Ahead of Wednesday’s homestand finale against the Florida Panthers at Capital One Arena, the Caps reconvened for a Monday practice session at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Caps’ center Evgeny Kuznetsov (illness) was absent, as was defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, who left Saturday’s game early in the first period with a lower body injury.
Caps’ president and general manager Brian MacLellan spoke with media after Monday’s practice session; MacLellan was out with illness last week when the Caps announced that star center Nicklas Backstrom would be stepping away from the game for a while, so the purpose of Monday’s press conference was to field questions relating to Backstrom and his situation, but MacLellan also offered his take on how the season has progressed to date and the status of some ailing players, with the Caps now 10 games into their 82-game regular season slate.
“It’s a tough one,” says MacLellan of the Backstrom situation. “You watch his progression here after the last two-plus years; [he’s] playing hurt, numerous recovery attempts to get it better, and then the hip resurfacing [surgery]. So it’s been a long process that I think has been hard on him mentally and emotionally.
“It’s been hard to see him go through all that stuff, and then to make the decision the other day. I have a lot of respect first of all for the person, and the player. I don’t know that we can describe how much he has meant to the organization. He is the guy that has driven then culture here for a long time, pretty much his whole career here, 17 years. The way he handles himself off the ice and on the ice, I think that’s a big part of our success, and our culture that we’ve had over the years here.”
MacLellan also acknowledged the toll the Backstrom injury has taken on the player and the organization over the years.
“I think it’s emotional for everybody,” he says. “He’s been such a big part of the organization. You see the way the players react. Every coach and coaching staff that’s gone through here has had the utmost respect for him. I think it’s a tough situation, and eventually everybody’s got to move on.”
MacLellan also noted that Backstrom is currently on injured reserve, and that the team doesn’t have a timetable as to when the star center might be moved to long-term injured reserve, though he characterized the chances of Backstrom returning to play at any point this season as “unlikely.”
MacLellan notes that some of Washington’s young players are getting opportunities in the wake of the Backstrom news, and that will continue to be the case going forward.
“We have some young players that are breaking through here, hopefully,” says MacLellan. “There’s opportunity to step in and find a role, and to contribute to the team’s success. So we’ll look internally here for now, and give opportunities to our young guys.”
That being the case, MacLellan also reiterated that he continues to keep an ear open for trade opportunities that might bring back a younger player who could play in Washington’s top six, something he’s been trying to accomplish for the last six months or so.
“I think we’re happy with what we’ve got,” says MacLellan, before adding, “Our goal is to still add a top six guy in the right age group from the offseason, and our goal is still to do that. We’re still pursuing opportunities that might present that.”
As to the team’s play on the ice, MacLellan has seen what the rest of us have seen, a big difference in the way the team has looked in its last five games versus the way it played and looked in its first five games of the season.
“I think we’re evolving,” says MacLellan. “The style of play has changed. I think we’ve had some ups and downs, but there’s positive trends lately. You see some players’ games elevating; we’re becoming more consistent both defensively and offensively. So I’m reasonably optimistic that we can continue it going forward.”
MacLellan was also queried as to his biggest worry about the team at this early juncture of the season.
“I think we’re generating more offensively,” says MacLellan. “The finish isn’t quite there. We’ve got a couple of guys that are due, or overdue [to score]. I think it will come with some of the players, and then hopefully the trend is that we continue to work at it and do the right things. I think the coaching strategy has been well received, and that [first-year coach Spencer Carbery] has done a good job or is doing a good job at stressing the right things, offensively and defensively. I think it will evolve, and we’ll get better at finishing here.”
Asked to drill down on the play of Connor McMichael, MacLellan praised the third-year pro, while also noting that the progress of McMichael and other young Capitals will serve as a bit of a barometer to the season as it moves along.
“[He has played] a couple good games at center,” says MacLellan of McMichael. “I think that line was probably our best line last game, so I like how he has responded to the opportunity, and I think he’ll run with it here going forward.
“I think he is going to be a big key – [Rasmus] Sandin, him, Marty [Fehervary], our young guys. The growth of our young players here over the year will determine how successful we are, I think.”
After starting the season on the left side, McMichael migrated to the middle when Backstrom stepped away. MacLellan believes McMichael’s offensive abilities will ultimately determine his NHL ceiling.
“You watch McMichael in Hershey, he was a solid, two-way center man,” says MacLellan. “He killed penalties, he provided offense, he played on the power play. I would expect that’s a natural progression for him. To start where he’s at – on the third line – and to become that same player, that two-way player who kills penalties and provides offense. And as his offensive game develops and matures, I think that’ll be his ceiling. Can he move up to the second [line]? How high can he go? To me, it’s going to be how well does he play offensively from here out.”
Because of injuries, neither of Washington’s notable offseason additions have taken the ice yet for their respective debuts in a Capitals’ sweater. The Caps knew that veteran left wing Max Pacioretty would need the first quarter or so of the season to finish rehabbing a torn Achilles’ tendon, but they lost defenseman Joel Edmundson to a scrimmage injury (hand) on the first weekend of training camp.
“He’s starting his progression, the skating progression,” says MacLellan of Pacioretty. “I think they have a set schedule, where he is limited to how many times he can get on the ice. We won’t have a definite time period for him until he joins practice. So we’ll determine that with how he does on his individual skating sessions.”
Edmundson’s return appears to be more imminent.
“He is coming,” says MacLellan of the veteran defenseman. “Hopefully we’ll get him into a practice here at the end of the week and then we’ll go from there.”
MacLellan added that center Nic Dowd (upper body) is also hopeful of practicing by the end of the week. Dowd has not played since Oct. 16. And lastly on the injury front, MacLellan mentioned that van Riemsdyk is day-to-day and that his injury isn’t as bad as the team may have feared when he left the ice early in the first period of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Columbus.
Washington has scored only 19 goals in its first 10 games, and given that dearth of offense, the team’s 5-4-1 record to this point of the season has to be seen as a net positive.
“There’s a few team’s that are firing on all cylinders,” says MacLellan. “But there’s quite a few teams – like us – that are trying to find their game and be consistent at it. So I don’t think it’s unique, but we have to find it here pretty quick, and I think we are. We’re still in the hunt, and I think that’s a good sign. There’s positive direction to the trends that we have on our team, that I think will be improved going forward.”
