2019-2020 NHL season thread

I hope he gets 700 in one of the next two because then they're on the road a while. The home reaction to that goal will be incredible.
I may try to go Saturday. Be cool if he got it against Trotz, who rejuvenated him after the disaster that was Adam Oates.

 

It was my understanding -- and I didn't follow the Caps like you guys do -- that Ovechkin felt that both Hunter and Oates tried to put handcuffs on him. Am I wrong about that?

One thing that told me what a good coach Trotz is, is that I remember stories from a few years ago about how happy Ovechkin was under Trotz and how he felt like Trotz was putting him in situations to help him succeed, with the implication that Oates and Hunter hadn't. For his part, I also remember Trotz saying something about how from afar he had the perception that Ovechkin was going to be difficult to coach and Trotz said he was wrong about that.

I have no idea if Ovechkin is difficult to coach or not, but it seemed like Trotz was able to manage him in a way the two previous coaches weren't able to, and you'd think that should have been priority number one for any Caps coach.

That said, as a fan from afar, my perceptions of Ovechkin were always about 1) how he would do things in the offensive zone every so often that you were never going to see again and how dominant he can be, but 2) how he sometimes disappeared on the defensive end or came across like he was playing like he didn't care. Maybe perception isn't reality with him, and maybe my perceptions were tainted by reading a lot of things that described Ovechkin that way, but it's why I always preferred Crosby in any debate about who was better. Crosby plays center obviously, but he always looks like he is working his butt off in both ends to where you can't ever miss him when he is on the ice. Ovechkin sometimes looks like he is just interested in playing offense.

 

Well, they missed the playoffs in 13-14 and Oates got shitcanned along with McPhee. Ovie scored a lot of goals, yes. But he also gave about zero shits about doing anything else. That was when Milbury started getting all over him, correctly I must admit. Can't be lazy on one end of the ice. He was in a bit of an "I'll get mine" mode. Trotz flew to Moscow and spent time with him after getting the job. They connected pretty well and Ovechkin started playing the whole ice again. Milbury raved about his transformation into a much more complete player. His numbers may be about the same but Ovechkin made the team a hell of a lot better.

I've watched that team a lot over the years. It goes beyond just the numbers. He's been a much much better player under Trotz/Reirden than he was under Oates (and yes, Hunter).

 

So with the Leafs trading for Jack Campbell, it sounds like the Rangers' ask for Alex Georgiev was too high -- I keep reading they want a top 9 forward, preferably a center, who has the upside of being a top 6. A lot of the rumor stuff I read was that they wanted Kasperi Kapanen from the Leafs. If that is true, the Leafs held tight and went with a cheaper option. I can't blame them on that one. Kapanen is locked in for three years at a relatively reasonable salary.

Maybe Carolina for Georgiev now? I respect that the Rangers have their price, even if it is a bit too steep, and they are holding to it, but the three-goalie situation isn't great. They seem to be banking that there is a desperate enough team out there to meet their price. In the mean time, Hank must be pissed and Georgiev who has done everything they could have asked of him is sitting in street clothes a lot.

The Rangers beat the Leafs last night and even though Shestyorkin let a few through, he made some great saves. I am hoping he is the real deal as the heir apparent to Hank. He's looked very good so far.