The National Hockey League regular season is right around the corner now. October is officially here and we are just days away from puck drop on the 2021-22 NHL season. It’s an exciting time for all hockey fans, and that obviously includes Washington Capitals fans.
This is the time of year where nearly every fanbase across the hockey world has some kind of hope. Some have higher hopes than others, some hope to just take that next step. For the last decade or longer the Capitals have had those higher hopes. That is no different this season.
It’s Stanley Cup or bust for this team. We are late in the Alex Ovechkin era and there is no more time to be wasted. The stars on this team are getting older as are the key surrounding pieces. There are some promising young guys making a push this preseason and training camp, however only time will tell if they can infuse enough energy and desire to get this team back on top of the NHL mountain.
Being in Cup or bust mode means there is no doubt that this team will make the playoffs. It means that when you talk about the Capitals there should only be a couple of other teams that you talk about with them in terms of Cup aspirations.
However, looking at the current odds to win the Cup the Capitals are pretty far down on the list. Currently there are twelve teams that have better odds to win the Stanley Cup. Not exactly a great spot to be in for a team that has the goals that Washington has.
With that being noted, we are a long ways away from the Stanley Cup. That trophy will be presented in just about eight months from now. There is a ton of hockey to be played between now and then. There will be well over 1,000 NHL games played this season, an all-star break and likely an Olympic hockey tournament happening before Lord Stanley gets passed around in the summer. Odds can change.
The thing that caught me off guard when looking at the odds wasn’t how far the Capitals were in the Cup odds. The surprising thing to me was how far down they were in the division. In their division alone the Capitals have three teams with higher odds to win the Cup.
Before this season starts, the team with the best odds to win the Metropolitan division is the Carolina Hurricanes. They narrowly lead the Pittsburgh Penguins who are at two and the New York Islanders are slightly behind them at three. The Capitals are tied with the New York Rangers in fourth.
For me, this begs the question. Are the Capitals really the fourth or fifth best team in their own division? When you look at the teams in this division is Washington really that far down?
Carolina made a lot of headlines this summer. Some bad, some I guess that you could consider good. But they did lose a superstar defenseman in Dougie Hamilton. How will that affect them this season?
The Penguins are good, and they did win the East division last season (they tied with the Caps last season but got the tie breaker) but there always seems to be injury concerns with that franchise, and they start this year missing a giant piece yet again.
The Islanders may easily be the best team in this division, but this isn’t a team that does that well in the regular season. It’s a team built for the playoffs. “Just get in, then we’ll wreak havoc”, they’re one of those teams.
The Rangers are in a rebuild, very possibly being on the very backend of that process however. There is a lot of thought this could be the year they jump back into the postseason. And again, looking at the preseason odds, Vegas clearly thinks this as well.
The Capitals, well they are the opposite version of the Islanders. We do well in the regular season, not so well in the spring. This is a franchise that has won five of the seven possible Metropolitan division titles. They have won five straight Metro division titles, aiming for a sixth this season.
The team is still a very good team. I have the Capitals winning this division going into the season. Washington has questions going into this season just like everybody else, but the questions they face they have faced before and they have overcome them. Defense I feel is still an issue, as is goaltending, but this is nothing new from the past few seasons in D.C.
They have won division crowns with these questions in recent seasons. The other teams have questions that need answering before you can put them ahead of the Capitals in my opinion.
How will Carolina look after losing a Norris caliber defenseman? What’s their goaltending going to look like?
Can Pittsburgh stay healthy? What’s their goalie situation?
Can the Islanders be as great in the regular season? Do they care about winning the division as much?
Will the Rangers take a step up in their rebuild or stay stagnant?
When I look at the odds I struggle to see the Capitals as being the fourth or fifth best team. Only time will tell.