What Needs To Go Right For The Capitals To Compete Next Season
By CJ Witt
Max Pacioretty
We’ve talked a little bit about him already but I think he needs more words on him.
The signing of Pacioretty was a weird one to me. When I saw the Capitals signed him I just kind of rolled my eyes. It was kind of a typical Capitals move of late. They come out and say one thing, such as, we need to get younger and we need to stay healthy. Then they go out and sign a 34-year-old who has had his history with injuries and will miss the start of next season…due to injury. So instead of doing what they say they want to do, they continue to go out and do the opposite.
At the end of the day, it’s not the worst signing though. He signed a cheap one year $2 million deal and he is obviously a good NHL player. It’s a pretty ideal low risk high reward kind of situation for Washington.
The question is, is it worth it? Will he be able to stay healthy. He is coming off two torn Achilles. When he comes back can he find his former form? He’s a player who has scored over thirty goals six times in his career. That’d be great for the Capitals if they knew he could get there again.
But this goes with the other questions. If Ovechkin takes a step back they might need Pacioretty. If Ovechkin takes a step back and the young guys don’t take a step up they will really need Pacioretty. If this older Caps team can’t stay healthy you will almost need to rely on Pacioretty. Can you rely on him with his injury history?
Pacioretty might be one of the more fascinating situations to watch on the Capitals this coming season. Low risk high reward, but the team might need him more than they should need to.