Washington Capitals: Top 5 key players for a successful season

RALEIGH, NC – APRIL 15: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals goes down in the crease and hugs the pipe to protect the net in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 15, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals will look for a successful 2019-20 season.

But in order for that to happen, there are five particular Washington Capitals players that need to step up. Some of these guys are inconsistent and are looking for more level playing this upcoming season.

Others are coming off of career seasons and will look to build on them. Others have came off of down years and are poised to bounce back. Of course, there’s the one’s who either just got paid or are about to get paid the big bucks.

The most exciting part about this time of year is some of our burning questions and even our lingering questions surrounding the Washington Capitals are about to get answered. Training camp and preseason will see this in more ways than one as the Caps look to get under the salary cap for opening night.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) reacts after his second period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 24, 2019, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

These are the five players that I believe if they bring their “A-Game”, the Capitals should have a successful 2019-20 regular season and carry that into the playoffs for a hopeful run at another Stanley Cup. They’ll have a chip on their shoulder this upcoming season after bowing out in the first round and that drive will help them in the long run as they’ll look for a much shorter summer in 2020.