Washington Capitals: Five Years Later, Ideology Has Changed
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The dog days of summer are upon us, which means that the NHL offseason is in full swing. It has been an eventful one for the Washington Capitals, giving fans many reasons to be excited for the 2015-16 season, which kicks off in slightly less than two months.
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On the contrary, five years ago the Washington Capitals were in the midst of a very uneventful offseason. This was preceded by the most successful regular season in team history, where the team compiled a 54-15-13 record. This was accomplished in a very weak Southeast Division, where the Capitals finished a whopping 38 points ahead of the second place finisher in the division, the Atlanta Thrashers. This feat will forever be overlooked by quite possibly one of the biggest heartbreaks in Capitals history, where the club was defeated in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the heavy underdogs, the Montreal Canadiens.
The most successful team in Capitals history looked something like this, with Eric Belanger, Joe Corvo, Scott Walker and Milan Jurcina being added at the trade deadline:
What immediately stands out, obviously, is the lack of quality defensive depth. We knew this. The Washington Capitals relied on a “run n’ gun” style of play, where even if the opposing team scored five goals, the Washington Capitals could probably score six. As everyone realized that wasn’t going to win a Stanley Cup, Bruce Boudreau tried to change the team’s style, but it never worked out the way that anybody wanted it to.
After Boudreau was fired in the midst of the 2011-12 season, then-general manager George McPhee brought back a familiar face to many fans, Dale Hunter, who brought with him a hard-nosed defensive style that was pretty awful to watch. In a matter of about a year, the team had gone from “Concede five, Score six,” to “Concede one, Score two.” It was a change that did not sit well with franchise player Alex Ovechkin, but the Capitals made it to within one game of advancing to the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. However, Hunter was soon gone, and the Capitals would have to start anew.
While mind-numbingly reflecting on these past seasons, it has to be reminded that McPhee never really made the move to put the Capitals over the top. Supporting defensive players were shuttled in and out, players such as Scott Hannan, Dennis Wideman and Roman Hamrlik, but none were able to fill the gaping holes on the Washington Capitals’ blue line (though Wideman did a darn good job replacing Green’s production in 2011-2012). This was really the team’s Achilles heel behind a constantly powerful offense.
Adam Oates attempted to bring a more balanced approach during his two year tenure, but yet again, the pieces (and the coaching) were not there for the Capitals to make a cup run. George McPhee truly believed in the offensive core that he had. He didn’t want to mortgage the future for a handful of potential cup runs, despite actually almost doing so when he made the trade-that-shall-not-be-mentioned with the Nashville Predators. This hesitance was probably what did him in as general manager.
Quickly after McPhee’s departure, his former understudy and new general manager of his former team, Brian MacLellan, put his own mark on the franchise. His first free agency period as GM saw MacLellan do what McPhee never did, which was to sign not one, but two significant defensive upgrades to go along with a young core of defenseman in John Carlson, Karl Alzner, and now-departed Mike Green. Matt Niskanen was a clear upgrade, and while Brooks Orpik is maligned and misused, he is still an upgrade over the past and many of the alternatives, both one year ago and now.
With the defense at its best in close to two decades, the 2014-2015 Washington Capitals were eliminated in the second round, in a game seven, again. This time, there was a different feeling. The Washington Capitals were just over a minute away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in game five versus the Rangers, but were not able to finish the job over the final two games. They were a disallowed goal that probably should’ve been allowed away from advancing. They were so close, but the scoring just wasn’t there again one of the NHL’s best in net, Henrik Lundqvist.
Fast forward about two months, and MacLellan was at it again. At the end of the first day of the free agency period, he surprisingly signed “Mr. Game Seven,” Justin Williams, to a two-year contract. This meant that the gaping hole in the top-six was filled – a reliable depth scorer would be suiting up for the Washington Capitals in 2015-16. Less than a day later, MacLellan made another splash. He swapped Troy Brouwer – who had a disappointing finish to the regular season and a dismal playoff performance – along with goaltending prospect Pheonix Copley and a 2016 3rd Round Draft Choice for another top-six winger, T.J. Oshie. The plan is for Oshie to be a playmaking complement to Nicklas Backstrom and the NHL’s leading goal scorer for three years running, Alex Ovechkin. He should also help the first line be more balanced and do better against other team’s best lines.
Not only has the on-ice product changed, but the entire approach of the organization has changed. MacLellan is as aggressive of a GM as the league has seen since he was promoted, and coupled with the unique approach of coach Barry Trotz, the team has the look of a real contender. Trotz did a pretty excellent job of adapting his, and the team’s, style to fit the types of players on the Washington Capitals. It is not, as many expected, a strictly defense-first approach as was seen when he coached Nashville. To be fair, he never had the forward depth with Nashville that he currently has with the Washington Capitals. However, every time I see a Washington Capitals defenseman jump up in the offensive zone, remember that’s exactly what Trotz encouraged his blue liners to do in Nashville.
In a span of five years, the Washington Capitals now have a more complete forward group, a significantly upgraded defensive core, a great coach and a determined general manager that knows exactly what he wants and needs – and he goes and gets it. The mindset and ideology have changed, and as a result, the Washington Capitals are better than ever. This might be the best Washington Capitals team ever assembled, at least on paper.