If you were to tell someone in October of this past year that the Washington Capitals were going to be tied for first place in the Presidents Trophy race for the 2024-2025 season, they would likely not believe you, even for a second. An all but aged star, a second-year head coach, a roster with no true playmakers and questionable at best goalie play is not exactly the recipe for a winning season, much less a chance at a one seed and the Presidents trophy.
Bryan Murphy, a reporter for sportingnews.com, made his picks for who will and who will not make the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Teams such as the Florida Panthers, the New Jersey Devils, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Edmonton Oilers were highlighted as forecasted division winners with teams such as the Utah Hockey Club and the Detroit Red Wings returning to the dance.
Looking more specifically at the Eastern Conference and the Metropolitan Division, no teams were highlighted as wild card teams, including our very own Washington Capitals. The Capitals were shown as the predicted 7th seed in the division, only ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Looking at things now, it is alll but safe to say that the Capitals will not come in second to last place in the Metropolitan Division. Aging superstars Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson have continued to play at a high level. Connor McMichael, Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas are all becoming very solid top 6 forwards.
The real story of the potential Presidents Trophy winner has been about the goalie pairing, and this time I'm not talking about the 2022-2023 Boston Bruins. Both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have had above a 0.900 save percentage with Thompson sitting at 0.925 and Lindgren sitting at 0.904. Thompson has definitely been the clear starter with a 22-2-3 (47 points) record against Lindgrens 11-9-2 (24 points).
All in all, the Capitals unexpected run should not be so unexpected. The Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Division to the surprise of many, and the Florida Panthers made the 2023 Stanley Cup despite being a criticized eight seed. Time will tell on whether or not this Capitals team is a fluke or for real.