Washington Capitals analyst Al May joins Ayden to talk about the new additions to the team (07-15-26)

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Oilers NOW with Bob Stauffer 22 min 2 speakers 4 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Al May 0:00

Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime.

Aiden Ganim 0:09

4.33 in oil country. A reminder that some guests of Oilers Now receive gift certificates to Japanese Village. It's a true celebration for the senses, quality ingredients, and unmatched grill side experience. Book your seat at jvedmonton.ca. And I don't want to keep them waiting on the line for too much longer. We are now joined by Washington Capitals analyst Al May. Al, how you doing, man?

Al May 0:32

I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.

Aiden Ganim 0:34

Yeah, no worries. I want to get into some Capitals talk just off the top here. I mean, a few really big signings for their squad. The Vincent Desjardins one was quite a shock to me. But, I mean, what is your thoughts on the Capitals offseason so far and these players that they've been implementing in as well?

Al May 0:54

Well, I think the biggest thing is that, you know, they were telling everyone they were going to go after big wingers that could score. And, you know, before free agency even started, they made a couple of trades. You know, they got the sign and trade with Alex Tuck. They had Jordan Cairo. So, you know, that upgrades our team. So I put them at like five guys who have scored 30 or 30 plus goals. And you take a look at, you know, just moving up front. But I still thought they had to add on defense. And they needed to add something for penalty killing and, you know, five-on-five. And David Desjardins, I always call him David, but Desjardins wasn't on my bingo card as to being one of the guys they signed.

Al May 1:36

But, you know, if you notice the one thing that the Caps did is that they went after size. And he's 6'7". You know, he's not a great fighter. I'd actually give him, like, less than even size. grades for dropping the gloves. But when I look at it, he's big. He plays an agitating role. He gets involved in the skirmishes. And last year in San Jose, he kind of hit it.

How did Al May react to the Capitals' surprising Vincent David Desjardins signing?

Al May 2:04

We're a team that's big on analytics and eye tests. And for them, the analytic test was that he had some of the best penalty killing numbers in the National Hockey League. And the Caps had the best penalty kill from You know, December 1st through the end of the season and losing John Carlson, I thought that was a hit, but they really picked it up at the end of the year. They lost Trevor Van Riemsdyk. You know, they were going to let him go. He was too old to pay the money that he ended up getting. So, you know, was I shocked at the money? Yes, for a few hours. But when you look around the league and remember when the Oilers signed Murphy to $4 million, people were up in arms. But with the amount of money that so many teams had available, you

Al May 2:47

for the salary cap. When you looked into going into July 1st, I think San Jose was at like $60 million available dollars. They sold the signed guys and do what they had. So you knew that they were going to go out there and set the market for defensemen. And what we thought was overpaying last year and the year before, and certainly the year before that, You know, that's what, you know, the cost is right now. So it's $4 million for journeymen, defensemen that can, you know, play hopefully every night of the season. And that's what they did with DeJarne. So when you just, you know, you look at it, the $4 million, it blows you away. But at the same time, you know, the way we're looking at this in a couple of years,

Al May 3:26

You know, we kind of laugh at what NHL players make, and like $4 million, we're laughing. That's a lot of money. And, you know, that guy makes only $2.5 million. Well, $2.5 million is still a lot of money in the real world. And in the fantasy world of the National Hockey League right now, $4 million is not a lot of money.

Aiden Ganim 3:47

Yeah, for sure. Without a doubt. I want to ask you about just the way that this team has been rebuilt. I mean, picking up Alex Tuck is huge. Picking up Jordan Cairo as well as Massive's Alex Ovechkin returning as well. You've got Ryan Leonard who is creeping in Boone Jenner, a big addition as well. I mean, have the Capitals sort of flung themselves into contender status here?