The Washington Capitals are in a unique position compared to other teams in the NHL right now. After Alex Ovechkin took the All Star weekend by storm with the help of his four year old son Sergei, the team is now relaxing on the beach during the bye week. No practice till Thursday.
Their next game is Saturday afternoon at the Boston Bruins in the first of a back to back completing the set at home for Super Bowl Sunday against the San Jose Sharks.
Sitting at a 27-20-6 record with 60 points 53 games into the season with 29 left, the Caps have played more games than the three Metropolitan Division teams in front of them. They’ve played three more than the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, two more than the Carolina Hurricanes and four more than the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Caps lead the Penguins by just three points in the Wild Card standings for the first spot but that could change by this weekend depending on what the Pens do.
But nonetheless the Caps are still in position to possibly make the playoffs, so that’s why I think they should take a cautious approach to this year’s upcoming trade deadline which is on March 3.
The things I’ve been hearing is that after locking up forwards Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano, they’ll be looking to do something on defense. Only John Carlson is guaranteed to play next season in a Caps uniform but he’s injured. The rest are free agents with only two being restricted.
Could the Caps possibly trade a defenseman on an expiring contract so they can be a rental to another team? Is it worth the shot? But who?
Over on the forward front I think they’re set but they also have Tom Wilson and Nic Dowd injured. Goaltending is OK. They got what they needed this summer and that’s the important thing.
Another rumor we’ve all heard is Lars Eller getting traded. Or even Anthony Mantha. I see one thing happening but not the other the question is which one. But one of those said moves could and probably will happen. At least in my crystal ball.
So I think the Caps could possibly be a bit of both. We are still under a month and the team has a lot of things to figure out if they want to keep the playoff contending going. One bad move and it could cost them the playoffs altogether.