Washington Capitals: Five Reasons They’ll Win It All In 2015

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

#5: The Washington Capitals Front Office Does What’s Needed

Brian MacLellan has made huge splashes in each of his first two off-seasons as the Washington Capitals general manager. In 2014, he did what George McPhee could never do: fix the blue line. It came at a hefty price, as the Caps signed former Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik to expensive long-term contracts. However, one year into their respective deals, they have done precisely what was asked of them. They have helped make a perennial weakness for the Caps into a strength. 

This off-season, MacLellan said that he wanted to focus on the top six forwards. Many Caps fans questioned how he was going to do that. He answered by signing Williams and trading for Oshie within a 24 hour period. MacLellan also said that he wanted to focus on the restricted free agents, as he had six to worry about. He signed each of them. He was willing to go to arbitration for Holtby and Johansson, and was able to talk Holtby into a team-friendly five year extension that could prove to be a bargain by the end of it.

When MacLellan sees a problem, he fixes it. That’s extremely encouraging to see. However, he will have to make better deadline deals than the two he made last season (Tim Gleason and Curtis Glencross) if the Caps want to win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully, he has learned from that experience.

MacLellan won’t have much to work with as far as the farm system, but he still has some valuable trade chips. Even if he doesn’t trade from the farm system, guys like Riley Barber, Madison Bowey and Jakub Vrana could contribute down the stretch for the Capitals.

Next: Superior Head Coaching