The year of the Capital
Now that the dust has settled on the free agent market and all of the big name players have been snatched up, the true contenders – from a pre-season standpoint at least – are beginning to emerge.
While some teams such as the New York Rangers added to their roster by signing high profile free agents, another Eastern Conference team made several underrated moves to significantly improve their roster.
After continuously failing to live up to playoff expectations despite an already star-studded roster, the Washington Capitals may finally end their slump with a balanced roster consisting of not only goal scorers – ala Alex Ovechkin – but also a fresh wave of role players like the newly-signed Joel Ward.
Where the Capitals have the advantage as the favorites to emerge from the east is the number of fresh faces they acquired without losing any of their key veterans. In addition to addressing their third line by signing a heart and soul player in Ward, the Caps have another option on the top two lines in the form of 20-goal scorer in Troy Brouwer. Not only does he bring a winning attitude from his days in Chicago, but he is also a much younger and more durable alternative to Marco Sturm.
Then there’s Jeff Halpern, who is returning for his second tour of duty in Washington. Halpern is a versatile centre who brings veteran leadership and defensive excellence as the new fourth line centre.
Washington made a risky decision to unload Semyon Varlamov, but walked away with extra draft picks in their pocket and only dished out $1.5 million to sign Tomas Vokoun to be their new starter. He is an improvement over last season’s young duo of Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby, who will now ply their trade under the guidance of the veteran.
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Although the moves Washington made in the summer months look trivial in comparison to the likes of Philadelphia and Buffalo, they are safe and more likely to result in short and long-term success.
Furthermore, we don’t know if the Flyers will make noise without their former go-to guys in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, or whether Ville Leino will live up to expectations for the Sabres. In Washington, every player knows his role on the team and was brought in to fulfill something different.
After finishing first in the Eastern Conference for a second consecutive season, the Capitals only needed to tinker with their roster to put them over the top. They refused to overspend on upgrades by snatching Vokoun at such a low cost. This allowed them to retain a core capable of matching up with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in all facets.
Unlike past seasons when the Capitals didn’t have enough depth in their top-six past the first line, they now employ three scoring lines, something they can match up against Boston if the situation presents itself in the postseason. Even if Ovechkin is not playing to his potential, there are other forwards in the top-nine who can step up in his absence.
On the blue line, the core of Mike Green, John Carlson and Karl Alzner are all a year older and, thus, more mature and developed. While Green, Carlson and Dennis Wideman are known for their offensive capabilities, a most promising signing of shutdown veteran Roman Hamrlik will greatly help the Caps’ defensive zone coverage. He will also act as a mentor and veteran voice in the locker room.
The Capitals defense – one through seven – is among the most versatile in the Eastern Conference. It’s clearly not solely up to Green anymore, as he has a supporting cast to help shoulder the load.
Although it would be ignorant to overlook the fact the Capitals haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since the lockout, this year is their chance to change that. The teams usually pegged as favorites in the east – namely the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers – both have question marks surrounding them.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances like the return of both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin earlier than anticipated, the Penguins should not be everyone’s preseason Cup favorite, as in the past.
If Washington’s star forwards come to play, it’s defense continues to grow into a dynamic, well-rounded unit and the added experience between the pipes comes to fruition, there is no reason why the Washington Capials can’t make noise in the postseason and emerge as the new favorites from the Eastern Conference.
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