Three questions facing Washington Capitals

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 31 teams from Nov. 16-Dec. 16. Today, three important questions facing the Washington Capitals.

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1. Who will back up Ilya Samsonov in goal?

Henrik Lundqvist and Samsonov had been expected to split the goaltending duties during what could be a compacted regular season, but Lundqvist announced Dec. 17 that he will not play this season because of a heart condition.
Samsonov was 16-6-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and one shutout in 26 games (22 starts) as an NHL rookie last season backing up Braden Holtby, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 9. Samsonov missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs with an upper-body injury he sustained while in his native Russia when the NHL season was paused due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Vitek Vanecek dressed as Holtby's backup during the postseason and the 24-year-old rookie now is the likely candidate to share the Capitals net with Samsonov this season.
The Capitals also have Pheonix Copley, who went 16-7-3 with a 2.90 GAA, a .905 save percentage and one shutout in 27 NHL games (24 starts) as Holtby's backup in 2018-19. The 28-year-old did not play in the NHL last season after losing the backup job to Samsonov during

2. When will Alex Ovechkin sign a contract extension?

The 35-year-old forward is entering the final season of a 13-year contract he signed in 2008 and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Washington captain and general manager Brian MacLellan had an initial discussion about an extension in August after the Capitals were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs and agreed to wait to resume talks until Ovechkin returns for training camp.
Ovechkin said in an interview with Russian Television International last month that he wants to play his entire NHL career with Washington. He also mentioned wanting to play for Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League before he retires but said he could play, "two, three, four years, maybe five" more seasons with the Capitals.
Though no deal is certain until it's done, it appears likely Ovechkin eventually will re-sign with Washington after taking the necessary time to negotiate the terms.

3. Will the Capitals add a forward before the season starts?

A wing to provide scoring depth from the third line is Washington's biggest remaining need after signing Lundqvist and shoring up its defensemen by signing Justin Schultz to a two-year contract on Oct. 9 and Trevor van Riemsdyk to a one-year contract on Oct. 10. But Washington has acknowledged the NHL salary cap remaining at $81.5 million hasn't left it with much space or roster flexibility, so the Capitals likely will have to trade someone to add a player.
Doing that won't be easy with many teams in a similar salary cap bind. It might require trading a draft pick or a prospect to get one of the few teams with salary cap space to take on a player with an unwanted contract.