A potentially pivotal offseason for the Capitals is about to get started. And, understandably, you all had lots of questions. So let’s dive right in.
(Questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity)
The tone difference between Nicklas Backstrom’s “I’m excited to have a full offseason of training” and GM Brian MacLellan’s “He has to make a decision about his future” was jarring. Do you get the sense that there’s actually a disconnect in evaluations of Backstrom’s future? — Brian P
That did not go unnoticed, obviously. The part that really stood out to me was MacLellan acknowledging he’s not sure how much Backstrom’s resurfaced hip will improve, even with a good offseason.
The Caps are a loyal organization, particularly when it comes to the people whose names are etched into the Stanley Cup. What I’m wondering is this: As a key piece of that championship team, will Backstrom be afforded the opportunity to train all offseason and then see where he’s at heath-wise come training camp, or will a decision about his future be made for him this summer because the Caps can’t wait?
Tom Wilson is often referred to as the future captain but I can’t help but question whether or not he should be used as a trade piece to kickstart the “retool.” He is almost 30 and plays an extremely physical style of play that won’t exactly extend his career, if not shorten it. We are already feeling the pain of high-priced contracts for underperforming over-the-hump players — Justin K.
You’re right — Wilson would bring in quite the haul. And if the Caps were starting a ground-up rebuild, I’d agree with your sentiment because he’d no longer be on the right “schedule.”
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But since they’re attempting to retool on the fly, I think you’ve got to re-sign Wilson by creating cap space elsewhere. He’s a unicorn on the ice and a big part of the team’s culture off of it.
Tom Wilson. (Kiyoshi Mio / USA Today)Plus, MacLellan also said on breakdown day that “we’re going to do everything we can” to extend him. MacLellan is a pretty straight shooter, so that’s not just lip service.
That said, the team and the player have time on their side. Although an extension can be signed this summer, it might make sense for both parties to wait and see what happens next season before committing to anything.
If Backstrom and Ovi had taken more team-friendly deals, the Caps would have had a chance to compete the next few seasons. Now, the best we can hope for is making the playoffs but no real chance at another Cup. What is your take? — David K.
I never advocate for players to take “team-friendly” deals; players should take what the market says they’re worth. It’s up to the team to make it work.
From my perspective, Alex Ovechkin was always going to be re-signed by owner Ted Leonsis. As for Backstrom, the team anticipated that the salary cap would continue to go up and that No. 19’s playing style would allow him to age gracefully. Of course, neither happened. A crippling pandemic struck a few months after Backstrom re-upped and his hip took an unexpected turn for the worse.
Who are the top free-agency targets? — Clayton M.
It’s a bad year to be in the market for a top-six forward, unless you can sign a veteran to a short-term deal just to buy some time. Because of that, I suspect the Caps, who need to shake things up, are going to scour the trade market for help.
Outside of Connor Bedard, which draft pick could supercharge a Caps rebuild? — Luis L.
The Caps also have a shot at the No. 2 pick, and 2023 Hobey Baker winner Adam Fantilli could also give the team’s top six a big boost.
Veteran coach or young coach? — Tom V.
My gut says they’ll target a young coach. But my head wonders if that’s the right move at this moment in the team’s trajectory. (More on that later.)
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Can the Capitals talk to Jeff Halpern now about the head coaching job since Tampa Bay was eliminated from the playoffs? — Dennis C.
Yes. Teams must wait until a coach’s season is over before requesting permission to speak about an opening.
Any chance Bruce Boudreau comes back as coach? — Thomas T.
My sense is the process has yet to begin in earnest. But hear me out … Boudreau might not be the craziest thought in the world.
The Caps are entering a transitional phase, and there’s no guarantee MacLellan’s rebuild-on-the-fly strategy is going to yield immediate results. That’s a risky proposition for a potential first-year head coach like Spencer Carbery or Jeff Halpern.
Boudreau, meanwhile, has a track record of jumpstarting stagnant teams and offenses. And, of course, the 68-year-old fan favorite already knows where Ovechkin’s buttons are and when to press them, having coached the Caps captain from 2007-2012. That’s a big deal as No. 8 pursues Wayne Gretzky over the next couple of seasons.
What about hiring Boudreau, luring Carbery away from Toronto by giving him an associate head coach title and promoting Todd Nelson from AHL Hershey? Carbery would be the obvious coach-in-waiting, and he’d ascend to the head coaching role just as the team exits its retool.
To be clear, I’m just spitballing. But you’ve got to admit that hearing chants of “Bruce, there it is!” on F Street would be pretty, pretty fun.
Looking at the prospects, what are the expectations next season for Connor McMichael, Alex Alexeyev and Hendrix Lapierre at the NHL level? — James C.
McMichael’s steady progress with the Bears during the regular season and strong start to the AHL playoffs (two goals in two games) should make him a prime candidate to snag a spot in Washington in training camp. Alexeyev, who just signed a two-year extension, should be a third-pair stalwart next year. Lapierre? I suspect he gets some NHL games next season but probably starts the season in Hershey after an up-and-down year.
Would it be a good idea to put Backstrom and T.J. Oshie on the third line so the team can control their minutes, i.e. power play and lots of offensive-zone draws, and hopefully keep them healthy? And then make a fourth line of Aliaksei Protas, Nic Dowd and Nicolas Aube-Kubel and give them some more minutes, essentially a line 3A and line 3B scenario? — Steven W.
If the Caps want to execute their plan of returning to contention in short order, they have to get younger and faster. Take that how you will.
Would it be considered stalking if the Caps told Protas that his offseason training plan was to follow Tage Thompson around and just do exactly what he does for the next five months? — Jeffrey P.
I know they are both huge but I’m not sure it’s fair, talent-wise, to compare Protas to Thompson, who had 47 goals and 47 assists in 78 games for the Sabres. To me, Protas is a bottom-six player with some room to grow, while Thompson is a potential Hart Trophy candidate.
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A weird question from a fan who greatly dislikes fighting in hockey, but should Protas be told to learn to fight, just to instill some fear in opponents? — Steve L.
I don’t think that’s part of Protas’ DNA as a player. But while we’re on the subject of fighting, I do think the Caps should consider adding a player who is capable of fighting so the responsibility doesn’t all fall on Wilson.
Is there a realistic scenario where we trade Nick Jensen or Trevor van Riemsdyk? Resigning both felt a bit redundant to me and the lack of crease-clearing shutdown D seemed like the most glaring issue outside of the scoring drought. — Colin R.
My sense is that just about everything is on the table.
But I’ll also say this: Right-shot Ds don’t grow on trees and both are considered to be solid, low-mileage vets. So I’d be surprised to see one of them moved.
You should also know that I plan to sleep with my phone on my pillow as we get closer to the draft. It feels like changes — and, perhaps a few surprises — are coming.
Are the three sweaters remaining the same next season? Do you anticipate anything drastically different from Fanatics? — John W.
I checked on this for you, John, and was told the Caps are planning to have three jerseys next season after wearing a franchise-record five this year. They’ll wear the traditional red at home, white on the road and alternate blue on select home dates.
Fanatics, meantime, won’t replace Adidas until 2024-25.
Have you ever heard anything about the Caps considering moving Kuznetsov to the wing? I remember when he was drafted there were discussions about whether he would be a center or wing in the NHL, and maybe a shift to the wing would alleviate some of his defensive responsibility while unlocking more offense. — Scott D.
I haven’t heard anything about Evgeny Kuznetsov being moved to the wing, no.
He’s paid like a top-20 player at a premium position. Assuming he’s still on the roster next season, I’d expect him to line up in the middle of the first or second line.
Evgeny Kuznetsov. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)Did you get the sense the team didn’t care for Peter Laviolette and staff? Everyone points to injuries, which were certainly a factor (but not the only one). However, it seemed that in the games shortly before and after the deadline, the team quit on the staff. Thoughts? — Adam F.
In a locker room with 23 men, not everyone is going to love the head coach — and that was certainly the case in Washington.
That said, I’ve seen my share of seasons gone wrong in D.C. and it felt like there was less drama and internal dissension this time around compared to others. In fact, it seemed to me that Laviolette had the backing of some key leaders up until the end, when a trade-depleted roster coupled with a gut-punch of a loss in Pittsburgh seemed to sap whatever fight was left.
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A while back, there were rules on the curve and length of hockey sticks. Violate them and a team was penalized. I can remember other teams stopping games to measure Ovi’s stick. What happened to those rules? — George S.
There are still rules regarding stick length and blade curvature. According to the 2022-23 rule book, a stick cannot exceed 63 inches unless a waiver is requested (and even then, the player must be 6-foot-6 or taller and the stick can’t exceed 65 inches).
As for the curve of the blade, the max is three-quarters of an inch.
I don’t recall the last time I saw a game stopped for a measurement. Why? My guess: offense sells and curved stick blades lead to more goals.
Was Kuznetsov’s underperformance a result of a bad relationship with the coach? Do you see him returning to form under a new coach? — Fabian R.
From the outside looking in, I agree, it did appear as though there was a disconnect between player and coach. On breakdown day, Kuznetsov himself took a not-so-thinly-veiled swipe at how much time he spent “watching the video clips” with Laviolette.
Assuming he’s not moved this summer, I don’t think you hire a coach specifically to get Kuznetsov going again. But I do think that’s got to be one of the new coach’s top priorities.
Will the results of the draft lottery have any effect on the Caps’ mindset with regard to a new coach? — Andrew R.
Perhaps. I mean, if the Caps were to win the lottery and jump to the front of the line to select Connor Bedard, that would drastically change the team’s offseason plans, I would think. In fact, I’ve got to imagine the other teams that are in the market for a head coach are waiting to see which way the ping pong balls bounce before making any decisions.
If you had to pick one core player to not be on the Caps opening night roster next season, who would it be and why? — Cullen G.
Kuznetsov. It just feels like he’s run his course in D.C.
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If you had to put your own money on the line, would you wager that Mantha is in a Caps sweater next year? — John C.
I got the sense Laviolette wasn’t a fan of Anthony Mantha’s and probably saw him as an easy player to sit, while management liked his size and skill and wanted the coach to figure out how to get more out of him.
So, no, I wouldn’t put my own money on Mantha’s future in Washington because I don’t have a good feel for which way this one is going to break — yet, anyway.
If you had to guess, because of salary-cap concerns, is it more likely that the Caps trade for or sign a free-agent forward(s) to play in their top six? — Rob S.
It feels like they need to add at least two top-six forwards and, as previously mentioned, the free-agent class is thin. So I’d expect MacLellan to do everything he can to swing at least one substantial trade.
What do the Capitals see as the biggest need in the 2023 draft from an organizational depth standpoint? Is it skill, grit, size, skating, playmaking, forward, defense, goaltending, etc.? — Lloyd W.
They’re going to have their highest pick since selecting Karl Alzner at No. 5 in 2007 and, obviously, they can’t miss. I’m going to say goal-scoring forward or offensive defenseman who’ll be a top-of-the-lineup player in a year or two.
With a fairly weak free-agent class and considering the need for a relatively young top-six winger, is it likely the Caps trade their first-round pick assuming it stays around the eighth overall position? — Alex H.
It’s a deep draft. I say they end up keeping their pick.
(Top photo of Nicklas Backstrom: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
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