Washington Capitals Quietly Having Good Offseason

Washington Capitals fans suffered another post-season of heartbreak after losing Game Seven to the New York Rangers in overtime in the second round. If this offseason continues as it has the Capitals may end this season later in May or June.

Despite being overshadowed by the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers, among others, it’s been a nice offseason for the Washington Capitals so far. Not just by adding players but moving on from former ones. Most recently the Capitals brought in T.J. Oshie from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a package including Troy Brouwer. While Brouwer’s bigger and more physical, Oshie and his strong two-way game will offer more than just secondary scoring.

Looking at advanced stats Oshie has been a stronger possession player at even strength than Brouwer over their careers which should play into Barry Trotz system. Brouwer was the Capitals second leading goal scorer last year but became tradable as Evgeny Kuznetsov emerged. Adding Oshie should allow the Capitals to control play a little more, taking pressure off the defense while giving Ovechkin and company more chances to score.

The Washington Capitals top three centers now are Backstrom, Kuznetsov and Brooks Laich, a position of strength as Kuznetzov continues to develop. Secondary scoring and leadership was also improved by adding Justin Williams in free agency. Williams and his three Stanley Cup championships are exactly what the Washington Capitals needed after several years of early playoff losses.

Maybe the best move this offseason is the one the Washington Capitals didn’t make. After keeping Mike Green for the playoff run he was allowed to leave through free agency, landing with the Detroit Red Wings on a three-year deal for $6 million per season.

While Green is offensively gifted there was no chance he was coming back to Washington after Matt Niskanin and Brooks Orpik received big contracts last season. Not paying Green leaves the Washington Capitals with almost $12 million in cap space after the Oshie trade.

The Capitals still need some secondary scoring after losing Joel Ward to the San José Sharks, the only move so far that makes the Capitals worse. John Carlson can fill some production on the power play but the Capitals still need another defenseman (who doesn’t?) and more help with bottom six forwards.

The biggest remaining piece is the contract of Braden Holtby. He will take up a good chunk of cap space but is coming off a Vezina-caliber season. The raise is coming but how much could be determined by arbitration, which Holtby filed for. Once that deal is signed it likely takes the Capitals out of the Patrick Sharp bidding.

It won’t keep the Washington Capitals from continuing to improve. The defense is younger with only Orpik older than 28 years old. Another veteran to fill out the back-end will be important to find for the inevitable injuries and depth come the playoffs. The Capitals can use a forward on the bottom six who can contribute a few goals.

There are still plenty of options available in free agency, though waiting until training camps get going can produce opportunity. Look at the New York Islanders how they took advantage last year with Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. Until the Holtby numbers are figured out it’s hard to say which players the Washington Capitals will go after or what they can afford.

At least they have options. Only six Washington Capitals players have contracts with more than three years left on their term, with Holtby likely the seventh. Of those six players four of them are signed to contracts over $4 million per season.

By contrast the Chicago Blackhawks have seven players with 4+ years and $4 million or more in annual salary. The New York Rangers have six with a seventh on the way. By contrast once Steven Stamkos gets his contract, that will make two such players for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For now the Capitals are changing for the better. In a year where the Rangers are feeling a cap crunch and the Montreal Canadiens haven’t done much about their scoring issues, the Washington Capitals stand ready to take advantage and make a deeper playoff run this year.

Maybe then people can stop tearing into Ovechkin for his playoff performances. He’s getting the goaltending he needs now and with a little more depth, the Washington Capitals will be ready to challenge the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Eastern Conference crown.

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