bulldog
January-24th-2004, 12:51 AM
the Caps have had talent the past 2-3 years on the ice, but it has been a poor mix of talent.
as a result you get individuals putting up decent enough stats on their own, but the team as a whole producing less than expected.
the Caps the past two years were missing two key ingredients of recent championship teams: adequate depth on the blueline and a lack of a physical presence up front and around the net.
this negated the talents of Lang, Jagr, Gonchar and Kolzig.
the Caps now have the opportunity to start over with a more realistic plan based on their season ticket base and local contracts.
the team has to draft well, which I think it has the past couple of years, and it has to make good trades to bring in younger, cheaper talent that can be signed to long-term deals that are beneficial for the organization as these players develop.
it is a difficult road in some respects, one with less room for error than teams like Detroit and NY have where they can eat the contract of a non-performing star player and still continue to acquire talent.
but, admit it.
the trade of Jagr has created more of a sigh of relief in town than any showing of tears on his behalf.
like Jordan, Jagr came here after becoming a name someplace else.
he never made it HERE.
and that's why he won't be missed.
as a result you get individuals putting up decent enough stats on their own, but the team as a whole producing less than expected.
the Caps the past two years were missing two key ingredients of recent championship teams: adequate depth on the blueline and a lack of a physical presence up front and around the net.
this negated the talents of Lang, Jagr, Gonchar and Kolzig.
the Caps now have the opportunity to start over with a more realistic plan based on their season ticket base and local contracts.
the team has to draft well, which I think it has the past couple of years, and it has to make good trades to bring in younger, cheaper talent that can be signed to long-term deals that are beneficial for the organization as these players develop.
it is a difficult road in some respects, one with less room for error than teams like Detroit and NY have where they can eat the contract of a non-performing star player and still continue to acquire talent.
but, admit it.
the trade of Jagr has created more of a sigh of relief in town than any showing of tears on his behalf.
like Jordan, Jagr came here after becoming a name someplace else.
he never made it HERE.
and that's why he won't be missed.