
#2 Caps have something they haven’t had since the Cup run
The Caps roster will feature eight players that are 25 years of age or younger. This is something the Caps haven’t had in their lineup since 2017 18.
Among the roster this year in that age 25 or under threshold are Alex Alexeyev who’s 23, Martin Fehervary who’s 24, Lucas Johansen who’s 25, Beck Malenstyn who’s 25, Connor McMichael who’s 22, Matthew Phillips who’s 25, Aliaksei Protas who’s 22, and Rasmus Sandin who’s 23.
The Caps folks on that Cup squad who were 25 years of age or younger include Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Jakub Vrana, Brett Connolly, Devante Smith Pelly, Christian Djoos, Nathan Walker, and Philipp Grubauer.
Those people I just mentioned were just as big as contributing to the Cup as Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom were. Evgeny Kuznetsov was the one who scored the historic goal to end the Caps second round jinx. That came in overtime in a thrilling series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Devante Smith Pelly scored big goals in the playoffs including three straight finals games capping it off with the game tying goal in the Cup clincher in Game 5.
Jakub Vrana had some big moments of his own. A game winner in Game 5 of the second round to put the Pens on the brink as well as the first goal in that Stanley Cup Game 5.
Because of those eight players making the team, the Caps are now tied for the sixth oldest roster in the NHL with an average age of 28.8. That’s a whole lot better than being the oldest or second oldest.