I read up on the guy as much as I can.
It was actually 3 draft choices, I think you have to count Fluery who is already a excellent goaltender.
Have you seen everyone else who went 2-11 in that draft? I don’t know that Fleury was such a great selection (looking with the benefit of hindsight, of course). He had an amazing wrap up to last year, and has great quickness and reflexes, but I’m not completely sold on him as a top goaltender yet.
To Strummer’s Army: Zednik is from Chech Republic. And, with no disrespect, going to have to disagree with you on Yashin. Knew him personaly - great guy and hell of a good player who has done a lot for Isles organization. Kvasha, son of very rich family in Russia, was raised in comfort and wasn’t use to hard working on NHL level, but a good kid with some skills who wanted to have fun on the ice. This is the reason he did not last.
As for KHL and “Russians are comming…”:
KHL players and their fans have a lot of respect for everything the NHL brought to world hockey. They also being proud that many of russian talents are playing with NHL and have better oportunities to show their skills and work ethics.
Just wish you could hate them a little less.
UIF, I think everybody understands that Pittsburgh got lucky. I know that was a good draft class that year but I don’t think Pitt did a bad job. They wanted a goaltender obviously and they got one who took them to the stanley cup finals. I know he was injured earlier in the season but he played the playoffs. Its not a matter of whether you are sold on him or not. The guy has a better resume now than the guy we chose first overall to be our #1 goaltender in my opinion.
Well, first of all, wrt our first overall, you won’t hear me singing the praises of our front office at the time either, haha. Secondly, Cam Ward won a cup, and has a better resume too. I still don’t think he’s an elite goalie by any stretch of the imagination…maybe not even a very good goalie. I think that draft year, when the first choice maybe wasn’t so obvious, is a better indicator and more telling than having Sidney Crosby fall out of the sky and into Pitt’s lap. Again, I admit a lot of my opinion is based on simple annoyance at the constant, non-stop Pitt ego stroking that’s gone on in all corners of hockey ever since Sid entered the league.
I gotcha, just looks like Fluery is a keeper and will probably in my opinion get better. I agree that there is a lot of “stroking” that goes on with Pitts suck to get good model. Just think Fluery is a good one.
Saying “they got lucky” with Ovechkin or Crosby really misses the point. Not everybody who’s that lucky makes those picks. How “lucky” were the Islanders getting three top-ten choices in 1999? Connolly, Pyatt, Mezei. Good night nurse. They took Dave freakin’ Czychowski second in ‘89, Scott Scissons sixth in ‘90… You’d cry if you saw a list of the players they left on the board during the past twenty years while they were screwing up, to say nothing of the list of players the Isles HIT on in the first round whom they then piddled away.
The Isles have actually picked BETTER in the lower rounds than in the first for about the last twenty years - Ziggy and Comeau were twos, Neilsen and Chara were threes; they got good service out of Tommy Salo (a five), Campoli (a seven), and Martinek (eight).
The point is, you have to know what to do with that pick when you’ve got it, and you can’t flub it (Alexander Daigle) or give up early (Roberto Luongo).
They could have held onto Luongo, drafted Heatley or Gaborik instead, kept them with Olli Jokinen… NO, I promised myself not to. #$%#$T%%^~!
Fleury’s got the tools, Matt. That can’t be denied. There aren’t many quicker than he is. I won’t be surprised if he does put it all together.
yes, rich pilon is the answer, he was so quick im sure he’d have knocked ovechkin right on his butt.
he mustve got lessons from you as to how easy it is….
Re:Comment 19. The Islanders didn’t commit to a rebuilding plan until they realized that big-name free agents would not sign here even if Wang made them the highest offer.
As a Caps season ticket holder since before the rebuild, I can vouch for the rough times you folks are going to see. You’ll probably see three categories of players over the next few years — the “revolving door” type who come in for a year and then leave; the “last days” players like Weight, Guerin, and Witt, who will not be a part of the better days you’ll see ahead; and the “core” players around which you’ll build a team.
The Caps assembled that last group with Ovechkin as the cornerstone, but also drafted Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green (referred to as the “young guns” in these parts). Add to that a young goalie — Simeon Varlamov, who won his NHL debut in Montreal last weekend, but who probably isn’t going to be a regular for a couple of years yet — and that is the core that the Caps will move forward with. McPhee also sold off a lot of high-priced talent to get contributors — Green was a pick in a trade of Robert Lang, a trade that also netted prospect Tomas Fleischmann. Moving Sergei Gonchar returned Shaone Morrisonn and a pick that became jeff Schultz. Brooks Laich was a prospect that came in a trade of Peter Bondra. Varlamov was the pick that the Caps got for Brendan Witt when he was traded to Nashville.
The players who fill those roles with the Islanders are the ones you should be paying attention to, even as they have their rough spots this year or next.
@ Strummer:
Freddie Meyer, according to NHL.com is 5′10″ and 192 pounds. Ovechkin is listed at 6′2″, 220 pounds. That’s 4 inches and almost 30 pounds, which means that if Meyer tries to step up on Ovechkin, Ovechkin is going to plow straight through him and score anyway, especially with the head of steam he had built up compared to Meyer being flat-footed. It’s simple physics.
Meyer did do a good job shadowing Ovechkin all night. But on that play, there was absolutely nothing he could do.
If I can…..
The recipe for success.as a fan is the following:
DEMAND QUALITY and if the quality is not there you STOP GOING TO GAMES.
The drafting of Bailey? Nice, if we had a deep farm, but we drafted Bailey in order to draft two more guys (Petrov was already ours as we got the Edmonton/Anaheim pick earlier) who look like role players, maybe better. We needed a “build around” guy to get this team somewhere, a “Potvin, Bossy or Trottier” like punch. We opted not to and have further stocked our farm with potential second liners (first liners on a bad team).
So we absolutely need a few star players in our system. THAT is why Washington is better now, not because they built with kids, but they built with THE RIGHT KIDS.
So many times we go after vanilla or way out there flavors (Oleg?) to build around and end up right back to square one. Snow decided to start fresh, with kids……like Oleg, the Redwood defense, Connolly, Yashin/Peca, Smyth, Grit, Run and Gun, Yashin captaincy, “Ted Nolan type players” and every other annual or semi-annual rebuild/retool plan.
Our plans are just not well thought out and the only time we were surefootedon a plan was under Milbury, but one time the owners gutted and another time we had to modify the game to match Toronto’s.
Perhaps someone told Milbury he wanted these changes? Just like a smart on paper team was disintigrated to please an ownership group?
And maybe the common thread throughout these myriad of bad retoolings is the ownership meddling?
Just a thought. And thus, the bad decisions are rewarded when people pay to watch the game.
One time, Wings fans stopped going. It was the mid to late eighties. Ownership got the message and scouting was improved, management was improved, coaching was improved and voila! The team improved. Ilitch was and is proud of his team (and during his building of a great team, he bettered the Joe Louis Arena, bought surrounding properties and made real estate moneys and for this strategy, became a fan hero who is to date ADORED!).
Mr. Botta, I would love to have seen you compare us to the lame duck Detroit Red Wings of the early Yzerman era and the fan support that was won back by a smart and CARING ownership.
Pizza Pizza.
Sorry if long, but it’s an important thought to get out.
The Caps rebuild really started in 2001 and 2002 with trading Bondra, Jagr, Gonchar, Robert Lang, Nylander, Brendan Witt, etc. Sure, Ovechkin was lucky, but Malkin was there otherwise. The secret of the 2004 draft wasn’t just Ovechkin, but Jeff Schultz and Mike Green at the end of Round 1 from Boston and Detroit picks. Brendan Witt turned into our top young golaie, Simeon Varlamov, who beat the Habs last week. How about 2002 draft? Three first rounders - Steve Eminger, Alexander Semin and Boyd Gordon. Eminger was traded, but that turned into top D prospect John Carlson of the London Knights. Check the 2002 and 2004 drafts and you’ll see how McPhee plucked contributorss in the middle and back of the first round, where other teams’ picks are still in the minors. And the crowning achievement was getting Fedorov to conclude the process - you’ve now brought in a vet to compliment all the younger players. For sure, there was some luck with Ovechkin, but all the rest of it was due to hard work and great decisions on who to draft.