The Washington Capitals will be returning many of their same guys from last season. If you’re looking for a new face to keep an eye on next season look no further than the defense, in particular Martin Fehervary.
Fehervary was supposed to see a bigger role last season but a crowded blueline plus the addition of Zdeno Chara ultimately made Fehervary the odd man out. There’s now less options on the left side of the defense with the departure of Brenden Dillon and Martin Fehervary will either make or break that blueline.
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Some fans were excited that the team went with Dillon went it came to shipping out a defensemen. Not us. But the reasons the haters expressed it was how he ranked third on the team in penalty minutes and a career negative Corsi For percentage. Still, the loss of Dillon was a loss of a top four defensemen. And now you’re expecting someone who didn’t play in the NHL at all last season to fill in that role?
The best defenseman last season was easily Dmitry Orlov. Behind him, look for both Michal Kempny and Fehervary to fill in the left side. Fehervary only has six games of NHL experience. During the team’s final media availability of the season, Brian MacLellan named Fehervary as a player ready to make the jump to the full time NHL roster next season.
Kempny was brought on at the 2018 trade deadline and instantly plugged into the top pair with John Carlson. It was the midseason trade that would later pay off for the Capitals as they won their first Stanley Cup.
Since then though, Kempny has struggled with injuries. He tore his hamstring in 2019 and when he returned the next season he did not look the same. He also missed all of last season due to an Achilles injury.
With Kempny not 100 percent, though he is training hard this offseason, look for some competition this training camp for the top four on the defense. Fehervary brings a defensive first mentality and can move the puck. He could pair with Justin Schultz.
Listed at six foot two and 200 pounds, Fehervary would also bring a physicality the team will be looking for after the offseason departures of Dillon and Chara. Despite the lack of NHL experience, Fehervary provides both youth and a big body the Caps are looking for on defense.
Training camp is just weeks away and all eyes will be on the defense, especially on Fehervary.