Nic Dowd looks to show reliability
One last Washington Capitals player preview to go, then it’s prediction time! Today we break down Nic Dowd and what he can bring this upcoming season.
If there’s one thing about Dowd since he came on board in 2018 filling in the void of Jay Beagle is that he is always reliable. He can win face offs. He can delver the hits. He can score goals. And he can set up his teammates.
These are all intangibles you want to have for a fourth line center and I’m pretty sure the only reason he is even on the fourth line is the fact that the Caps are well stocked on centers. In front of him is the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dylan Strome.
Dowd’s numbers always improved since coming to the Caps and last season was his best season. He scored a career high 13 goals and added 12 assists for a career high 25 points. He did this in 65 games. He did get hurt late in the season but he should be good to go come training camp one week from today.
Dowd averaged 13:21 minutes of ice time per game. He also had 136 hits and 61 blocked shots while winning 50.8 percent of his face off draws.
The center depth is stacked. Dowd will probably occupy the fourth line. Who’s next to him on the left and right side remains to be seen and could be decided come training camp.
Gone is Garnet Hathaway. Carl Hagelin retired but the Caps were already used to life without him as he didn’t play at all last season. Nicolas Aube Kubel could be a lock to Dowd’s right. To Dowd’s left? I think it’ll come down to Joe Snively and Aliaksei Protas.
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The Capitals will have Dowd’s services for two more seasons before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025.