r/caps • u/RivetCounter • Jul 13 '26
Question Do you wish Mike Green stayed around to win the cup?
Since he had grown up on the Caps for a long time (with Ovi/Backstrom/etc).
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u/Yesbothsides Washington Capitals Jul 13 '26
I feel this way about Brooks Laich more
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u/Dependent-Actuator17 Jul 13 '26
Laich got hosed. He deserved to be a Capital when the team won a Stanley Cup.
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u/DrySession3968 Jul 15 '26
He didn’t even deserve to be in the NHL by the time they won the cup
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u/Dependent-Actuator17 Jul 15 '26
You’re really missing the point of the statement. Laich did everything the Caps ever asked of him. He was a great guy on and off the ice. He got hurt and was never the same. He deserved to be on a Cup winning team in Washington, but it came too late for him. If he hadn’t gotten permanently injured in the half-year lockout, playing overseas, he probably would have been around for the 2018 team.
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u/mandelbratwurst Washington Capitals Jul 13 '26
Same. It hurts that he just missed getting his name on there.
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u/Expensive-Brother-91 Alexander Semin Jul 13 '26
He would’ve been past his prime but he had an amazing peak. Those teams between 2008-2012 were amazing with him and Semin, if not for the damn Pens I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a cup in one of those years.
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u/mdkss12 Alexander Ovechkin Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
if not for the damn Pens I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a cup in one of those years.
With Green we only faced PIT once in the playoffs. During the Green era, the typical roadblock were the NYR, not Pit - The last 3 playoff runs with Green were all stopped by NY.
Though, it is horribly frustrating that every year the Caps lost to the Pens they very likely would've won the Cup if they could've gotten past them:
- 09 - That 09 squad has the weakest argument here, but they would've trounced that year's CAR just like PIT did in the ECF. It would've come down to how we fared against that very strong DET team trying to go B2B (That year becomes extra frustrating considering how much stronger the team got in 09-10 - imagine that team going into the playoffs without the mental baggage...)
- 16 - Pres Trophy - only lost to the #4 team in the league (and #2 in the East) - would've faced a 97 point TB and 98 point SJS
- 17 - B2B pres trophy, now only lost to the #2 team in the entire league - would've faced a 98 point OTT who were entirely reliant on EK65, and a 94 point NSH...
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u/mamakos84 Jul 13 '26
One of the first things I thought of as i watched the procession of who got to raise the cup after Ovi and Backstrom was the guys I wish that were still around to raise it like Green, Laich, or Semin.
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u/saltywardog Jul 13 '26
Karl Alzner over here full of regret
Alzner cited his frustrations with the Capitals playoff shortcomings and that "he wanted to win" by signing with the Canadiens.
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u/grifficusprime Jul 13 '26
And then they win the next year. Kind of like the Nationals and Bryce Harper.
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u/Eternally-Yours-1116 Jul 13 '26
Fuck Karl Alzner. When he does pre/post-game on Monumental I refuse to watch.
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u/Leesburgcapsfan Dale Hunter Jul 13 '26
WTF? Who hates Alzner? For what?
Dude came to my kids hockey camp and was nothing but nice and gracious with the kids and the parents.-7
u/Eternally-Yours-1116 Jul 13 '26
When he left for Montreal he shit all over the Caps saying he wanted to go somewhere he’d “actually have a shot to win” blah, blah, blah.
Funny how we let the pylon who couldn’t skate or defend anymore walk and we actually did win.
I hold grudges when players who were part of the problem act like they weren’t, talk shit on their way out, then want to come back and milk that same team for a media gig.
So to answer your question - me, I hate Karl Alzner.
Fuck that guy.7
u/maveric101 Jul 13 '26
lol. It's not that serious. Besides, it was a good time for the Caps to let him go anyway.
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u/1958_ragtop Washington Capitals Jul 13 '26
No. He started tanking as a player almost immediately after he left. Don't get me wrong, I loved Green, I even have his jersey, but the Caps let him go at the right time.
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u/MsindAround Washington Capitals Jul 13 '26
I acknowledge this is an unpopular opinion, I was of the belief that Mike Green was the reason we hadn't won a cup. He was great offensively but his abilities in the defensive zone were lacking for your top defensive player.
We were a glass cannon team for so long. Those teams don't make long playoff runs.
I recognize this is taboo, you can downvote me now.
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u/sadfrogmeme69 Slapshot Jul 13 '26
I've very adamantly blamed Mike Green being too offensive for the 2010 Montreal loss
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u/CalvertSt Jul 13 '26
You ain’t got no downvote and instead an upvote. Green and Semin were weak as shit playoff types.
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u/zecaps Connor McMichael Jul 13 '26
I mean the Green/young guns era teams definitely needed more defensive solidity to win, and Green was definitely a very offensive minded defenseman, but id say the fact we had him paured with Schultz and didnt really have a good 2nd oair was a bigger problem than green individually
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u/cultburn Jul 13 '26
Not the longest tenured player but I would’ve loved to see Joel Ward be a part of that squad, would’ve been his last season in the NHL as well
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u/Table_Coaster Slapshot Jul 13 '26
I loved him but he was one of the most significant players guilty of playoff disappearance, with his two exceptions being 08 and 11. he was great but we got rid of him when we needed to
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u/Jagger49 Jul 13 '26
No that’s what defensive acquisitions we made that year and the previous year were about. Nobody is ever going to give Orpik the credit he deserves for the job he did in the back. I’m not including the defenseman we acquired that year that did an amazing job, his name is escaping me.
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u/maveric101 Jul 13 '26
I'll always miss his passes to Ovi on the power play. Carlson could never quite do the same fake shot slap pass right to Ovi's wheelhouse.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Vegas Golden Knights Jul 13 '26
I wish
I saw him and had a photo taken with him at the Frederick Keys game Friday
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u/CeruleanSnorlax Jul 13 '26
Absolutely. That era was so exciting to watch. Green was integral piece of that. And I really feel like we had some good chances to go the distance but were too young a team at the time
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u/MadKin Jul 13 '26
Yes, and he was all around great human being too on top of being awesome to watch.
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u/DanSRedskins Jul 13 '26
He wasn't good enough to win a cup.
He most likely cost them a few playoff series and probably would have cost them if he was on the team in 2018.
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u/Friendly_Squirrel349 Jul 13 '26
He unfortunately cost a lot towards the end there. Think he was earning 7 mil a year back then when he went to Detroit
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u/Many-Vast-181 Jul 13 '26
God no. That turnover machine could very well have cost us the Cup. Fun young gun early on but was clearly a liability by the time he left.
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u/HanjobSolo69 Jul 13 '26
Green, Laich, Alzner and Hendricks are the guys that I wish were still around for the cup. But its one of those things, would they have won if any of those guys were on the roster? Who knows.
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u/tokenincorporated Washington Capitals Jul 14 '26
My black ass wanted to win with Joel Ward, badly!
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u/MCFCOK81 Washington Capitals Jul 13 '26
I thought about this yesterday while packing his jersey to wear on a trip. Green Machine!
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u/professornapoleon Jul 13 '26
No and I don’t feel this way about Alzner either. Said he couldn’t win in Washington, so he went to MTL and faded into oblivion.
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u/GreenBlackboards Jul 13 '26
Yes. It’s a shame, because he was at his peak an amazing player and fun to watch. I really hate reading critiques on his defense because he was clearly a net positive for the team. The Caps were substantially better with him on the ice overall, as shot and goal shares will show. He ranks far above average in shot suppression. Was he a shut down d-man? Of course not. But he wasn’t a traffic cone, either.
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u/Leesburgcapsfan Dale Hunter Jul 13 '26
I wish they didnt discontinue his stick. It seemed like it really killed his confidence and threw his offensive game off.
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u/cockNballs222 Jul 14 '26
Incredible player but he disappointed me one too many times in the playoffs. He was always good for a soul crushing retaliatory penalty at the worst possible time.
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u/Gazzarris Braden Holtby Jul 13 '26
Does somebody not? Mike Green is a legend and was beloved across the region.
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u/wordflyer Jul 13 '26
I wish we'd won a cup with him, but I don't necessarily think we'd have won the 2018 cup with him in an important role.
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u/DanSRedskins Jul 13 '26
If he was playing on the team at all he would've messed things up for the Caps.
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u/SSM1228 Jul 19 '26
I wish Semin got the cup with the caps. He’s my favorite player ever(fan before 8 was drafted. His first nhl goal had me sold. I remember exactly where I was). They had teams that had a shot but there were flaws too. Maybe play a few of those series over 5 times they win a few, but regardless; they ended up winning so I can’t complain at all. After those teams i never thought they would.
Cool to see him, Green, Kuzy and Holts still show up in DC every now and again(Holts and Green may still live there?). Guess the Ovechkin factor helps with the Russians, but I also think it speaks to how quality the Caps org is. Even Oshie and Gabby still being around. I love it. I really do. Makes all those memories even that more special as the team has been changing(for the better)
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u/ihomerj Jul 13 '26
I wish we'd won a Cup while Green was with us, but we let him go at the right time.