Vagrant
The Czech Condor
the Capitals believed they were poised last season to finally make a legitimate playoff run before a disaster start saw them drop to 28th in the standings. the inexplicable became somewhat more splicable when you realize how much talent they lost to injuries. franchise center jack eichel missed 3 months of sim time with a bruised knee or some other incongruously light sounding injury. washington, ever patient, decided to cut bait on his ass and sent him to the now champion Lightning, which was a huge power move from the capitals designed to punish him for his poor timing. that'll teach him. in comes new franchise talent auston matthews to center the team into their foreseeable demise.... future. future.
washington also attempted to deviate from the small and skilled formula a bit this offseason as they targeted some heftier and more defensive minded players while attempting to not suffer on skating. the additions of erik haula, andrew cogliano, and joel farabee were made with that in mind. the outgoing alex debrincat was a huge loss to the team on paper, but his considerable talent never manifested in tangible production for the club despite a number of attempted combinations. the capitals suspect they didn't have the pure passer on the roster required to make his 93 scoring from last season play. with the graduation of former 5th round pick conor garland, washington felt slightly more comfortable knowing that the pint sized scorer could potentially fill the void left by debrincat should his 41 goal season prove to be an aberration. washington envisions the return in player joel farabee as a perfect stylistic match for top prospect alex turcotte in a skilled, fast, and responsible attack over the coming seasons.
the capitals had a number of decisions to make on defense as well with almost their entire defensive unit needing new contracts. the retirement of roman polak helped make a few decisions easier, but the weaker than anticipated unrestricted market forced the capitals to retain justin braun on a player friendly contract for next season or take a considerable hit in the quality of their bottom pairing. the capitals also decided to take a flier on defenseman erik gustafsson who fell victim to the considerable depth of the avalanche after a mortal 29 point season as a follow up to his breakout 17 goal 60 point campaign a year prior. the capitals still envision a role for him with his 80 puck handling and adequate passing rating as an in and out option between 6th and 7th defender and as insurance against the probability of injury with our more physical defenders.
between the pipes, mainstay connor hellebuyck had a career season and will likely take the lion's share of the starts this coming season. late season waiver addition alex stalock will provide the role of backup after an improbable run of starts for his nhl counterpart saw him be elevated to the role of starter.
matthew tkachuk - auston matthews - sam reinhart
alex iafallo - boone jenner - evgeni dadonov
tyler ennis - erik haula - conor garland
joel farabee - andrew cogliano - frank vatrano
washington will deploy 3 of the highest ranked faceoff men in the league (95,96,97) down the middle to assist in what has been an organization weakness in years prior. the hope is that this will help them drive possession a bit better and help hellebuyck face less volume. jenner and cogliano will take the majority of the penalty killing duties.
charlie mcavoy - t.j. brodie
miro heiskanen - joel edmundson
mark borowiecki - justin braun
erik gustafsson
the capitals consider their defense to be a strength of the club with a good mix of defensive veterans with puck movers on each possible pairing. the skating ratings were an important part of the construction of this group with even braun and edmundson as our defensive options having enough skating for their strength, checking, and defensive ratings to play. borowiecki's 68 skating will see him alternate with gustafsson on nights when the club less desires his 99 checking and 94 defense for the penalty kill in favor of playing a faster game. the team feels that despite a true powerplay quarterback, the units will not be entirely without firepower with the responsibilities split among mcavoy, brodie, heiskanen, and gustafsson. edmundson, mcavoy, and braun will get the bulk of penalty killing duties on nights when borowiecki is out.
connor hellebuyck
alex stalock
washington is confident in their netminders this season with helle rating out among the best in the league with high endurance ratings and the ability to start 2 of 3 in 3 games in 4 night scenarios. stalock might not have eye popping numbers across the page, but the team is confident in his ability to start 20-25 games.
washington also attempted to deviate from the small and skilled formula a bit this offseason as they targeted some heftier and more defensive minded players while attempting to not suffer on skating. the additions of erik haula, andrew cogliano, and joel farabee were made with that in mind. the outgoing alex debrincat was a huge loss to the team on paper, but his considerable talent never manifested in tangible production for the club despite a number of attempted combinations. the capitals suspect they didn't have the pure passer on the roster required to make his 93 scoring from last season play. with the graduation of former 5th round pick conor garland, washington felt slightly more comfortable knowing that the pint sized scorer could potentially fill the void left by debrincat should his 41 goal season prove to be an aberration. washington envisions the return in player joel farabee as a perfect stylistic match for top prospect alex turcotte in a skilled, fast, and responsible attack over the coming seasons.
the capitals had a number of decisions to make on defense as well with almost their entire defensive unit needing new contracts. the retirement of roman polak helped make a few decisions easier, but the weaker than anticipated unrestricted market forced the capitals to retain justin braun on a player friendly contract for next season or take a considerable hit in the quality of their bottom pairing. the capitals also decided to take a flier on defenseman erik gustafsson who fell victim to the considerable depth of the avalanche after a mortal 29 point season as a follow up to his breakout 17 goal 60 point campaign a year prior. the capitals still envision a role for him with his 80 puck handling and adequate passing rating as an in and out option between 6th and 7th defender and as insurance against the probability of injury with our more physical defenders.
between the pipes, mainstay connor hellebuyck had a career season and will likely take the lion's share of the starts this coming season. late season waiver addition alex stalock will provide the role of backup after an improbable run of starts for his nhl counterpart saw him be elevated to the role of starter.
matthew tkachuk - auston matthews - sam reinhart
alex iafallo - boone jenner - evgeni dadonov
tyler ennis - erik haula - conor garland
joel farabee - andrew cogliano - frank vatrano
washington will deploy 3 of the highest ranked faceoff men in the league (95,96,97) down the middle to assist in what has been an organization weakness in years prior. the hope is that this will help them drive possession a bit better and help hellebuyck face less volume. jenner and cogliano will take the majority of the penalty killing duties.
charlie mcavoy - t.j. brodie
miro heiskanen - joel edmundson
mark borowiecki - justin braun
erik gustafsson
the capitals consider their defense to be a strength of the club with a good mix of defensive veterans with puck movers on each possible pairing. the skating ratings were an important part of the construction of this group with even braun and edmundson as our defensive options having enough skating for their strength, checking, and defensive ratings to play. borowiecki's 68 skating will see him alternate with gustafsson on nights when the club less desires his 99 checking and 94 defense for the penalty kill in favor of playing a faster game. the team feels that despite a true powerplay quarterback, the units will not be entirely without firepower with the responsibilities split among mcavoy, brodie, heiskanen, and gustafsson. edmundson, mcavoy, and braun will get the bulk of penalty killing duties on nights when borowiecki is out.
connor hellebuyck
alex stalock
washington is confident in their netminders this season with helle rating out among the best in the league with high endurance ratings and the ability to start 2 of 3 in 3 games in 4 night scenarios. stalock might not have eye popping numbers across the page, but the team is confident in his ability to start 20-25 games.
