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The NHL offseason is wrapping up as we enter September, and the Washington Capitals were one of the most active teams in the entire league this summer. Finally, the regular season is within sight and fans will finally get to see whether or not the Washington Capitals really have improved, or if they will once again be destined to disappoint.
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There are a lot of things that will play out right away this season. The Washington Capitals roster underwent a major shakeup, losing several key free agents while at the same time adding several very important players that will immediately bolster the forward group. There is also a great opportunity for several young players to fill crucial holes that we left over from the free agency departures.
There are reasons for excitement around the Washington Capitals, no doubt. They are viewed as a possible top-five team for this upcoming season, and it would have been hard to imagine the team being in this position about 15 months ago.
Even with the key additions, there are a lot of question marks left that could hinder the full potential of the team this season. A lot of those questions focus on the players that were lost, not the players that were brought in over the offseason. The biggest concern for the Washington Capitals has to be whether the penalty kill can hold its ground after losing some of the top special teamers from the past several years. While retaining key penalty killer Jay Beagle, who would have entered unrestricted free agency last July, the Washington Capitals lost both Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward, both of whom played important minutes on the penalty kill.
The Washington Capitals were a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of penalty killing last year, closing out with an 81.2 PK% during the regular season. However, over the course of the 2014-15 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Capitals were ranked third overall in PK% (90.6%), which was a drastic improvement from the regular season. This likely played a pretty big role in the Washington Capitals coming very close to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since the 1997-98 season.
The improvement in the playoffs gave reason to have hope heading into the 2015-16 season that the penalty kill would continue to improve and thus leave room for the team as a whole to improve. But, with the aforementioned departures needing to be replaced, it is going to be a wait and see process for the Washington Capitals to see who can fill in for those roles, and whether or not they can be more successful.
Last season, the team was shorthanded 266 times, which was tied for the eighth-highest total of penalties taken in the league. Just for reference, the Chicago Blackhawks took just 211 penalties and had a PK% of 83.4. Taking penalties and actually killing off penalties are two different subjects, but if the Washington Capitals can improve in both areas, it will be significant progress.
Defensively, the Washington Capitals will not see much change on the blue line while killing penalties, which could prove beneficial in improving the overall numbers. John Carlson, Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner were the top four in terms of shorthanded time on ice. Carlson logged over 240 minutes of shorthanded time on ice, and he will likely see a similar, if not increasingly important role this season. The back end is solid, and barring injury will anchor the PK all season again. Behind them, though, is where the problem could lie.
Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov have not to this point been put on the penalty kill much during their short NHL careers. Assuming the two of them make up the team’s third pairing, one or both of them will likely see at least a decent chunk of shorthanded ice time. Luckily, it isn’t too likely that one of them will have to take on a significant PK role. Mike Green, who was maligned for his defensive play during the majority of his tenure as a Washington Capital, only saw about 40 minutes while a man down. Out of Orlov and Schmidt, one of those two could see similar minutes to Green last year, and my bet would be on Orlov, who is entering a huge year in his career.
Back to the real problem. Ward and Brouwer were two of the top-three penalty killers during the 2014-15 campaign in terms of shorthanded time on ice. Brooks Laich was second, and will likely see similar minutes this year. Many fans believe that Laich should have been bought out over the past few summers due to his declining play and injury history, but Trotz has proven that the longest tenured Capital is a reliable player on the penalty kill in his eyes.
Beagle was previously mentioned, and with the departure of Ward and Brouwer, he will continue to be a valued penalty killer, which is probably his most crucial role to the team. Behind Laich and Beagle (which aren’t exactly an intimidating pair alone), Jason Chimera (107:44) and Nicklas Backstrom (79:03) compiled the next highest SH TOI. Chimera is aging and thus declining, and Backstrom might not be ready for the start of the regular season. This leaves a very daunting hole, albeit temporarily. New acquisition T.J. Oshie logged 95:17 on the PK last year with the St. Louis Blues, so he will likely be plugged into one of those holes.
At this point, Chimera will likely see time as a PK forward as well, though hopefully one of more of the younger, less proven Capitals will impress in camp and the preseason to claim one of those roles. We will likely see a lot of shuffling among the forwards on the penalty kill, and Barry Trotz will have to find out who he trusts the most to kill off penalties.
Next: Three Biggest Concerns For The Capitals