Washington Capitals: Top 3 reasons to get excited for 2019

Washington Capitals fans, August is over. We’ve made it.

September has begun and training camp, the preseason and, ultimately, opening night is so close you can just taste it. The Washington Capitals enter a highly anticipating season looking to get back to win another Stanley Cup.

There are several interesting storylines and even more burning and lingering questions as the Capitals embark on a highly anticipated and all-important 2019-20 season.

The offseason began way too early than Alex Ovechkin and the fans would’ve liked. Having just won the Cup, Washington bowed out in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes in a double overtime contest that could’ve gone either way.

Washington said goodbye to Brett Connolly, Andre Burakovsky, Matt Niskanen and Devante Smith-Pelly from their Cup-winning squad and said hello to more defense. They extended the contract of Carl Hagelin. They upgraded their defense. In addition to Nick Jensen, they added Radko Gudas. The Capitals also added bottom six depth in Garnet Hathaway, Brendan Leipsic and Richard Panik.

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Overall, the Capitals look like a quality team on paper that should once again vie for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Of course, there’s bigger goals than that. They upgraded defensively and if the offense stays afloat, look out!

Here are our top 3 reasons to get excited for 2019 Caps fans!

#3 Alex Ovechkin continues to chase greatness

Alex Ovechkin continues to defy both age and father time. Many fans across the NHL wonder if the Great Eight will do the same in 2019-20. As we’ve seen both across the DMV and globally when Ovechkin was recently in China, he’s made an impact across hockey fans worldwide.

Ovechkin will turn 34 at the start of the preseason. His son Sergei is already a year old. Father time is undefeated but Ovechkin is in an epic death match with it. And winning.

49 goals before leading Washington to the Stanley Cup and adding a Conn Smythe Trophy to his name and then a 51 goal season the next year, expect Ovechkin to continue to lead the Capitals in what could be the last full year with the strength of the core.

With 658 career goals and numbers rising up, it’s looking more and more likely that it’s possible Ovechkin can catch Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. It looks unbreakable on the surface but maybe not at the rate Ovechkin is going.

Expect to see Ovechkin continue to lead the next two seasons and enjoy the ride. It could be the last time we see him, Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby on the same roster. A core we grew up with could be splitting up as soon as next summer.

#2 The competition got better

This also causes our collective stress levels to skyrocket but better competition within the Metropolitan Division makes for must see TV this fall more than any drama or sitcom.

There’s no reason to think the Washington Capitals won’t win the metro division. On paper, the team looks stacked. But their rivals got better too. Well, except maybe the ones from Pittsburgh.

The New Jersey Devils drafted Jack Hughes with the top pick in the NHL Draft, traded for P.K. Subban and signed Wayne Simmonds. The New York Rangers drafted Kaapo Kakko with the second pick and signed Artemi Panarin.

The Philadelphia Flyers have Matt Niskanen now and more than just Gritty. The Pittsburgh Penguins are still the Penguins with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co. The Carolina Hurricanes have rekindled a rivalry with the Caps after those “Bunch of Jerks” ended their season on home ice.

It’s not just the Metro Division that’s good either. The Tampa Bay Lightning are determined to win a Cup after getting humiliated in the first round of the playoffs. The Florida Panthers now have Sergei Bobrovsky. The Boston Bruins are always a challenge especially now that they’re coming off an Eastern Conference title.