Washington Capitals: Three Biggest Questions as we Approach the Regular Season
By David Atlas
The Left-Side of the Defense Rests on Michal Kempny’s Left Leg
The biggest question as far as lineup composition is how the left side of the Washington Capitals will look behind Dmitry Orlov. The Russian blue-liner looks poised to have a breakout season and will likely anchor the top pairing alongside John Carlson but aside from that, there are no safe bets. Michal Kempny, back from three significant injuries to his left leg is one of the front-runners to win an everyday spot. A crucial member of the team’s 2018 Stanley Cup victory, Kempny is finally healthy again and ready to make an impact. Over the off-season, Kempny began working with a new trainer, Dominik Kodras in hopes to return stronger than ever.
"“I just felt that I needed some change in my stuff back home,” Kempny said. “It was tough decision to make but I’m glad I made it. I work with this guy right now. He’s really good. A lot of people back home coming to see him with tough history with injuries and stuff like that. He’s really good at it. We worked twice a day from the start. We did a lot of simple exercises to get my left leg back in balance and to be without any pain all summer. We worked really hard. We didn’t do any jumping, any running. We made some changes in my training. We just really focused on, to come back here, healthy, pain-free, and ready to go.”"
Kempny, like Kuznetsov, has the right attitude heading into camp.
"“I’m just focusing on my game and myself. I’m here 100 percent. I’m healthy. I feel good on the ice. I can’t wait to play the games, two preseason games. Only thing I can say is I did everything I could this summer to be in this spot. I’m just going to give everything I got every day here and go from there.”"
"To be able to compete with the guys, it just means a lot to me. I've been through a lot the last couple years, so I'm glad to be here right now."
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 24, 2021
Michal Kempny on working his way back to full strength and participating in this year's training camp.#ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/deV365ygGG
If things work out for the Washington Capitals, Michal Kempny will turn the clock back to 2018 and Martin Fehervary will make the next leap in his development and be a full-time NHL defenseman, the Capitals will be one of the most well-rounded teams in the NHL. However, if things don’t work out as planned and Kempny can’t perform or Fehervary struggles to adjust to the NHL the Capitals suddenly will have a glaring weakness on their blue-line.