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Washington Capitals: 5 training camp storylines

By Michael Marzzacco

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 27: Washington Capitals Left Wing Alex Ovechkin (8) during the Capitals practice for the NHL Stanley Cup Final Media Day on May 27, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 27: Washington Capitals Left Wing Alex Ovechkin (8) during the Capitals practice for the NHL Stanley Cup Final Media Day on May 27, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, VA – MARCH 02: Christian Djoos #29 of the Washington Capitals skates during the Washington Capitals practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on March 2, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, VA – MARCH 02: Christian Djoos #29 of the Washington Capitals skates during the Washington Capitals practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on March 2, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

#2 Roster Battles

MacLellan checked everything off of his offseason to-do list but there was one glaring issue. The Capitals are over the salary cap. Teams are allowed to be over until the end of the preseason so it’s likely the performance of some bottom-six forwards and a few defensemen will dictate the direction MacLellan goes.

On the forward front, Chandler Stephenson and Travis Boyd are both on the hot seat and it’s been that way since July 1. The Capitals acquired three bottom-six forwards in Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway and Brendan Leipsic.

ARLINGTON, VA – MARCH 02: Travis Boyd #72 of the Washington Capitals makes his way through the hallway prior to the Washington Capitals practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on March 2, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, VA – MARCH 02: Travis Boyd #72 of the Washington Capitals makes his way through the hallway prior to the Washington Capitals practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on March 2, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The competition on the fourth line could be up for grabs. Stephenson was re-signed by the Caps but the deal had to be done through a neutral arbitrator. The contract is enough to shed salary to send him right down to Hershey. His full salary of $1.05 milion would be taken off the books.

LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 27: Washington Capitals Winger Chandler Stephenson (18) during the Capitals practice for the NHL Stanley Cup Final Media Day on May 27, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 27: Washington Capitals Winger Chandler Stephenson (18) during the Capitals practice for the NHL Stanley Cup Final Media Day on May 27, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Boyd carries an $800,000 cap hit and is set to become a restricted free agent after the season. Taking him off the books wouldn’t be enough to get under the cap. With $1,364,294 over the cap (via CapFriendly), GMBM has to get creative and it’ll make these preseason games worth watching.

The bottom six isn’t the only ones with competition. On the defensive front, there’s a spot on the second pairing that could be open next to Dmitry Orlov as well as three blueliners fighting for two spots on the third pair. Radko Gudas will be competing with Nick Jensen for the spot on the second pair.

https://twitter.com/NBCSWashington/status/1172155524068052993

But the biggest thing to watch that will affect the future of the blueline is the competition between Christian Djoos and Jonas Siegenthaler. Djoos will look to bounce back from a down season plagued by injury while Sigenthaler will look to build on his solid rookie campaign.

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