Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
#3: Jay Beagle
First off, not only will Jay Beagle have a lot to prove in 2015, Caps bloggers will have a lot to prove because we have to keep making “so awful they’re hilarious” Beagle puns. In all seriousness, Beagle earned himself a bit of a pay day last season by having a career year. He set career highs in points (20), goals (10) and assists (10). He also set career highs at even strength in points (17), goals (10) and assists (7). Beagle was heavily deployed on the penalty kill because of his ability to win face-offs and block shots. Barry Trotz went as far as to call Beagle his “lucky charm”.
Beagle will have to justify that pay day that he got from the Washington Capitals by perhaps taking on a much larger role than the fourth line center role he had last season. In 2015, it appears that he will be running for the third line center role, though the Caps are still looking to add another center into the mix. Even if he is the fourth line center once again, he will be expected to repeat his production from last season, which will be no easy feat with the minutes he would get.
Beagle tends to be a target of those who value advanced stats such as myself. While I’ve come around to like Beagle because of his ability to generate shot attempts (particularly high-danger ones), he needs to have a strong season to garner the respect of everyone. As long as we never see first-line Jay Beagle ever again, I’m all in favor of Beagle being on the Washington Capitals.
If the Caps can get scoring from Beagle and whatever line he’s on, that will go a long way to helping them get to the Stanley Cup Finals from the first time since 1998.
Next: #2: More Than A Handsome Face Puncher