Top 3 burning questions as the Capitals gear up for 2023-24
It’s that time of year again. Players are back in town for informal skates. More players will trickle in soon. Washington Capitals hockey is upon us and there’s several questions. But what are the three burning questions as we eagerly await for training camp to start?
#3 Can Alex Ovechkin continue to be “the man”?
We ask this question every year because every year Alex Ovechkin gets a year older and doubts from outside the DMV begin to creep in on whether this will be the year Father Time catches up to the great eight.
With 822 goals in his career and three more seasons left on his deal that he signed in 2021, he needs just 72 to tie Wayne Gretzky and 73 to pass him for the sport’s biggest all time record: the most goals.
Last year Ovechkin had 42 which is pretty good considering he was 37. Now he’ll be 38 and even a 40ish goal season would be good. If he can get between 40-50 goals, get your season tickets right away because in 2024-25 it could very well happen.
Ovechkin is still in Russia having just celebrated his son Sergei’s fifth birthday with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme. I imagine he should be making his way back to town very soon.
#2 Can the Caps stay healthy?
Injuries were a big problem last season. It wasn’t the sole reason they missed the playoffs but it played a big part in that. Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game. Everybody gets hurt.
You get hurt in a game. I get hurt in a game. LeBron James gets hurt in a game. It’s sports. It happens.
But last year the injuries among the Caps were bad. Every week it seemed like as someone else got better, another player went down. This continued throughout the year.
Simply put, the less injuries the Caps suffer this season the better off they’ll be. There are some players still hurt. T.J. Oshie ended the season with a double ablation on his back after the season. Nic Dowd had a core procedure when the season ended.
Rasmus Sandin didn’t have a serious injury but he did get hurt in international competition. New guy Max Pacioretty is still healing.
It was bad enough the Caps started the season without Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. Things got worse as guys like Beck Malenstyn and John Carlson got hurt. There were more than that too. Much more.
So staying healthy is the key here.
#1 How will the Capitals adapt to Spencer Carbery’s new system?
The Caps needed a fresh face behind the bench. Of course we thought a veteran would work but it didn’t but we didn’t know Peter Laviolette didn’t like kids.
Spencer Carbery has no NHL head coaching experience but his head coaching experience in the minors and assistant coaching experience with the Toronto Maple Leafs should pay dividends.
With the Maple Leafs, they had the best offense in the league including the best power play. That’s something the Capitals have been looking to resurrect for a number of years.
Carbery told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com:
“We’re champing at the bit here. When things first happened, there’s a lot of obligations and you’re trying to just get settled in … Now that that stuff has all been taken care of, now it sort of gets to, ‘Let’s get this thing rolling.'”
Must Read. Anthony Mantha lost 10 pounds, can he bounce back?. light
Training camp is under a month away. Carbery is ready to work with this team. He already moved his wife and kids into Virginia, filled out his coaching staff, and communicated with his players throughout the summer.