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Four Lingering Questions for the Washington Capitals

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Alex Ovechkin #8 and Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals watch a replay after Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes (not pictured) scored a goal in the second period in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Alex Ovechkin #8 and Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals watch a replay after Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes (not pictured) scored a goal in the second period in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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What will the future of the goaltending look like?

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: Goalie Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals look on against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: Goalie Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals look on against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

The top storyline entering the 2019-20 season will be the performance of Braden Holtby and if the Washington Capitals have him in their plans of a contract extension. This topic will be talked about throughout the season.

RALEIGH, NC – SEPTEMBER 21: Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during the 3rd period of the preseason Carolina Hurricanes game versus the Washington Capitals on September 21, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – SEPTEMBER 21: Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) during the 3rd period of the preseason Carolina Hurricanes game versus the Washington Capitals on September 21, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Will Ilya Samsonov get NHL action and if so how much? Will there be competition for the backup between Pheonix Copley and Vitek Vanecek and/or Samsonov. Add in the factor of the Seattle expansion draft, and you got an interesting development worth keeping an eye on whether you’re in Hershey or Washington.

Say the Capitals were to let Holtby walk after the season. If so, Samsonov would need a look for some NHL experience so the Capitals can get a small sample size of their future. How the top goalies on both the Capitals big club and prospect system perform in 2019-20 dictates the goaltending future.

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