Washington Capitals: Top 5 Offseason Predictions

The offseason began much sooner for the Washington Capitals than both the team and their fans would’ve liked. But this early exit doesn’t mean things are silent among heated discussion with the people in Washington on what the local hockey team should do.

The Washington Capitals and their general manager Brian MacLellan have some important decisions they have to make if they want to get back to Stanley Cup glory in 2020. What happens over the course of the next three months will have a great impact on if they can achieve that goal.

Will Braden Holtby or Nicklas Backstrom, both entering next season in the last year of their contracts, get a new deal this summer? If not both, then which one?

What does the future hold for Andre Burakovsky?

Will Brooks Orpik retire? Or will his leadership and popularity among teammates give him motivation to give it one more run?

Does Jakub Vrana get a pay raise? Plus a surprise prediction at the end.

Stars and Sticks got out their crystal ball to dish out five predictions on what we believe the Capitals will do this offseason. No matter if you agree or disagree with what’s predicted we’d love to hear what your five offseason predictions are.

The Washington Capitals will re-sign Nicklas Backstrom this summer, solidifying their center depth for the future.

Two years ago, the Capitals locked in center Evgeny Kuznetsov then followed suit in the middle of the 2017-18 season by extending Lars Eller. This past season, just hours before Game 1, the Capitals extended another center in Nic Dowd and this summer the established Swedish Capitals center will finally get his payday just before entering the year of his final contract.

Backstrom’s last contract was signed in 2010 which was a 10-year deal worth $67 million. That was a time when Backstrom was 22 years old about to enter his prime. Back then the possibilities seemed endless with him and Alex Ovechkin front and center for the “Young Guns” era.

“Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it, but I’ve played my whole career here so I would like to stay here. I love it here,” said Backstrom on breakdown day.

The Capitals can re-sign Backstrom as early as July 1st but don’t expect this extension to happen until the tail end of the offseason once the Capitals pay Jakub Vrana and Christian Djoos their money (something many think they’ll most likely do) and make decisions on Brett Connolly, Carl Hagelin, Andre Burakovsky, etc.

The reasoning why Backstrom is the first to get a contract extension or that he’s more likely to get one than Braden Holtby is the fact that the Capitals have goaltending depth up and down their organization.

After a successful 16-year career, Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik will hang up his skates.

Brooks Orpik wasn’t necessarily the player on the ice that would scare you offensively but his impact on the game and in the Capitals locker room is bigger than a stat sheet. While some fans have taken Orpik for granted simply because they think the 38-year old defenseman is washed up.

If you listen to the interviews in the locker room however, you couldn’t tell why other fans don’t like him. Whether it was a rookie on the Capitals or even a player with the elite status of Alex Ovechkin, nothing but good things were said about Orpik.

Orpik will always go down in Capitals history for his game-winning goal in Game 2 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals that gave Washington their first Stanley Cup game victory in franchise history. His legacy will certainly live on.

But right now it’s all about family time and that’s the biggest factor to Orpik’s decision on retiring from the game. It has nothing to do with cap space and everything to do with being with his daughters Harlow and Brooklyn.

Orpik will hang up his skates and take the next year, maybe two, to be with his family. Then he’ll be back either with the Capitals or another hockey team in the coaching ranks.

Jakub Vrana is getting a big pay day.

He deserves it. Jakub Vrana had an up-and-down first full season during the Capitals’ 2017-18 season. Sometimes he scored in spurts and helped Washington to big wins. Other times he was quiet and then-head coach Barry Trotz shuffled Vrana in and out of the lineup.

Vrana showed the hockey world his potential later that spring with a two clutch goals in two pivotal Game 5’s for the franchise. First it was his shot off a perfect setup from Alex Ovechkin that would turn out to be the game-winner to put the Pittsburgh Penguins on the brink.

Just over a month later, Vrana opened the scoring in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals with a breakaway goal. The Capitals would go on to win the Cup that night.

Vrana followed that up with an even more impressive performance this past regular season with 24 goals and 23 assists (47 points) and is excelling in the IIHF World’s Tournament for the Czech Republic. But these impressive career-high numbers aren’t the deciding factor as to why the 23-year old will get a raise.

What gives V his big pay day is his work ethic. Go to a practice or morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex (they’re free and open to the public) and chances are you’ll see Vrana still on the ice at the end. Don’t be alarmed, he’s not taking part in the scratch’s skate.

Instead he’s working on his game. Just like a regular job, it’s those little things like the extra work you put in that gets you the raise.

Peter Bondra will finally be recognized by the Washington Capitals organization. Bondra’s #12 will be the first number the franchise has retired since December, 2008.

The last Capital to get their number raised to the rafters of Capital One Arena (then Verizon Center and formally MCI Center) was Mike Gartner.

Bondra would join an elite group of Gartner, Dale Hunter, Rod Langway and Yvon Labre as the only other Capitals in franchise history to have their numbers retired.

Last season kicked off with the Capitals raising their Stanley Cup championship banner and like Ron Juckett of Stars and Sticks noted in an article nine months ago,  “A good first step is hanging Peter Bondra’s jersey from the rafters.”

Before the stands were filled with Alex Ovechkin #8 jerseys, it was Bondra who brought the excitement to America’s Hockey Capital. He once scored five goals in a game. He scored 472 goals in 961 games in a Capitals sweater.

Bondra also led the league twice in goals during his time in Washington.

Like Ovechkin in 2013, Bondra led the NHL with 34 goals in the 1994-95 season. Ovechkin finished with 32. Both shortened regular seasons were 48 games instead of 82.

Bondra also led the league with 52 goals in the 1997-98 season in the Capitals first ever run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Ovechkin scored 49 in the 2017-18 regular season and led the franchise to their first Stanley Cup but Bondra was one of the original Capitals members that paved the way for future success.

Those are our top five offseason predictions. Stay tuned throughout the summer to see how we did!