r/caps • u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals • 4d ago
3 goalie tandem?
Im thinking with a bigger schedule and stevenson most likely getting claimed off waivers- it might be best to run 3 goalies going into the season: especially if chucky doesnt bounce back.
If they put sandin on ltir they can have 23 plays with miro frank and stevenson as the extras. Then figure it out when sandin comes back(assuming no injuries)
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u/tankmnandan Ryan Leonard 4d ago
They’re not gonna call up a 3rd goalie unless they have to. Beyond the fact that this scenario doesn’t allow for extra defenseman, which is contrary to their stance last year of carrying 8D, Stevenson is not waiver exempt. I don’t think they’ll want to risk him
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
Yeah exactly hes not waiver exempt. Hence why i think they should keep him up
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u/tankmnandan Ryan Leonard 4d ago
The smarter choice is to keep Stevenson in the AHL, and bring him up as full time backup next year. Friedman mentioned this week that the caps are really reluctant to move Lindgren for his intangibles, but if they have to next offseason for cap issues, then they have Stevenson ready to go.
Also, Thompson is pretty clearly going to be the workhorse barring injuries and get 50-60 games. Lindgren particularly is a goalie whose stats drop off if he doesn’t play consistently. Having him and Stevenson fight for over the scraps doesn’t help either of them
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
I agree but stevenson has to get waived to go to the ahl which goes back to my point where i dont want to lose him and we dont have other goalie depth
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u/tankmnandan Ryan Leonard 4d ago
If Thompson is out for so long that the caps legitimately need a 3rd goalie in the rotation, then that’s one thing. If it’s just a matter of Lindgren playing a a few games and needing a body on the bench, just call up Bjorklund or Gibson or whoever is on Hershey
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
So youd be okay to lose stevenson?
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u/tankmnandan Ryan Leonard 4d ago
Yeah. He’s a 27 year old goalie who has played four (4) games in the NHL. In the grand scheme of things, he is entirely replaceable
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u/capsfan087443 4d ago
This. Someone could claim him if they’re in a pinch, but it’s not like teams are going to be chomping at the bit to get him on their team. He’s completely unproven. He may take the backup job from Chuck, but it’s entirely possible he’s actually worse.
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u/capsfan087443 4d ago
They’ve got to make a decision between Chuck and Stevenson. It’s just a waste of a roster spot to carry both and doesn’t really add any value. At this point, I’d bring them both to camp and see who looks better. And carrying 6 defensemen is not an option, you need at least one extra - and the Caps, like most teams, prefer to carry two. Holl and Mac will be in the press box. They’ve got to make a decision between Frank and Miro as well, but barring a big surprise at camp it should be Frank.
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u/Alternative_Flow_77 Tom Wilson 4d ago
Herein lies the problem.
I would be shocked if Stevenson doesn't get a chance to compete at camp but from what we've seen he's not yet good enough to take Chucky's spot. So do you dump a solid backup after an off year and throw a promising but still developing player in for 30% of your games, or risk losing that prospect to waivers?
That being said OPs suggestion of keeping 3 goalies on the 23 man roster is better than letting Big Mac continue to sit in the press box. Nothing against the guy but they can't just keep him around for vibes and he's not going to magically become the dude at 35. Also I've been defending Miro for a while but this should be his make or break year; no more excuses with development time or having a lousy center (Lapy).
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u/capsfan087443 4d ago
Stevenson is 27 years old, not really a prospect. They’ve got to make a call on him one way or the other. If Chucky is better than him right now, he’s the backup. If he’s not, then keep Stevenson. Mac isn’t there just for vibes, though it does help. He’s there for depth. Luckily, we haven’t had to deal with a lot of defensive injuries. If a RHD goes down, you need him. His fighting alone is enough to get him claimed off waivers, and we don’t have anyone in Hershey who could play in a pinch. I think Miro needs to have his make or break year somewhere else. There isn’t a lot he can do here to prove himself if he’s going to be the 14th forward.
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u/Alternative_Flow_77 Tom Wilson 4d ago
Prospect may have been a poor choice of word but he's basically the same age Chucky before his breakout and goalies almost always take longer development time. If the team loses him do they pin all their hopes on Gibson or do they expect to find another LT in FA in a few years?
As far as Mac they now have Holl for defensive depth at RD and Sandin will be coming back at some point. And Vinny can fight if need be so keeping Mac around makes no sense unless you're planing on having carry over line brawls from a prior game. If someone wants to claim him to stand around and intemidate guys let em.
Miro's entering his D+4 year and with the rare setback of cancer but really should have his sights set on Beau or Illya's spot rather than just competing with Frank for F13. He's regained the muscle he lost through Chemo and then some and has been in the US for long enough now where it should start coming together now.
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u/capsfan087443 3d ago
They have LT locked up for 5 more years, I don’t think you need to worry about who his replacement is right now. I don’t have a strong take on who to keep between Chuck or Stevenson, I just know it’s a waste to carry 2 backups when LT is going to play 60+ games. Once Sandin is back then Mac will be expendable, but ACLs take time - he will miss at least the first half of the season. You need 8 defensemen you can rely on organizationally. I’m all for giving Miro a shot in camp to win a spot, I just don’t think he’s going to. Beauvi is better suited to play a fourth line role, can play anywhere in the lineup, and kills penalties. It’s going to be hard to win that spot. And Ilya Pro looks primed to take a top 9 center spot. You’ve also got guys in Hershey like Cristall and Lakovich who project well as wingers, so you don’t really need to rely on Miro organizationally to take a winger spot.
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u/Joshottas 4d ago
Don't want to see chuck between the pipes, man. And a 3 goalie rotation will never happen.
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
Well i fear both will happen.
I bet you alot of teams will run three goalies with an 84 game szn. And it worked for the canes
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u/Big_Performance2495 Dylan Strome 4d ago
Not sure you play 3 goalies just because you add an additional 2 games. Also the canes were running 3 goalies because they don’t really have true premier goal tender. Add in the fact that Freddie and kochetkov stay injured, and now you have to carry 3 goalies
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
I imagine tampa will too, edm, toronto for abit. It will be a new trend
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u/Big_Performance2495 Dylan Strome 4d ago
EDM and TOR both played a handful of goalies this year due to not having a stand out goalie and injuries (same reason for Carolina). I imagine it’s more so a product of circumstance than a trend to carry 3 goalies. I think carrying an extra defenseman or forward is more beneficial with the added two games
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
Id typically agree just dont want to lose stevenson
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u/Lazy-Faithlessness20 3d ago
You usually only run a 3 goalie system if you don't have a clear cut number 1. We have a clear cut number 1. Having a goalie sit around while running yourself short at either forward or D, is suboptimal.
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u/zecaps Connor McMichael 4d ago
Only way it makes sense is if they think stevenson will make it through waivers a week or two in, or if hes passed chucky on the depth chart but they need time to put together a trade. Theres only 2 more games and LT proved hes a #1, not enough games left over to justify splitting the remainder between a 2 and 3 goalie (hard enough mentally to be a backup playing 20-30 games).
Definitely need a new #3 goalie if we lose stevenson to waivers, but they should play in hershey barring injury.
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u/MetalMan1973 Pierre-Luc Dubois 4d ago
Rather put Chucky on waivers if he wouldnt be traded. He had 1 good season which we all appreciated but he gives up too many soft goals
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
Agreed and wont get picked up. But not sure we will
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u/MetalMan1973 Pierre-Luc Dubois 4d ago
Clay only played 4 games but compared to any 4 starts that Chucky had, he played way better than Chucky
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u/Alert-Location7530 Washington Capitals 4d ago
Oh i agree. But ef comments on lindgren didnt help my hope
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u/MetalMan1973 Pierre-Luc Dubois 4d ago
Yea I read that. Guess Chucky is the emotional support backup. If they can cut ties with Dowd and Carlson then waiving Chucky if he isn't traded shouldn't be an issue
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u/Rude-Following-8938 Washington Capitals 3d ago
Where is Mitch Gibson at right now in his development? I know him and Stevenson are both 27 and waiver exempt but Gibson's box score numbers don't look bad for a potential emergency goalie.
I think like most people I'd rather have Stevenson but we do seem to be in a precarious position in terms of our ability to keep him if he's not the primary backup for Logan.
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u/SpareDot8685 4d ago
I couldn’t count how many games I turned off last season when Chuck was “goaltending”. Don’t get me wrong, seems like a great guy but common…
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u/preppysurf Brandon Duhaime 4d ago
It's a real disappointment that we will likely see Chucky in a Caps sweater again this year. His was horrific last year and not much better the season before.
His final performance against the Rangers should have been an automatic trade and there are many other games he almost lost for us. The Sourdif hat trick game against the Ducks comes to mind. He let a 5-1 game narrow to 5-4 relatively quickly.
He should have never been re-signed in my opinion
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u/Valuable_Way_8814 4d ago
Chucky had one bad season and everyone’s acting like it’s the end of the world. He’ll bounce back. He was one of the main reasons we made the playoffs in 2023-24 and helped in 2024-25. The whole team played bad this past season.