Washington Capitals: With the Roster Down to 27 the Competition is Clear

The Washington Capitals have made significant cuts to their training camp roster. The roster is now down to only 27 players. With at least four more roster cuts required before the puck drops on the 2021-2022 season, there is a clear direction that the organization is moving towards to determine their opening night group.

The biggest news out of that group of players being placed on waivers or being sent down to the Hershey Bears is that Mike Sgarbossa’s chance to fill-in for the injured Nicklas Backstrom ends. Sgarbossa is a serviceable option and has the most NHL experience out of the potential fill-ins but has the lowest potential and has not done anything in the preseason to change that narrative. This leaves only two players, Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, vying for the spot. Both are immensely talented young Canadians with huge upside; many consider McMichael to be the front-runner, but here’s why Lapierre might be better suited to fill that role.

McMichael is older and has more professional experience but Hendrix Lapierre is the hotter of the two players so far. Even though McMichael netted his first preseason goal on Monday night against the New Jersey Devils. Lapierre has assisted on five goals in three games, including McMichael’s strike in New Jersey.

The other battle is to be the team’s 6th and 7th defensemen. Martin Fehervary, Matt Irwin and Michal Kempny are the front-runners. If the injury to Fehervary isn’t severe, it appears that he and Kempny will be the two defenseman selected to make the opening night roster. Coming into camp, it appeared that Fehervary had a spot to lose and he’s done nothing to lose it. On the other hand, Kempny has not had an impressive preseason but he has a proven track record and would be very unlikely to clear waivers.

The roster is quickly taking shape and the Washington Capitals are just over a week away from playing meaningful hockey. What a time it is!