NHL.com provides in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of the 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Now, the Washington Capitals.
When the Washington Capitals talk about their upcoming season, the word that often comes up is “hungry.”
The veteran Capitals 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 are ready to play regularly in the NHL.
Their coaching staff, led by first-time NHL coach Spencer Carbery, 41, is hungry to prove himself as well.
“You can feel it just from talking to not only our leadership team and our veteran players, but all the way down our line,” said Carbery, who coached American Hockey League affiliate Washington in Hershey during the three seasons before working as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past two. “You can just feel that last year left a bitter taste in our team’s mouth and that’s good because we have a hungry coaching staff coming in with a lot to prove, and a team that has had a lot of success in past and there are amazing races on our list, but there is also a lot to prove coming in the year, which is exciting.
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Hired on May 30 after the Capitals parted ways with Peter Laviolette, Carbery will look to inject more into the rest of the aging core of the 2018 Stanley Cup championship team, including forward. Alex Ovechkinwho will be 38 on September 17, ahead TJ Oshie36, center Nicklas Backstrom35, defense John Carlson33, center Evgeny Kuznetsov31, and beyond Tom Wilson29.
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 losing due to 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) everyone is gone for a long time. time.
“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 on August 4. “There’s a new coaching staff, guys are getting healthy . It was a rocky year last year. ‘Carb’ looks great.
“He’s reached a lot of guys, he’s hungry, he’s motivated, he wants to get it back on track. And I think that’s the theme for all of us.”
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Washington tried to retool by adding some young players without 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 defensemen’s expiring contracts. Dmitry Orlov and Erik Gustafssonand beyond Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller for pieces for the future. The return includes the 23-year-old defenseman Rasmus Sandin (from the Toronto Maple Leafs) and 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, another important step for the seasons to come. Sign up ahead Max Paciorettya six-time 30-goal scorer recovering from a torn Achilles, to a one-year contract and getting a defenseman Joel Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens on July 1 are moves aimed at the moment.
“We have some young guys coming up but our goal is to stay competitive,” said general manager Brian MacLellan. “It’s a tough balance but we’ll see if we can do it. It’s important for ‘Ovi,’ for all the veteran guys, that we stay competitive, give them a chance to compete, and important to increase and develop the young players. So far, I think we have done a decent job.”
Forward Connor McMichael, 22, Aliaksei Protas22, and Hendrix Lapierre, 21, and defenses Alexander Alexeyev, 23, and Vincent Iorio, 20, are among the young players expected to receive high looks in training camp. Carbery already has relationships with some young players and veterans.
“I am very excited to be able to work with him again,” said the defenseman Martin Fehervary, who played for Carbery with Hershey (2019-21) before playing in Washington the past two seasons. “We have a great relationship with Hershey, and I think he’s a great coach. … He’s the type of coach that wants everybody to do their best all the time. He wants to make the guys better. player. I like a lot about him.”