The Washington Capitals head into this season knowing their success won't be measured until the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They were the Stanley Cup favorites last season after winning the Presidents' Trophy and setting a Capitals record with 56 wins but again came up short in the postseason, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Second Round. For a team that hasn't advanced beyond the second round since its only Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1998, any regular-season accolades will feel empty if they aren't followed by a long playoff run and, ultimately, a championship.
Believing only minor adjustments were needed, the Capitals brought back most of their players from last season. After watching the Penguins go on to win the Stanley Cup by utilizing three balanced scoring lines and a reliable fourth line, the Capitals decided they needed to upgrade their bottom six forwards and did so by trading for center Lars Eller (sending two future draft picks to the Montreal Canadiens) and signing right wing Brett Connolly as an unrestricted free agent.
Coach Barry Trotz is toying again with the idea of splitting up Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom on the top line. Ovechkin, who scored at least 50 goals in each of the past three seasons, and T.J. Oshie played with Evgeny Kuznetsov as their center at the start of last season when Backstrom was recovering from hip surgery. Putting Backstrom on the second line might help spread out the scoring.
With Kuznetsov, 24, and Andre Burakovsky, 21, continuing to blossom, the Capitals should have plenty of offense.
On defense, Dmitry Orlov, 25, will get a chance to have a bigger role and, perhaps, take some of 36-year-old Brooks Orpik's minutes. The Capitals were fine defensively with Matt Niskanen, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Orpik, Orlov, Nate Schmidt and Taylor Chorney during the regular season, but their lack of depth was exposed in the playoffs against the Penguins when Alzner was trying to play through a groin injury and Orpik was suspended for three games.
Goaltending will continue to be a strength with reigning Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby.
This is the second season of what general manager Brian MacLellan labeled as a two-year window for this group to win. Alzner, 28, Oshie, 29, and right wing Justin Williams, 35, could become unrestricted free agents after the season, and Kuznetsov and Burakovsky will be due significant raises as restricted free agents, so changes likely are coming. And with Ovechkin, 31, nearing the end of his prime, the Capitals' Stanley Cup clock is ticking.
