Stars and Sticks
Fansided

Washington Capitals mock offseason: Stanley Cup run

By Dave Stevenson

May 6, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 during the third period in game five of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 during the third period in game five of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 7
Next
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Free Agency

Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals /

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals main free agent move will involve re-signing a top forward from last season. Yup, the Caps are bringing back Oshie. If the Capitals are going all-in for the Stanley Cup, it’s pretty much a requirement to bring back number 77. Oshie loves it in DC and Washington clearly wants him back. It doesn’t come at a cheap price, costing them six years and $6.15 million a year, but it’s worth it.

Next, the Capitals are bringing in a cheap version of Alzner – Ron Hainsey, to be precise. He’s older and he might decide to retire. But if Hainsey decides to come back, he’d be perfect in a third pairing role. As far as penalty killing, he was arguably the best penalty killer on the Carolina Hurricanes, the best shorthanded team in the NHL until they traded him. Hainsey signs for $1.9 million for a year.

The final unrestricted free agent will be a backup goalie. Thanks to losing Grubauer, the Washington Capitals need a solid backup goaltender in case the worst case scenario occurs and Braden Holtby gets injured. There are some intriguing options out there. Steve Mason is one, but he has no experience as a backup. Ondrej Pavelec could be fixed by Mitch Korn, but even at his best, he’s been mediocre.

I went with Anders Nilsson because he’s going to be cheap (signing for a year at $950,000), he has experience as a backup and he’s even proven to be pretty darn good at times. No goalie out there is good enough to overcome a Holtby injury, but Nilsson lets the Capitals rest him as much as they want.

Home/Editorials