Capitals April Fools: Top 3 foolish mistakes they made in 2020
The Washington Capitals sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division during the pause in the NHL season but they haven’t been perfect.
With all that is going on in the world, we need a few laughs here and there. With no Washington Capitals hockey for the foreseeable future and today being April Fools Day, let’s take a look back at a few of their follies.
We’re not here to prank you into thinking how intelligent they were during the following things we’ll mention. Nope, we’re just going to bluntly tell you how it is.
3. Not improving since the turn of the New Year
Take this with a grain of salt but ever since the end of December, the Caps haven’t been the class of the NHL that they were during the first part of the season. In fact, their last game resulted in a loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The SABRES!
It’s very sad that the week began with us fearing for the worst in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings but instead, we all know what happened. They never played.
Dating back to December 23rd, the Caps had a 15-14-3 record. That’s not a winning formula for the ultimate goal.
#2 Shipping Chandler Stephenson
It was a tough move in December with the Capitals battling salary cap trouble all season long and a move they had to make to save up cap space. But it doesn’t make the loss any less hurting. The Caps had to decide between retaining Travis Boyd or Chandler Stephenson. Boyd was coming off a stretch of great play so the team chose option A.
Who did they trade Stephenson to? The Vegas Golden Knights for a fifth round pick in 2021’s NHL Draft.
Picture that for a second. Stephenson, one of our very own that came up through the system and helped win the Caps a Stanley Cup donning the uniform of their opponents from that season. It’s a weird look.
Stephenson was a third round pick at 77th overall back in 2012. Prior to leaving Washington, he had just three goals and one assist. Since joining the Golden Knights, he’s scored eight goals and added 14 assists for 22 points. It looks like the change in scenery helped him.
As a member of the Capitals, Stephenson had 14 goals and 19 assists in total. Now he’s getting career-high numbers out west in Sin City.
Say it with me fans, what were they thinking?
#1 Trading Andre Burakovsky over the summer
Andre Burakovsky. Some fans loved him for his charm, his speed, and his game. Others hated his inconsistent play. The latter was why the Capitals moved him to save salary cap money. From a business standpoint it was smart but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a huge loss for the boys in red, who have needed a spark since the turn of 2020.
The Capitals traded Andre Burakvosky for picks in the second and third rounds of 2020’s NHL Draft which might not happen due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. They also got unrestricted free agent forward Scott Kosmachuk as part of the deal but he was never going to suit up for the Caps.
Burakvosky had been part of the trade rumors for several seasons but the Caps always held onto him in mid-February showing their commitment to the young forward.
Now he’s a 20-goal scorer for a red hot Colorado Avalanche team. He has a career-high 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points. We certainly could’ve used that offensive firepower here in Washington!
Those are the top 3 foolish mistakes the Capitals made this year. What are your top 3? Happy April Fools Day, Caps fans.
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