Capitals year in review

[yave1964]

PRESEASON OUTLOOK As per usual, the Caps were considered to be among the top teams in the East with no reason that they shouldnt be in the conversation for the cup. After a first round knockout the year before, they said all the right things about being hungry and ready to get back in the hunt.

 

FINAL RECORD 41-20-8 first in the Metro. Lost in the first round, smothered and stunned by the Islanders.

 

STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR The Great eight, Alex Ovechkin for the ninth time in his career led the league in goals scored (tied with Pastrnak) with 48 goals scored. Ovie is the third oldest player ever to lead the league in goals scored behind Gordie Howe in 62-63 and Bill cook in 32-33.

 

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR Pretty much the entire season went right, it would probably be fair to say they peaked in late January with a winning streak against playoff teams in Carolina, the Island, and Montreal and throw in the devils for good measure. At that point they were sitting high at 34-11=5.

 

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR Cracks appeared at that point, they began to win one lose one and more or less kept that up to the end of the season, going 7-9-3 down the stretch and they barely held on for the Division by one point over the hard charging Flyers. In the playoffs they were swamped by the deep disciplined Islanders. Coach Reardon was fired days later after two consecutive first round losses.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT Ovie for the record ninth time win the Richard trophy as the top goal scorer in the game. Ilya Samsonov got his feet wet backing up Holtby and clearly outplayed him showing he is ready to take over the net. John Carlson actually led the team in scoring from the blueline with 75 points in 69 games and may very well win the Norris trophy. Backstrom is aging like fine wine. Vrana has established himself as a solid middle six winger with upside. Oshie and Tom Wilson are great secondary scorers and tough as nails to play against. Orlov is a fantastic partner for Carlson who is a great defender who can rush the play when allowed. Eller was a solid 3C, and Boyd as the shutdown 4C led the forwards in plus/minus. Their power play was insanely good.Kempny and Gudas get no pub but were damn solid on the lblueline. Panic and especially Hagelin came back from the dead to be solid bottom six contributors. 

 

WHAT WENT WRONG This was a very weak division winner with a ton of holes in their game, they have an amazing power play but 5 on 5 are average which against a disciplined Islanders team cost them dearly. Kuznetsov continues to erode quickly, he is aging badly. the Leipsic incident was a serious black eye for the team. Brendan Dillon couldnt stay healthy and didnt offer much. Nick Jensen continues to be overpriced and underperforming. Chandler Stephenson took a step back. Holtby was average, that may be a kind way to put it. 

 

FREE AGENTS It starts with Holtby who is certainly moving on as he has lost the net to Samsonov who is younger, cheaper and outplayed him. Late season add Kovalchuk would love to return to play with Ovie and Kuznetsov. He may be back. Gudas would be a hit of lost on the back end, Dillon wont be retained or missed. 

 

OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS To begin, who will be the enxt coach? Babcock has been mentioned as have half a dozen other retreads who have been fired recently. The team since Trotz has left has been an easy first round out twice in a row. Bet they miss him now. Will they run with Samsonov/Copley in net or bring in a pricy veteran to share the crease? Is Kuznetsov's decline reversible or is he on the way towards mediocrity? He has five years left at nearly eight million per season, is his contract tradable? 

  Not gonna lie, this team is reminding me more and more of where the Wings/Kings/Hawks have been recently, looking like their best days are behind them in a division that is getting increasingly more difficult. A few years ago they could have had their choice of coach but now they look like the dreaded aging team with some bloated deals that will bite them is who they have become. They have one more year remaining tops IMHO before it falls apart. OH and Ovie is in the final year of his deal. If he goes out and is amazing, how much do you pay a 35 year old winger?