Top 3 reasons Brian MacLellan earned his promotion

#2 He’s the right guy for the Caps to win again

Turnover happens everywhere in sports but give the Capitals credit. Their front office for the most part has been stable. And for good reason. They know how to keep their teams competitive.

A lot of people took the MacLellan re signing for granted. I won’t go as far to say those guys don’t know puck, like my colleagues over on X are saying. But I will say that we have it better than a lot of other teams.

But wanting to win again is going to be easier said than done. Not quite because of GMBM but because of age. When MacLellan relieved George McPhee, his former college teammate at Bowling Green, the Caps had a core of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson still young.

Now those guys along with MacLellan’s best trade piece, T.J. Oshie, are on the wrong side of 30.

MacLellan told Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post (subscription required):

"“It’s a little harder. I still think we’re competitive. Health’s been a big issue for us. We have an aging roster that lately has been struggling to stay healthy. Some of it is chronic and age-related. Some of it is just weird injuries. I don’t think we’re at the level that we were. I think there’s a possibility of still contending. I think we’re getting closer with the young guys we have now.”"