The Washington Capitals are going into their new season with plenty of questions. Most of the questions that they had going into the off-season have been answered. At least on paper they have been answered. It’s another thing for those same questions to be answered on the ice.
One of the questions that I have for this team is something this franchise has not had to worry about for a long time. Center depth.
Again, on paper, this looks like a bit of a non issue. Down the middle the Capitals look set to roll out Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dylan Strome, Lars Eller and Nic Dowd. That looks fairly strong. A lot of teams around the league would probably be happy with that lineup.
Three questions
In my mind, there are three questions in that lineup.
Why don’t we start at the very top. Evgeny Kuznetsov. If you have read anything I have written in the past you might think I enjoy picking on Kuznetsov. Out of everyone on the Capitals he is quite possibly the player I have written most about.
If you have followed me for a while now you will also know that I truly believe that Kuznetsov could be and has top ten NHL talent. If he brought his A game on most nights I think we would and should put his name among the very best this game has to offer. Bottom line, he doesn’t, so we can’t, and like so many others that frustrates me.
Last season he started very, very good. After that, about halfway through the season he fell into the invisible Kuznetsov trap again. He was able to put up points last season. Then again in the playoffs he wasn’t nearly as noticeable as I thought he needed to be. The Florida Panthers did everything they could to give that series to Washington and they still couldn’t find a way to beat them.
It’s hard to put that series on one guys shoulders, and I wouldn’t do that. But if Kuznetsov became that player, if he took control and dominated games like we know he can, maybe, just maybe things go another way.
He has to be a question mark going into the new season. He is a question mark going into every game, so if you think you can get a consistent season from him I wish I had your optimism.
Then we go ahead and look at the assumed number two center, new guy Dylan Strome.
In a surprising move the Capitals snagged Strome in free agency signing him to a pretty cheap deal on a one year contract.
This was a terrific signing. If everything works out well then the Capitals signed a guy on the cheap and they have their second line center. He is a RFA after this season which gives the Capitals some control as well.
On the other hand, if it doesn’t work out for whatever reason, or if the Capitals are a struggling team and find themselves out of the race, this could be a very good trade chip.
The question here is obvious though. Can Strome produce? Can Strome be a top six center on a team that has incredibly high aspirations?
In six NHL seasons, albeit some of those seasons for Strome were very short, stats wise Strome has only had two good seasons. His first good season was in 2018-19 where he scored 51 points in 58 games. The next was last year when he scored 48 points in 69 games, he also put up 22 goals.
When I read about Strome it sounded like he was a pretty good player no matter where he played with the Blackhawks. But the numbers show that he really only produced when he played with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
The Capitals are going to need their second line center to put up some points, and as far as I remember Strome isn’t bringing Kane or DeBrincat to D.C. with him. Washington has some good players and there will be good players on their second line, but those good players are not a former MVP and one of the better goal scorers in the league today.
What does Strome bring to the Capitals? That is something I can’t answer, and no one else can either. We will just have to wait and see.
The third line center I think needs to answer some questions too, that being Lars Eller. It’s hard to believe, but Eller is already entering his 7th season in Washington. He has been a very important player for the Capitals, being a great third line center or someone who can go up the lineup if something happened to Backstrom or Kuznetsov.
Last year was a bit of a down season for the Dane. He was able to finish the season with 13 goals and 31 points in 72 games but a later surge helped his point totals. In the last month of the season he scored 4 goals and 8 points. Before that he was on pace to have a somewhat disappointing season when talking about production.
The question I have for Eller this year is this. Was last season the start of what he is now? A player who will produce less. Or was it just a bit of a fluke thanks to him having issues with COVID not once, but twice?
If Eller wanted to use the getting the virus as an excuse I would buy and easily accept that excuse. Not only did he test positive, he did so twice on road trips that left him stranded in that city for extended amounts of time.
With questions in front of him on the depth chart I think that also puts some pressure on Eller. If Kuznetsov cannot be consistent and if Strome can’t find his way in Washington that means if Eller struggles the Capitals are suddenly very iffy at the center position.
He is now 33-years-old. If a decline were to start it wouldn’t be surprising. Father time comes for us all, some sooner than others. Maybe he has come for Eller’s best NHL days.
I think I have less concerns about Eller than I do the guys above him. However, like I said, if the two guys above him don’t have very good seasons that will put a lot more pressure on him. That concerns me because I think that is a very real possibility.
Finally we go down to the fourth line and Nic Dowd. I’m not going to lie, I don’t think I have any issues with Dowd. We know what he is and what he can bring. A good skating, physical, hard working player who does exactly what you want a fourth liner to do.
Through that hard work he is someone who will give you around 10 goals and if everything goes to plan around 20 or maybe mid 20’s in points. Of all the centers in this Capitals lineup Dowd is the guy I have the least amount of questions for.
You could probably add more guys to this list. How about Connor McMichael? Does he get a shot or an extended shot at the center position? At the very least I think he should get some games at the position.
What about others guys. Lapierre, Protas, Pilon, do any of them come into camp and preseason and show the coaching staff they should get a look if needed?
This is not the Capitals of the last near decade. Washington was no braining the center position for a bunch of years. With the ability to roll out Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Eller then Dowd or Beagle, there just wasn’t much to think about when talking about centers.
We are now several years down the line. Backstrom likely is out for the entire season. Kuznetsov is still streaky and the down streaks tend to last longer than you would like. Eller is getting older and coming off a hard season. We really have no idea what Strome will bring. Finally, if needed, we have no idea who could step in if someone doesn’t play well enough.
The center is a very important position. It would not be stretch at all to say that depth at this position has determined playoff series and Cup winners. Washington has been a little spoiled here for a bunch of years now.
This season, there are some questions that need to be answered.