Top 5 bold Capitals predictions for 2022

#3 Peter Laviolette wins the Jack Adams

I’m not just saying this because I called it after Todd Reirden got fired. The fact that he’s had to manage a lineup filled with rookies who had no prior NHL experience, had to manage a roster dealing with injuries and COVID issues all season, there’s no doubt Coach Peter Laviolette should be in the running for the Jack Adams award. Our contributor CJ Witt even wrote that.

Like Witt says, it’ll be a tricky award to win considering the Caps are expected to make the playoffs every year. Now imagine, and I wish they did this, they judged the Jack Adams based on playoff performances too.

Laviolette doesn’t even have to win a Cup. He would just need to guide the Caps towards a decent run and any decent playoff run starts with winning in the first round, something the Caps hadn’t done since tasting championship glory in 2018.

Now Laviolette isn’t a perfect coach by any means and some of his decisions have made me and the contributors scratch our heads but at the end of the day as long as they get the win, that’s all that matters.

Coming into the year the Caps were expected to be the oldest team in the league. Now with the rookie infusion combined with the veterans, they can be a serious Cup contender in 2022 and Laviolette will be leading the charge.