Washington Capitals: What is Peter Laviolette’s Problem With Young Players?

What is Peter Laviolette’s problem with the Washington Capitals’ young players? Come playoff time, if the core is worn down, we can look back to October and November and ask ourselves: Why?

The Washington Capitals have committed to becoming a younger team. That’s what the organization said, anyway. The core is no-doubt one of the oldest in the league and nothing will change that. However, over the off-season, Brian MacLellan made it clear that young players would get a chance to contribute in 2021-2022. Peter Laviolette hasn’t echoed that sentiment.

The Capitals have had a myriad of early-season injuries. Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, and Nic Dowd have all missed time, Backstrom and Oshie are both on LTIR. The Capitals should have relied on their talented young players to fill the void and keep extra wear and tear off of the veteran core. For whatever reason, Peter Laviolette, has refused to do so.

Connor McMichael has established himself as an everyday player centering the team’s third-line and filling in on the second-line as-needed but he still is being sheltered. McMichael has yet to score a goal but has played well both with and without the puck. The young Canadian has assisted on two goals and looks bound to score his first NHL goal soon. Despite this, he’s averaged a mere 11:50 of ice-time.

With a power play that has caused more problems than it has solved, Peter Laviolette refuses to give the talented McMichael any significant power play time. Instead opting to give Conor Sheary the bulk of the time on the team’s top unit. Sheary, a good player in his own right, is undoubtedly not as talented offensively as McMichael who has more than earned an opportunity. McMichael can’t step up to the challenge if the challenge is never presented to him.

Another young player, Hendrix Lapierre, impressed in camp. After winning the respect of his teammates and the trust of the coaching staff, Lapierre was a surprise pick to make the Opening Night roster and even started the season instead of McMichael. Lapierre got off to a hot-start scoring a goal in his first NHL game, but Laviolette didn’t see enough. Lapierre has appeared in five of the team’s nine games and has an average ice-time of only 9 minutes. Lapierre is not as NHL-ready as McMichael, but he still has shown great poise, speed, and play-making ability when he has been given the opportunity to do so. With the injuries mounting and the season still in its infancy, Lapierre should have had a more significant role.

Two other players that have made their NHL-debut in this young season are Aliaksei Protas and Brett Leason. Protas made his debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning, filling in for Nic Dowd, and was on the ice for a grand total of 3:53. At that point, why dress Protas at all? Leason also received a similar treatment, scoring his first NHL goal in his second NHL game, also against the Lightning. In two games, Leason is averaging just 7:19 of ice-time per game.

This was supposed to be Daniel Sprong’s year. The Dutch sniper was expected to play a larger role with the team even before Oshie’s injury, but Peter Laviolette hasn’t allowed him to do that.  He found himself a healthy scratch for one of the team’s games and has averaged only 11:07 of ice per game in the other eight games in which he’s suited up for. The 11:07 of average ice time he’s gotten this season is somehow even less ice than the 11:40 of average ice time he got a season ago. It’s obvious that Sprong has a lethal shot and great speed, and while he may not be the most complete player on the ice defensively, he is deserving of far more ice than he’s been seeing this season.

“Sprong had a good year this year,” MacLellan explained over the off-season. “He’s a good young player. Looking to get him more ice time.”

The organization committed to Sprong being a key player when MacLellan said he wanted him to get more ice-time and when they protected him from the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft. Laviolette has shown the organization’s commitment by giving the 2nd line winger less than 12 minutes of ice per game and less time on the ice than he got a season ago. Sprong, like McMichael, has also not gotten a real opportunity on the top power play unit.

The one exception is Martin Fehervary who has anchored the top pairing with John Carlson. Fehervary has averaged 18:19 of ice-time, appearing in all of the team’s games. Fehervary has been better than advertised. This is simply the exception that proves the rule.

The rule in this case, unfortunately, is that Peter Laviolette does not trust his young players. Some will argue that Peter Laviolette is simply sheltering the young players. He isn’t sheltering them though; he’s hiding them. Locked away to the first and second periods, the young players have not had the opportunity to help the team in the way that they should.

Early in October and November, with the team sitting comfortably near the top of the standings and with significant injuries, the timing is perfect for Laviolette to take some of the wear and tear off of the older players and give some of the youngsters the opportunity to show what they can contribute. He has yet to do so and it looks unlikely to change. Come playoff time, if the older core is worn down, we can all look back to October and November and ask ourselves why Laviolette never gave the young players a real chance to shine.