Top 3 things that the Capitals need to fix for 2022

The Washington Capitals suffered another first round exit yet again. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Caps pretty much tried the same thing the last two years and it didn’t work.

Peter Laviolette now enters the final year of his contract. There hasn’t been any talks about an extension and with a results driven owner extension talks are unlikely to happen this summer. So it’s pretty much a make or break season coming up for the Caps bench boss.

Here are 3 things the Caps need to fix next season.

#3 Forwards

The Caps need to adjust their lineup, particularly the bottom six. It’s time to get younger and faster. That starts with Connor McMichael playing the third line center and parting ways with Lars Eller. The Caps have all four of their varsity forwards under contract. Evgeny Kuznetsov isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Nic Dowd, who signed a contract extension in November. That makes Eller the odd man out.

The only way Nicklas Backstrom is no longer on the Caps is if he can no longer play due to that hip injury. If Backstrom can’t play then that creates an even bigger hole at the center position that’ll need to be filled.