Tough Decisions Looming for Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals have their deepest team in years, and that is going to lead to some tough decision in the coming months for head coach Barry Trotz.

The Washington Capitals are having their best season in franchise history, and that is largely because of the depth that they have compared to other seasons. They have very few, if any, major holes that will hinder them as the season goes on. A combination of those two things has created an extremely good problem for the team.

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As with any NHL club, there is a mix of young players and veterans competing for ice time. For the Capitals, they have several young guns that are making a case for more ice time. Evgeny Kuznetsov has looked like the best player on the team for much of the year, and he is just the second line center. Andre Burakovsky, after an early season slump, is finding his groove on the second line alongside Kuznetsov and Justin Williams. Due to an injury to Jay Beagle, the usual second line left winger, Marcus Johansson, has found himself as the pivot on the third line, and is doing extremely well.

The Washington Capitals are essentially rolling three lines that can strike at any time, and that is without their usual third line center. Because of said injury, the club signed free agent forward Mike Richards, a player looking to turn his career around, for more depth.

When Richards is ready for action and Beagle is all healed up, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz is going to have some tough decisions to make regarding his forward lineup. Again, this is a good problem to have – one that the Caps have probably never had.

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Jay Beagle is not just a fan favorite, but a favorite of Barry Trotz. It is not uncommon to see him bumped up to the first line if the team is struggling in a game, because he is viewed as a hard worker that can make things happen with players such as Alex Ovechkin. Because of the fact that he held his own and started thriving as the third line center before his injury, is it really conceivable that Trotz would pull him out of that role upon returning?

Johansson has done a great job in Beagle’s absence. One of the knocks on him for years as a center was his faceoff ability. That is why he was originally moved to wing. Though he has only won 44.2% of faceoffs over the entire season, he has won 17 out of 25 over his past three games. If that continues, it will be a promising trend. His line, with Jason Chimera and Tom Wilson on his wings, has created many scoring chances due to the different qualities each player brings. Chimera’s speed, Johansson’s great zone entries and stick handling, and Wilson’s physicality and rapidly improving offensive abilities have formed a very formidable and threatening line. That is not a quality that was present with Beagle at center.

Another dilemma is what to do with Andre Burakovsky. He has really picked up his game as of late, and has four assists over his past two games. Overall, he is averaging a point per game over his past five contests. This is the kind of thing that the Capitals wanted to see earlier in the season, but better late than never. It would truly be great if he continues heating up, and solidifies a role in the top-six. If that happens, it would be truly irresponsible to stick him back on the fourth line seeing less than ten minutes per night.

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The top nine appears set for now. Let’s imagine that Trotz decides (and he likely will) that Beagle needs time to get back into his groove upon returning, and starts out on the fourth line. That likely leaves us with a bottom line of Brooks Laich, Beagle, and either Richards or Michael Latta. That would be one of the best fourth lines in the league, hands down. And if Richards can still bring it (he has been a great defensive player in the past), that would be a great shutdown line. Worst case scenario, you have some incredible flexibility up and down the lineup that might be unmatched in the league.

Either way, Barry Trotz is going to have some important decisions to make. An ongoing youth movement is going to make it tough to put any of those guys down in the lineup if they keep performing. This is all a testament to what a great team general manager Brian MacLellan has put together this year.

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What do you guys think? Can Johansson continue to be successful at center? Is Burakovsky on his way to solidifying a top-six role? Is it realistic that Trotz would put Beagle on the fourth line? Let us know!

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