Washington Capitals: Creating A New Identity
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Capitals were a very physical team during the 2014-2015 season. They finished ninth in the regular season in total hits with 2,335 hits during all situations. Being physical (or gritty for lack of a better term) was a huge part of their identity. One could argue that physical play helped the Washington Capitals beat the New York Islanders, as the Caps wore down the Islanders.
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However, with the departures of Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward, combined with the additions of T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams, the Washington Capitals are clearly taking on a new identity. Last season, the Caps couldn’t beat the Rangers because they didn’t have enough skill. The Rangers skated circles around them in games five through seven. It was time for a change. With the Washington Capitals moves this off-season, they are clearly trading grit for pure skill.
Brouwer had 206 hits during the regular season, finishing third on the Caps in hits and second among forwards. Ward had 53 hits. They combined for 259 hits. Without Ward and Brouwer, they had 2,076 hits which would have been 15th in the league. Justin Williams had 129 hits in 2014-2015 while Oshie had 99. Combined, that’s 228 hits. So the Washington Capitals are losing 31 hits by losing Ward and Brouwer. Should they not re-sign Fehr, they’ll be losing 84 more hits.
It’s safe to say that the Washington Capitals are creating a new identity, one based on skill. Is that good for the Caps? Should fans be concerned that they are sacrificing power for skill and speed? I don’t think so for several reasons.
First of all, the Washington Capitals still have plenty of size. They will be returning nine of their top 12 forwards in terms of hits. That number goes up to ten if they re-sign Fehr. The Caps are still going to be a tough team, especially in their bottom six. They will just be more skilled.
Secondly, history has shown that if you have to choose between skill and size, you should probably choose skill. Size is still very important, but skill is a much better predictor of success than size. The Los Angeles Kings are an exception to this rule, but even then, they still have a lot of skill combined with their size. The Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning are proof that skill tends to beat size. The Washington Capitals will obviously not be as reliant on skill as those two teams, but they’ll have skill where it really matters: their top two forward lines.
It will be very interesting to see how Barry Trotz adjusts the Capitals system to fit their new skill. I think we’ll see more controlled zone entries and less dumping the puck in. I don’t think that dumping the puck in should be completely abandoned because depending on how the third line pans out, their bottom six forwards could still create a mean forecheck a la the Kings. However, when you have Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Oshie, Andre Burakovsky (or Marcus Johansson), Evgeny Kuznetsov and Williams, you want those guys to have the puck as much as possible. Dumping it in doesn’t make much sense.
I think we’ll see Oshie and Ovechkin do most of the zone entries on the first line for the Washington Capitals. Oshie might be a slightly better choice because he has proven that he is used to creating space to open things up for either himself or his teammates. On the second line, expect the left wing (Burakovsky or Johansson) and Kuznetsov to both participate. Williams isn’t the best at zone entries, but he would still be a very solid option as well, albeit not as good as the other choices.
Some are concerned that the Washington Capitals have lost too much toughness. With all due respect, that’s a narrative that there is no evidence to suggest. Oshie and Williams are both from the Western Conference. That baptism by fire makes you tougher. Oshie is not afraid to hit, he’s just more selective and I’ve noticed that his hits tend to be more “productive” ones. When he hits someone, his primary objective is getting the puck back. Williams is a very tough skater too. He is very durable and over the past few seasons, he’s barely missed any games.
The Washington Capitals are creating a new identity. Hopefully it’s one that will lead to a Stanley Cup victory.