Washington Capitals Grades: Top 3 duds of 2021 season

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Richard Panik, Lars Eller, Conor Sheary, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

It is June and there’s no Washington Capitals hockey. Not that it’s uncommon or anything but had they at least made it past the first round there would’ve been June hockey. Part of the reasons why they didn’t go far will be highlighted.

We’ve already looked at the top 3 studs. It clearly wasn’t any of their faults as to why the Caps couldn’t get over that first round hump. These next three guys we’ll talk about, that’s a different story.

Which players were the biggest disappointment or just simply duds throughout the year. We’ll look at three starting with a player that got traded midseason.

Richard Panik, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

#3 Richard Panik

When the Capitals signed Richard Panik, he was counted on to fill the void left by Andre Burakovsky and Brett Connolly. Instead he underachieved.

He did have an okay season last year when he scored nine goals and added 13 assist for 22 points in 59 games. This past season, his numbers dropped. Panik finished with three goals and six assists for nine points in 36 games before being traded with Jakub Vrana to the Detroit Red Wings.

Panik simply didn’t work out. Burakovsky is thriving with the Colorado Avalanche. It really makes you wonder what if?

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