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Washington Capitals: 3 predictions for Christian Djoos

By CJ Witt |
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 05: Washington Capitals defenseman Christian Djoos (29) ready for a face-off during a NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the Edmonton Oilers, on November 05, 2018, at Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C.The Capitals defeated the Oilers 4-2.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 05: Washington Capitals defenseman Christian Djoos (29) ready for a face-off during a NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the Edmonton Oilers, on November 05, 2018, at Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C.The Capitals defeated the Oilers 4-2.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We continue our Washington Capitals player prediction series with a look at defenseman Christian Djoos.

With the departure of two key defensemen this past off-season and the addition of only one, the Washington Capitals are going to need one of the younger guys to step up. The Capitals luckily have some young D men that have potential. Jonas Siegenthaler, the twenty-two year old Swiss came in last season and showed he had potential. Maybe another guy like Tyler Lewington or Lucas Johansen surprises us and takes a spot. Even with several potential guys earning a spot on this Capitals team a spot should be fairly guaranteed to Christian Djoos.

The twenty-five year old has played in big chunks of the last two season in D.C. Last season he was likely to stay with the Capitals all season but was forced to miss time with a thigh injury.

If Djoos stays in the lineup this year though I’d expect a very good season. Here are a couple of my guesses on how Djoos’ season will go.

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He stays in the Capitals lineup

This one is a little simplistic but it obviously needs to happen and there are a few ways it doesn’t. The Caps are a team up against the salary cap and will likely need to move some players to make room.

Djoos does not make a lot, only having a $1.250 cap hit, but a guy like Siegenthaler is cheaper, younger and could easily step in. Djoos could also be a guy other teams look at as promising and cheap and take advantage of the Capitals and pluck a young talent from a cap strapped team.

I don’t know if moving Djoos is an option for the Capitals management but I wouldn’t. I’d expect Djoos to be an everyday player for the Caps, stay healthy and be a heck of a player this coming season.

He puts up at least thirty points

If Djoos does stay in the lineup I’d anticipate a spike in production and thirty points doesn’t sound too unreasonable. Christian only has 24 career points including 4 goals but it wouldn’t be the first time you see a young guy double their career numbers in one season.

If he can stay healthy I think thirty points is doable. If Djoos plays around 75-80 games I think 5-8 goals should be the target and just over 20 assists. That would be great for Christian and also the team who lost Matt Niskanen and his 8 goals and 25 points in the summer.

It’s time to take a step up for the young Swede. If Djoos does not have a breakout season it could be time to give another guy a look. If he puts up thirty points he could cement himself on this Caps lineup for a long time.

He’ll lead the team in goals against per game

There is one big and somewhat obvious factor that will or could make this possible. Djoos won’t be a number one or two defensemen and will likely play on the third D pair. That mean less ice time than guys like Carlson and Orlov and less opportunity to get scored on. That doesn’t always mean less goals against though.

Last season while on the ice at five-on-five Djoos averaged .42 goals against per game. To compare Carlson averaged .77 and Orlov averaged .86. The departed Niskanen averaged .75.

Djoos’ goals against per 60 was at 1.9 while Carlson’s was 2.74 and Orlov’s was 2.8.

Again, time on ice means something here, if Djoos played the entire season he would have likely played around 1,000 minutes while Carlson played over 1,300 minutes and Orlov played over 1,500 minutes. Quality of opponents also matters, Djoos not playing against the top players as often while Carlson and Orlov will more regularly see star players.

Having a guy who doesn’t let in that many goals on the third pairing is terrific. The only potential issue here is who Djoos’ partner is during the season. With Brooks Orpik out the Caps don’t have that steady veteran hand in the back.

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I don’t think that will affect Djoos too much but it is something to consider. I still think he’ll be that solid guy on the third D pair. He might play half the time as the top guys but he doesn’t let in that many goals when comparing times. I’d expect Djoos to stay around the same number of goals against and that he’ll lead the Caps regular defensemen in goals against per game.

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