It’s been four years since the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup and some say it feels like it’s been even longer. This is the most important offseason coming up for General Manager Brian MacLellan. It is vital he gets this right or we’ll be going through a rebuild sooner rather than later.
So there’s a lot of concerns around the best team in D.C. right now. What are the top 5? Well to start, there’s been a lot of drama everywhere that comes with a fourth straight first round exit. Everything from the core to the goaltending.
#5 The Core
One of the biggest concerns the Capitals must address this offseason is whether or not there should be changes to the core. Given the up in the air right now status of Nicklas Backstrom, that core could get shaken up based on unfortunate circumstances alone.
It’s doubtful Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, or Dmitry Orlov will go anywhere. But they also have Tom Wilson hurt. John Carlson could be a wild card unless GMBM is feeling Oshie or another forward. Thank god Kuznetsov didn’t go anywhere. That would’ve cost the Caps dearly. Instead Kuznetsov completed an inspiring revenge tour.
Could the core run it back another year or will a couple more faces from that Cup winning team disappear?