Washington Capitals: THN Point Predictions
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Capitals look like a really good team on paper. The Hockey News agrees because they have released their yearly magazine issue in which they project point totals for each player. They were very optimistic about the Washington Capitals, to say the least.
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The Hockey News has the following point projections for the Washington Capitals and their players for the 2014-2015 season.
Burakovsky 41, Niskanen 31, Wilson 25, Laich 23, Beagle and Galiev 22, Alzner and Bowey 20, Chimera 19, Orpik 18, Orlov 15.
— Tommy Chalk (@Tommy_Chalk) August 7, 2015
The Hockey News also projects defenseman Nate Schmidt and center Michael Latta to each add below 15 points each in 2015-2016. Keep in mind that these are simply projections and that they are more often than not wrong. There are a ton of variables in hockey that projections can’t cover. These include injuries, ice time, puck luck and unexpected improvements or disappointments.
Thoughts on Washington Capitals Projections
I think that 80 points for Alex Ovechkin is very reasonable. I’m surprised that the point projection for the
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Washington Capitals captain is that high because usually THN tends to be more conservative in their point projections, but 80 is a pretty good bet. His goal total should be around 50 as usual and I think because of
T.J. Oshie, he’ll have more assists. Ovechkin hasn’t gotten assists in recent years because he had a revolving door as his other wing, but I think that changes this year.
78 points for the Washington Capitals most underrated player Nicklas Backstrom also sounds about right. That’s roughly a point per game and that’s basically what Backstrom has done over his career. I’d consider taking the over on him because of Oshie, but 78 sounds good to me.
The most bold projection? Evgeny Kuznetsov with 57. I’m a huge Kuznetsov supporter, and even I think that’s a bit high if you consider that projections are usually conservative. However, I think he gets to 57 points if he’s the second line center. It’s worth noting that he’ll probably see some first line minutes for the Washington Capitals during some games. I’ve said this about a billion times but Justin Williams is going to be the best thing that’s happened to his career.
Oshie is also projected to score 57 points. I’m a little skeptical of that. I think it’s certainly reachable for him, but that’s going to depend largely on how much time he gets to spend on the Washington Capitals power play. He’s a very good penalty killer, so I imagine he’ll be on the PK unit. Don’t know how much time that leaves him to spent on the power play, especially since he’ll be on the first forward line as well. As I recently said in this week’s mailbag, Oshie’s value to the Washington Capitals will not be measurable in just points.
THN must have been reading my articles because I think 51 points for Williams is a pretty safe bet if he’s on the same forward line as Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky or Marcus Johansson. John Carlson‘s 50 points sounds a little low to me. He’ll be the primary point man on what should be an excellent power play and he’ll get first pairing minutes. That adds up to more than 50 points to me. It’s a fine projection, but I’m bold. Here’s my prediction: John Carlson finishes in the top five in Norris Trophy voting in 2015-2016.
I’m a little skeptical of Johansson’s projected 47 points and Burakovsky’s 41. One of those two will probably not hit their projection. Whichever one gets the luxury of playing with Kuznetsov and noted possession demigod Justin Williams is going to hit their projection. Whoever doesn’t will have an uphill battle since they’ll be on the third forward line.
Matt Niskanen‘s 31 point projection seems about right. With better puck luck, he could get to 35 or 40. That also depends on how much power play time he’ll see and what kind of role he plays on the power play. Give me the over on Tom Wilson. I think he has a quasi-breakout year. 23 points for Brooks Laich sounds about right. If he got more than that, it honestly wouldn’t shock me. Anything over 30 would though.
22 for Jay Beagle might be a bit high. I really hope he proves me wrong because he sure did last season and that was fun. Count me among those who will take the under on Stanislav Galiev‘s 22 projected points. Karl Alzner‘s 20 points is a good projection. I can’t really fathom Madison Bowey playing for the Washington Capitals long enough to get to 20 points unless there’s a major injury. Jason Chimera‘s 19 points and Brooks Orpik‘s 18 points are both very reasonable projections. Allow me to be bold by saying Dmitry Orlov, if healthy, will score more than 15 points. Especially if the Washington Capitals figure out a way to utilize them on their power play.
What do you think Caps fans? Let me know in the comments!
Next: Bold Predictions For The Caps In 2015