Inside look at Washington Capitals

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Washington Capitals.

When the Washington Capitals talk about their upcoming season, the word mentioned most often is "hungry."

The Capitals veterans are hungry to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify last season for the first time since 2014. They also have some young players looking to prove they're ready to play regularly in the NHL.

Their coaching staff, headed by first-time NHL coach Spencer Carbery, 41, is hungry to prove itself as well.

"You can just feel it from talking to not only our leadership group and our veteran players, but all the way down our lineup," said Carbery, who coached Washington's American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey for three seasons before working as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs the past two. "You can just feel that last year left a bitter taste in our group's mouth and that's great because you've got a hungry coaching staff coming in with a lot to prove, and a group that has had a lot of success in the past and has had phenomenal careers throughout our roster, but also have a lot to prove coming into the year, which is exciting."

Hired May 30 after the Capitals mutually parted ways with Peter Laviolette, Carbery will aim to squeeze more out of what remains of the aging core of the 2018 Stanley Cup championship team, including forward Alex Ovechkin, who turns 38 on Sept. 17; forward T.J. Oshie, 36; center Nicklas Backstrom, 35; defenseman John Carlson, 33; center Evgeny Kuznetsov, 31; and forward Tom Wilson, 29.

Washington was 35-37-10 and finished 12 points behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference last season after being decimated by injuries to key players. Backstrom (42 games; hip resurfacing surgery), Wilson (49 games; ACL surgery, ankle), Carlson (42 games; skull fracture, severed temporal artery, lower body), Oshie (24 games; back) each was out for an extended period.

"I think there's an excitement coming into this year that is a little bit different than in years past," said Wilson, who signed a seven-year contract Aug. 4. "There's a new coaching staff, guys are getting healthy. It was kind of a rocky year last year. 'Carb' seems awesome.

"He's reached out to a lot of the guys, he's hungry, he's motivated, he wants to get this back on track. And I think that's the theme for all of us."

Washington is attempting to retool by adding some younger players without going through a complete rebuild. Icing a competitive team around Ovechkin, second in NHL history with 822 goals and chasing Wayne Gretzky's record of 894, is also a priority.

The process began before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline when the Capitals traded the expiring contracts of defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Erik Gustafsson, and forwards Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller for pieces for the future. The return included 23-year-old defenseman Rasmus Sandin (from the Toronto Maple Leafs) plus two third-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft (from the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild) and two second-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft (from the Bruins and Colorado Avalanche).

A fruitful 2024 NHL Draft, highlighted by the selection of 18-year-old forward Ryan Leonard with the No. 8 pick, was another important step for the seasons to come. Signing forward Max Pacioretty, a six-time 30-goal scorer recovering from a torn Achilles, to a one-year contract and acquiring defenseman Joel Edmundson in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1 were moves aimed at the present.

"We have some young guys still coming but our goal is to remain competitive," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "It's a tricky balance but we'll see if we can pull it off. It's important for 'Ovi,' for all veteran guys, that we remain competitive, give them a chance to compete, and important to add and develop young players. So far, I think we've done a decent job."

Forwards Connor McMichael, 22; Aliaksei Protas, 22; and Hendrix Lapierre, 21; and defensemen Alexander Alexeyev, 23; and Vincent Iorio, 20, are among the young players expected to receive long looks in training camp. Carbery already has relationships with some of the young players and veterans.

"I'm super excited to work with him again," said defenseman Martin Fehervary, who played for Carbery with Hershey (2019-21) before playing in Washington the past two seasons. "We had a good relationship in Hershey, and I think he's a great coach. … He's that type of coach who wants everyone to do his best all the time. He wants to make the players better. I really love that about him."