Washington Capitals: Eleven Reasons To Be Thankful

Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Captain

Watching Alex Ovechkin carry the puck into the offensive zone still makes me hold my breath after nearly 800 games. Between his distinctive skating gait barreling in on defenders, to his super-human strength and ability to shoot the puck harder than anyone of the NHL – he’s truly unlike any player in the world. A charging bull wearing ballerina slippers. And he plays three or four times a week for our Washington Capitals! The fortune of that is kind of unbelievable.

Really considering Ovechkin’s play, the closest player I can approach to compare him to (in my lifetime) is probably Michael Jordan. A living legend. I remember watching the NBA when I was a kid because of Jordan’s play. The feeling around watching him was that you didn’t want to miss the next spectacular thing he did in a game. Jordan transformed the sport around him with his greatness and I was drawn in as a fan like a moth to light.

MORE FROM STARS AND STICKS: Appreciating Alex Ovechkin’s Greatness

How great it is to feel that feeling of pure awe again in my lifetime while watching the Great 8 do his thing.

We get to witness the record books be rewritten, season after season, and it’s happening right now with our favorite team – in real time! If you don’t stop to appreciate that every once in a while, then you’d be tempted to forget how incredible it actually is. Alex Ovechkin is unbelievably awesome at hockey. He gives it every ounce of fight and skill in him when he plays. We’ve noticed. A sincere ‘Thank you’ to our team captain from everyone at Stars and Sticks.

He’s such a raw, electric talent – there’s no telling when he’ll pull off the unbelievable – and he’s been doing that for 10 seasons now! Can you believe his legacy is already 10 seasons old and he’s only 30-years old? I can’t wait to see him finally seal his greatness with bringing a Stanley Cup home to fans in Washington, D.C. and the world over. Fingers crossed that we get to watch the first time happen this season!

Next: The Other Russian Great

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Kuznetsov

I’m grateful for Evgeny Kuznetsov – a fast-rising star among Caps fans and all of professional hockey. What Kuzy brings to the team feels reminiscent of everything we enjoyed from having Sergei Federov on the team (minus the savvy NHL veteran bit): He’s dynamic and skilled, keeping defenders guessing what he’ll do next with the puck. He’s playing a tall role for the team, bringing in a serious scoring threat on our second line and power play unit. He’s a game changer, for real.

That’s without even mentioning what magic we’ve seen him do for the skaters he’s shared a line with. His gorgeous no-look passes are quickly becoming a trademark on his highlight reel. Remember this one from late last season against the Bruins on national television coverage? Tuukka Rask (who is a very intelligent goaltender) had no clue how vulnerable Kuznetsov was capable of making opposing backstops. Look at him struggle to locate the incoming puck. What a brilliant goal.

If we finally make a deep post-season run this season, it’s Kuznetsov who’s our Ace in the hole. Teams have shown adjustments for taking away Ovechkin’s one-timer from above the dot. It was bound to happen. However, most of the league is still unaware just how high the ceiling on Kuzy actually is.

The league will see enough of his exceptional play to warrant extra consideration, but for now – he feels like a well kept secret weapon. He might just be a player that could bust things wide open in the playoffs.

Also, as a fan who doesn’t speak a lick of Russian, I wanted to congratulate (and thank) Kuznetsov on picking up English so quickly. Plenty of hockey players have come over from Russia and the KHL, collected a big contract and done just enough to satisfy the demands their teams have put upon them. Evgeny has undoubtedly gone the extra mile since being here.

He’s embracing the team. He’s embracing the fans. He’s even embracing the spotlight. What a great team mate to have on our Washington Capitals family.

Next: The Newcomers

Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

Williams and Oshie

Forwards Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie came onto the team in July and fans have been celebrating ever since. Without surrendering to the outrageous demands that the Chicago Blackhawks were seeking in exchange for high-profile free agent Patrick Sharp, the Washington Capitals managed to pick up two experienced scorers for a relatively cheap price. Throw in defenseman Taylor Chorney from the Pittsburgh Penguins and we had quite an eventful summer. 

If you ever needed a barometer on how advantageous a player’s acquisition is for their new hockey team – you can usually tell by the sentiment surrounding fans of the player’s former team. T.J Oshie made his way to Washington from the St. Louis Blues (who drafted him 24th overall) and Justin Williams sought to play for D.C. after spending seven seasons (and winning two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy) with the Los Angeles Kings.

From chatting with fans of both teams, I’ve received the impression that fans of neither team felt like their team got the upper hand after surrendering their player. I’m thankful that the Washington Capitals organization displayed a great deal of patience in waiting for the right deal to present itself in bringing more star power to the District. Contracts to both players seem very reasonable in price and term: $6.5 million for two years for Williams and $9 million for two years for Oshie.

By contrast, the Dallas Stars are paying $10.5 million over the next two years for Patrick Sharp. I think if we had landed Sharp, we would have probably needed to also part with more than Troy Brouwer and Pheonix Copley (who we also exchanged for Oshie with a third round pick). Realistically, we might have lost a great deal more of our future in that trade – likely giving up a valuable prospect or two and a high round pick in next year’s Draft.

I’m thankful that it didn’t come to that. I like Patrick Sharp a great deal as a player, but both Williams and Oshie seemed genuinely eager to be traded to a team with Alex Ovechkin on it in pursuit of a Stanley Cup. As such, the terms to their contracts were more reasonable as a result. In previous situations, we’ve broken the bank in trades like this and quickly soured on our investments. This way, we kept our valued prospects and the team finally found its top two right wingers.

Next: The Blue Liners

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Blue Line

If you’re like me, then you were probably wincing in anticipatory pain every time Karl Alzner and John Carlson quickly laid their bodies down on the ice to block an incoming shot on the Washington net during Monday’s 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Alzner and Carlson, along with the entire team defense have been exemplary in their shot blocking efforts this season – yielding us the second best statistics for Shots Against in the entire league.

I’m no great player myself, but I’ve laid down and blocked a shot or two before and let me tell you – it hurts. Sure, the players wear padding around their ribs and sides, but it’s rarely ever enough to dampen the impact of a 6 ounce disk being shot directly at you. I’m pretty confident these guys have all sorts of welts and bruises to show for their efforts in keeping the puck distant from Braden Holtby and it’s rare that anyone ever comments on it. I am, so thank you Caps’ defense.

Karl Alzner has done this 42 times over 20 games already. John Carlson has done it for another 31. Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt and Taylor Chorney combine for another 92 blocked shots. Clearly, this is a directive for the team that comes from the entire coaching staff and our boys are committed to making it happen. These guys have taken their job very seriously, which is good because that’s 165 shots that goaltender Braden Holtby didn’t have to face.

READ MORE: For Capitals, Defense is Defining Season

Blocking 165 shots in 20 games is averaging about 8.25 blocked shots per game. It projects to 676.5 for the entire regular season. That’s an awful lot of sacrifice for our defensemen to give and it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed – at least not by us. So, thank you Capitals’ defense. Your play this season (and last) has defined the Trotz’ era of Caps hockey. With a defense as good as this one in place: we’re ready to grab ourselves our first Stanley Cup in late Spring 2016.

Next: The Man With the Plans

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Barry Trotz

Capitals’ head coach Barry Trotz, nearly single-handedly, has altered the trajectory of the team since inheriting the job two seasons ago. He’s given the team a new identity – an accountability that sort of half-existed before his arrival that gives any opponent that faces us a difficult time in executing their game plan. He’s been a perfect blend of a team “boss” and a guy that the players respect for his ability to see the game in a larger, slower and anticipatory manner.

When he met with Ovechkin two summers ago and reportedly talked for hours about his role with the team and what the team could accomplish by operating as a unit – he was quick to admit that he had miscast the scenario from afar as many other coaches and pundits had done before him. In gaining the players’ trust and proving his system’s worth, he’s given us a compass that actually works for this team. We have a direction now. I wasn’t so sure that we did before him.

I like his strong motivational tools that put the teams’ various mantras in focus. I like the philosophy of letting players play their own game offensively, but dictated expectations when play moves the other way. I even like how mad he gets at the refs for botching countless bad calls on the ice so far. He’s brought accountability and a plan and the players and coaches are really buying into it. Trotz has been an incredible coach so far.

So thank you too, Barry Trotz. You probably could have gone to any number of teams after the decision to leave the Nashville Predators’ organization was made. You picked us. And we so badly needed a coach like Trotz to grab the controls by force and put a singular vision in everyone’s head with a realistic blueprint in how to get there.

We got pretty lucky in the Barry Trotz lottery. Just imagine if he’d gone to the Flyers or the Rangers or the Penguins.

Next: The Support Staff

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Support Staff

Running a professional hockey organization as flawlessly as the Washington Capitals have done in recent years has been by no coincidence. It takes assistant coaches like Lane Lambert, Todd Reirden, Blaine Forsythe, Mitch Korn and Scott Murray to repeatedly run drills and help the players achieve their best.

It takes trainers like Greg Smith and Ben Reisz keeping our players’ health in good hands. It takes dedicated equipment staff like Brock Myles and Craig Leydig to remember each player’s preferences before games. It takes people like Pace Sagester, Manager of Media Relations and their team to keep fans (like me) informed with what’s happening off the ice. There are so many others. We have an awesome crew surrounding the team. Our thanks to all of you.

In fact, there are quite a number of people working for the team, doting on players and working long hours, that you’ve probably never been made aware of. Remember when the entire league and its fans thought Alex Ovechkin was a coach-killing, lazy, selfish trash bag of a hockey player?

They don’t say that anymore – in part because of Alex’s genuine goodness as a person, but also because of the people in the Caps’ HR department, Marketing, and front office. I’m glad they did their jobs and we don’t have to listen to as much of that old popular opinion garbage. They set the record straight on Ovechkin and continue to find imaginative ways to bring us our favorite sport. Kudos.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention being thankful for majority owner Ted Leonsis or team President Dick Patrick. Unlike other teams’ leaders, they’ve surrounded themselves and the team with experts of their craft and continually provide incentives for fans to become closer with the players and coaches. I love our team. That didn’t happen overnight, but their direction has helped to cement it for me for years to come.

Probably my favorite part of our teams’ support staff has to be our media coverage. John Walton and Ken Sabourin have kept me close to the team with their insight over the new Caps Radio Network while Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin continue to be the best broadcasting duo in all of televised sports on CSN Mid-Atlantic. Of course, Courtney Laughlin is also a joy to see on our television no matter what.

If you travel outside of the Washington area and then come back, you really realize it: we are incredibly lucky to have such talented people (and their support) covering our team.

Next: The Insurance

Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The Goalies

While we’re acknowledging magnificent individual efforts, we have to include our tandem of goaltenders: Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer. With less incredible players, we’d probably lose games like the one on Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Braden is the first real semi-permanent fixture in the Washington net since Olaf Kolzig. Elite goaltenders are a rare commodity in the modern NHL and we have one in Holtby. Be thankful for that, folks.

I remember watching Holtby play for the first time back in March 2011 against the Montreal Canadiens (who were very good at the time) and thinking, ‘I hope he’s ready for the big lights to be on him’. Well, as it turned out, he was. He faced 18 shots and denied all of them from finding twine behind him. He picked up the shutout and eventually earned his spot as the number one goaltender in the Washington net. He’s worked hard since that first game that I saw him and he’s earned his spot as one of the league’s elite.

Philipp Grubauer has had a pretty incredible ride with the team as well in retrospect. With a surplus of backup netminders in the greater Capitals affiliated network of teams, Grubauer has done really well in proving his worth as a reliable backup. Remember when Holtby became ill before last season’s game two of the Islander series and Grubauer got the short notice call up from Hershey and helped us beat Jaro Halak’s squad 4-3 after losing game one? That was a pretty clutch performance by our favorite German backstop. Thank you, Philipp.

Next: The Men Pulling the Strings

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

GMBM

The promotion of Brian MacLellan (from assistant GM to GM) after the departure of former General Manager George McPhee didn’t exactly strike me with confidence as ‘a good get’ for the Washington Capitals when it happened. Admittedly, I wanted a bigger name to step in. Maybe someone like Ray Shero, with some weight to their name, to grab the reins after we failed to make the playoffs in 2013 for the first time in seven seasons. It felt like we needed an overhaul.

What we got instead, at least initially, felt more like new coat of paint. We got the runner up. The assistant to the old guy. I wasn’t sure that a guy that was associated with the Martin Erat/Filip Forsberg trade debacle would make the kind of changes that the team needed to clear the hurdles that they repeatedly became ensnared in. Thankfully, I was wrong. Way, way wrong. Boy, I certainly misjudged MacLellan’s value to the organization.

MacLellan, along with assistant GM Ross Mahoney, Chris Patrick, Steve Richmond and their team of over 15 professional scouts have ensured that the failings of previous teams would not be repeated and that the future pipeline of incoming talent was strong. MacLellan did what was needed to bolster our defense into immediate improvement last season and has doubled-down in his second year with the team by bringing in the fresh talents of T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams.

We’ve seen the Washington Capitals become disjointed between coaches and management before. Not to pile onto the criticism of former coach Adam Oates, but it felt like the players that McPhee wanted were not aligned with what the team’s bench wanted put out onto the ice. As a result, the team suffered. Fans suffered. The franchise probably suffered. MacLellan has done a stellar job in correcting the errors of his predecessor and for that, he deserves our gratitude.

Personally, I feel like the team is in good hands with MacLellan. I think he’s balanced the need for the current agenda with our future interests well. We’ve landed most of our recent acquisitions at pretty reasonable prices and terms. Unlike the New York Rangers, who repeatedly empty the cupboards for another shot at a title – MacLellan has ensured that upcoming players like Kuznetsov, Burakovsky, Vrana, Barber, Stephenson and others are making their way into our roster.

Next: The Leaders

Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Veterans

Remember about seven or eight seasons ago when the Washington Capitals kind-of-sort-of resembled what the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames look like now? A squadron of first round ‘Young Gun’ talents exciting fans with their combined individual efforts? While it was a fun era to be a Caps fan, we folded pretty miserably under the rigorous pressures of the postseason without the reinforcements that a locker room full of veterans has when patches turn rough. The young guns are wiser now. We’re more ready to win than ever.

If I had to compare us to another team this season, I’d probably pick the Detroit Red Wings. That’s probably blasphemous sacrilege to many of you, I know, but historically speaking, the Red Wings have won an awful lot of post-season hockey. Part of that is by having drafted Hall of Fame talent for many years in a row. I’d argue a bigger part of that, especially recently for the Wings, has been finding the right mixture of proven winning veterans and rookie players that can flat out play.

Alex Ovechkin is now 30. Nicklas Backstrom turned 28 on Monday. Justin Williams is 34 and has played for 14 seasons in the NHL. Jason Chimera and Brooks Laich each have over 700 games under their respective belts and it feels like if we began a losing skid this season, we’d find a way to snap out of it pretty quick. There are enough leaders in the locker room, including the ones mentioned and several others, that would lend their voice to the cause if needed.

That sort of attitude in a locker room is contagious. When there are more guys around you that have seen enough of the game to analyze it and react accordingly, panic is less pervasive. No offense to the teams under Bruce Boudreau in former years, but I feel like those guys probably freaked out more when faced with adversity. This group feels more solid. More confident in the system. Some of that is getting older, but a high percentage is from having a veteran’s mindset.

So thank you, Washington Capitals leaders. You’ve weathered a lot together. This season, I hope the consistency that you preach is fruitful enough to reward  you with a Stanley Cup. Even if it doesn’t, we’ve got a heck of a team this year with your help.

Next: The Prospects

Photo Credit: Tori Hartman

The Young Guns

The Washington Capitals have ensured that we have many years of exciting hockey to watch ahead of us. Players like Evgeny Kuznetsov are blossoming while others like Andre Burakovsky and Tom Wilson seem imminent. Behind them in our assorted minor and overseas leagues, we’ve got a whole other crop of talent on their way up because of the diligence of the players themselves and the team officials that scout them from far and wide.

It would have been relatively easy to mortgage it all in hasty trades at the deadline or by selling future picks at each year’s draft. Unlike other teams, we’ve struck a fine balance. The Washington Capitals have kept our cupboards stocked with players like Jakub Vrana, Chandler Stephenson, Riley Barber, Madison Bowey, Chris Brown, Stanislav Galiev and others while sacrificing enough to grab impact players now like T.J. Oshie.

We gave up a third round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry draft as part of the incentive to grab Oshie, but we’ve managed to keep our future secured with numerous other high round picks. By keeping the picks that have a lower percentage of yielding duds, we have more chances to win the lottery on players like Kuznetsov or Backstrom. I’m incredibly grateful that the future of Washington Capitals hockey looks as bright as the present does.

What we’ve seen from our prospects in the present looks pretty great as well. In the preseason rookie tournament in Estero, Florida this year, we got to witness the quick forming chemistry of Vrana, Stephenson, and Barber who continue to develop in the AHL Hershey Bears. We should thank Bears head coach Troy Mann and his staff for his continued excellence in ensuring that these young players have all the tools they need to compete in the NHL whenever that day may come. Spencer Carbery, coach of the ECHL South Carolina Sting Rays deserves gratitude as well.

The new youth movement on the Capitals has potentially helped to prevent another season like 2003-2004, where we pulled the pin on the Washington Capitals franchise grenade, traded away the best of our assets and hoped for salvation with the next year’s #1 overall pick. While reviewing it in hindsight feels like a necessary evil to grab the then rookie Alex Ovechkin – a wiser move may have been to gradually work in young, talented players along the way.

I’m thankful that it doesn’t look like we’ll need to do that again in the near or distant future.

Next: Going Forward

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Future

With strengths and assets all over the ice and within the organization, it feels like this year could be fateful for the Washington Capitals. For the first time in a long time, we have depth on this team in all positions and plenty more arriving from the minor leagues. We have a dynamic mix of players – with superstars to grinders to enforcers and the responsible stay-at-home-defensive types combining into something excellent and difficult to beat on any given night. The Washington Capitals are a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup.

There will always be room for improvement and we’ll continue to write about it in our analysis. But, if I’m honest: this is the most optimistic I’ve felt about a sports team in Washington since the early nineties. I’ve had good reason to keep that optimism guarded cautiously, but regardless of the outcome for this season, it’s been wonderful being a small part of it. I’m thankful that the Capitals have worked so hard to bring us these good vibrations this season.

There are a few quick ‘thank you’ shots that I’d like to make, so it’s bullet time:

• The Caps Penalty Kill. For pulling us out of countless scary minutes of short ice and creating momentum.
• Tom Wilson. For being the forward with the next highest block shot totals (14) and your effort on the PK.
• Jay Beagle. For being one of the best two-way players on the team.
• The Caps Power Play Units. For dominating the play while you’re out there. We look dangerous.
• The 4th line. Whatever you’re doing, I think it’s working.
• Dmitry Orlov. For re-introducing yourself to the team’s fans by scoring in three straight!
• Nick Backstrom. We don’t need reasons.

Wherever you’re spending the holiday weekend, I hope you get to catch one of the two games the Capitals will play in this weekend. They’ll face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday at home in Verizon Center, which could prove to be an excellent Litmus test for the post-season. They’ll also travel to Toronto on Saturday to do battle with the Maple Leafs, with whom they barely squeaked out a win in the shootout in their last encounter in early November.

Next: MUST WATCH: Jay Beagle Has an Apprentice

Most of all, the entire Stars and Sticks staff is extremely thankful for each and every one of our loyal readers. It’s a pleasure writing for such a passionate and kind community.