In his first year behind the Washington Capitals’ bench, Barry Trotz returned the team to the playoffs, where they lost in the second round (as usual, in seven games to the New York Rangers).
But the Capitals are contenders and made a couple of moves this summer to strengthen their case, trading for right winger T.J. Oshie and signing free agent right winger Justin Williams. That’s an immediate upgrade to Washington’s top six and provides quality complementary pieces to superstar Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom (the latter is currently recovering from offseason hip surgery). If Washington can get some improvement from young forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky and possibly Tom Wilson, then they should have a formidable group of forwards.
Washington addressed their defence last summer, signing Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen, who pair with John Carlson and Karl Alzner to give Washington a solid top four. Injured for most of last season, a healthy Dmitry Orlov should be a good addition and Nate Schmidt has shown some promise in spurts over the past two seasons. It’s a good group that can move the puck.
Goaltending is the domain of Braden Holtby, the 26-year-old who led the league with 73 games played last season, has a .921 career save percentage, and earned a new five-year, $30.5-million contract in the summer.
Put it all together and, at least once Backstrom is healthy, the Capitals ought to be contenders and bringing in Williams, who has an established reputation a big-game performer, can’t hurt a franchise that has historically found ways to underachieve in the playoffs.
OFF-SEASON HEADLINES
May 28: Capitals’ centre Nicklas Backstrom has hip surgery
July 1: Capitals, free agent winger Justin Williams reach two-year deal
July 2: Capitals acquire right winger T.J. Oshie from Blues
July 24: Capitals goaltender Holtby to five-year extension
2015-16 WASHINGTON CAPITALS
*Off-season Addition
Projected Lines
LW | C | RW |
---|---|---|
Alex Ovechkin | Nicklas Backstrom | T.J. Oshie* |
Marcus Johansson | Evgeny Kuznetsov | Justin Williams* |
Jason Chimera | Andre Burakovsky | Tom Wilson |
Brooks Laich | Jay Beagle | Stanislav Galiev |
Liam O'Brien | Michael Latta |
Fighting For Jobs: C Chris Brown, C Derek Roy (PTO), C Zach Sill
Projected Pairs
LD | RD |
---|---|
Brooks Orpik | John Carlson |
Karl Alzner | Matt Niskanen |
Nate Schmidt | Dmitry Orlov |
Taylor Chorney* |
Fighting For Jobs: LD Aaron Ness, LD Ryan Stanton
Projected Goalies
No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 |
---|---|---|
Braden Holtby | Philip Grubauer | Justin Peters |
Off-season Departures: D Mike Green, RW Joel Ward, RW Troy Brouwer, C Eric Fehr, D John Erskine, D Steve Oleksy
Projected Lineup: Alex Prewitt/The Washington Post
SERAVALLI'S THREE QUESTIONS
1. Who is a better fit for the top line: T.J. Oshie or Justin Williams?
2. Is Brooks Orpik fully healthy after July wrist surgery?
3. Will veteran tryout Derek Roy do enough to earn a contract?
BUTTON'S TOP PROSPECTS
Top 2015-16 Prospect
C Jakub Vrana (Linkopings, SweHL): Scorer who doesn’t need many chances to be productive. Excellent shot from 35 feet to beat goalies.
Long-Term Prospect
G Ilya Samsonov (Magnitigorsk, KHL): Abilities of today's NHL goalie. Skilled, fluid, competitive and big. Has time to develop.
* Listed with 2014-15 teams
BY THE NUMBERS
Three-Year Breakdown (League Rank)
2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
---|---|---|---|
Points | 97 (10th)* | 90 (17th) | 101 (9th) |
Goals For | 3.0 (T-4th) | 2.7 (13th) | 2.9 (T-6th) |
Goals Against | 2.7 (18th) | 2.8 (21st) | 2.4 (7th) |
Power Play | 27% (1st) | 24% (T-1st) | 25% (1st) |
Penalty Killing | 78% (27th) | 82% (16th) | 81% (14th) |
SAT% Possession | 48.7% (21st) | 47.7% (24th) | 51.4% (14th) |
* 2012-13 points: Pro-rated lockout-shortened total
ESTIMATED PAYROLL vs. CAP - $70.6M/$71.4M
The Capitals have invested in a team that they expect to contend, with 11 players costing at least $3-million against the cap next season. There’s not a lot of room to move but, by the same token, the roster is very close to set.
PARTING SHOT