5 Capitals who will be back in 2023

The Washington Capitals are gearing up for another season and still figuring out who their next coach is. We have a general idea, well okay predictions, on who won’t be back. So today let’s look at who will be back next season.

Some of these will be obvious. But it was honestly more trickier coming up with this list than the last one. I had to really think about it.

#5 Tom Wilson

A lot of non Caps fans are dreaming. They can keep on doing that. Tom Wilson is here to stay. I don’t have a source but I have a brain.

Never mind that he is next in line to be team captain when Alex Ovechkin retires. Trading Tom Wilson would be a terrible mistake. Nobody has the complete tools of hitting, fighting and scoring goals like he does.

Wilson will be due a significant raise and Brian MacLellan told reporters on breakdown day he is open to doing that. He can do it as soon as this summer. Wilson is an unrestricted free agent in July of 2024.

#4 T.J. Oshie

Some fans have speculated that the team should trade T.J. Oshie. Their reasoning is the cap hit and recent injury history. I say not so fast. Trading Oshie would be another mistake.

The dude is the heart and soul of the team. Nobody plays the kind of style that he does. He’s not afraid to take the big shot. He’s not afraid to lay out the hit. And he makes those around him better.

You don’t get that with many players. Caps are lucky.

Oshie though is due for a good year. He hopes the full normal summer with extra time to prepare will help him be the player we all know and love.

Even though Oshie was dealing with injuries all season to the point he got shut down when the Caps were eliminated from the playoffs, he still managed to have 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points.

A 20 goal season from Oshie could be redemption. A 30 goal season would show why keeping him would be worth it.

#2 Connor Brown

The Caps should 100 percent give Connor Brown another chance. After all we all barely got to see him play because he suffered the same injury Tom Wilson did last spring.

Brown played in just four games before the injury. The previous season he had 10 goals after scoring 21 the year before with the Ottawa Senators.

Brown suffered an ACL injury costing him the season. It led to more injuries and ultimately the Caps missing the playoffs.

Brown said this at breakdown day to the media:

“It’s been the biggest test of my career so far, to be able to be honest, to go through this. You come to a new team, you’re adjusting early, playing with the new system, new guys and then to have the season cut really short like that after I felt like I settled in nicely in the preseason — I felt really good about my game coming into this as far as me personally and it was just, it’s obviously tough. When you get three games you don’t really have time to find a groove and then it’s cut short. But you gain perspective going through things like this, so at this point, I am grateful for the lessons and looking forward to the future.”

#1 Nicklas Backstrom

The Caps longtime center and the Caps GM aren’t on the same page when it comes to Nicklas Backstrom playing next season. Backstrom is confident a full summer can help him get ready. GMBM? Not so much.

He is skeptical that the hip injury Backstrom suffered could get worse and that the center should make a decision.

I think Backstrom deserves the right to train and see where he’s at come training camp. If he is confident he can play good! If he isn’t he can always take a front office role so he can still be around the team.

And those are the five players I believe will be back with the Capitals next season.