The Capitals have improved drastically—a new banner being hung in the fall will prove that.
How do the Caps plan on taking that next step?
By keeping to what they've been doing.
Develop the young talent and then supplement it with one or two more free agents.
The biggest priority has to be to resign Cristobal Huet and Mike Green. Without either, the team wouldn't have made the playoffs.
One could go so far as to argue that had the Canadiens not traded Huet, they'd be the Eastern Conference Champions instead of the Penguins.
Mike Green was the breakout d-man of the year, earning his new nickname, "Game Over."
The team could use another defenseman (Roszival? Orpik?), but another move that might just be required is re-signing Shaone Morrisonn. The RFA (restricted free agent) helped cement the team's defense while Green was skating and making his plays.
With the right defensive pick up and with the (hopeful) right wing emergence of Tomas Fleischmann or Eric Fehr, who has yet to have a full healthy season, coupled with the returns of Chris Clark and Michael Nylander, and the possible return of Brian Pothier, this team could have an even better campaign next season.
Don't be surprised to see the Capitals challenge for the President's trophy or even the Stanley Cup next year. It's not out of the realm of possibility.
If the Pens can go from one round losers to Cup finalists, the Caps, who have been following the same blueprint, but seem to be just a year behind, could easily follow.
The only other question on the team is Fedorov. Would he come back?
If he'd be willing to play on the third line, the point on the power play, and take on a penalty killing role, he'd be a wonderful fit.
If not, look to see him return to the Red Wings or possibly the Ducks, if not retire.
As a Caps fan, I'd be a fool not to answer the one question on most Caps' fans minds—where's Olaf Kolzig going to end up?
My gut instinct tells me he's going to retire. There's not a cup contender that would be willing to have him sign and start immediately.
That said, a starting job in Detroit could easily open if both Osgood and Hasek retire. The thought of that has to make most Caps' fans cringe.
The best part of next season might just be that two numbers should be raised to the Verizon Center's rafters—Kolzig's 37, and Peter Bondra's 12.
This year should be a great year for Caps' fans.
Get ready, because with the sad state of the Redskins, this year could be the start of a shift towards DC becoming a hockey town. It's already a town of turnover.
comments (16) write a comment »
write a new comment
4 months ago
Decent article, but come on the Skins are not in a sad state. They have weapons on offense...and besides DC will never be a Hockey town...When the Caps play well people like them. When they don't no one shows up. The Skins are sold out no matter what. And they have 70,000 more seats to fill than the Caps do.
4 months ago
Kolzig might be able to get on as a backup in Detroit but not as a starter. The job may be open next year but I'd be amazed if they gave it to Kolzig. They have a deep enough roster that they could pickup a goalie from a strugling team without losing too much (I'm thinking Pascal Leclair or even Ramo if they have confidence in him).
4 months ago
Jack - As a former Skins fan, I'm giving up on the team this year. The poor treatment of it's coaches, and the way that things are starting to shape up, no way that team gets back into the playoffs this year.
Stu - I disagree, I don't think the Jackets or Lightning would trade their "Goalie of the future." Olie will not sign anywhere to play as a back-up.
Thanks for the comments~
4 months ago
I think you made some good points, but I think it might be a bit early to say they can win the President's Trophy. Yes anything is possible, but I think this team is a couple of years off for that. I also think Kolzig can find a job on a team that might have a goalie that is a year off from starting full time. If he can't, he might go play in Europe and Russia. I also think Fedorov is a better center than Nylander especially with the chemistry that he created in the end of the season and playoffs with guys like Semin and Ovechkin. If anything, I think he will be a #2 center at worst. Leave me a note if you ever want to talk hockey as I am obsessed!
from 4 months ago
As far as the President's, I don't know if they'll ever win it - but I think starting next year, depending on Karl Alzner's status and if the team can stay relatively injury free, I don't see any reason why they can't make a run for it.
As far as Fedorov, yes. Currently he's a better player - but numbers don't lie - Post-lockout, Fedorov has 97 points. Nyls has 199 points, and he spent most of the last season on the injured reserved list.
If Olie's going to Europe, I predict he's playing in Germany. Probably for Eisbären Berlin, where he played during the lockout. Kölzig, by personal admittance, is the player that drew me into watching hockey. I had been watching off and on, and playing youth hockey, but Olie really kinda cemented my relationship. The fact that he played for Germany's national team (I was born in Landstuhl, W.Germany) and the fact he was a Capital made the "relationship" click.
That said, I think with his family situation, he won't find another team that fits him perfectly. He won't want to go far, as his autistic son's only friends and all of his doctors are all in the DC area. He likely won't go to Europe for this reason.
I think the Caps will likely win the Stanley Cup before winning any President's Trophies.
And, if all the chips fall into place (You could say this for EVERY team) they could start next year.
4 months ago
Well you can give up, but pretty much the rest of DC won't. My point is that DC will never be a hockey town as long as the Skins are there. I'm a diehard and I don't see us having the best of seasons either, but the fans will always be there. Oh and by the way poor treatment of what coaches? Gibbs and Spurrier were two of the top paid coaches in the NFL and Greg Williams and Al Saunders were top paid assistants. GW was the only one anyone could say as treated poorly. And if you go way back maybe Marty.
4 months ago
But focusing on hockey, I do agree that the Caps can be a contender again next year. Once they made the play-offs this season I felt that they could do big things and they were very close to doing so. Now if they can get Huet and return those injured guys like you said, we might have ourselves a good team. With our weak division anything can happen.
from 4 months ago
You're likely right as far as DC sticking to Football, and it likely will. But there are more than 95,000 sports fans in the DC Area, and the three main reasons the Caps struggle with getting tickets sold are 1) The team has a lot of fairweather fans, 2) a good 50% of the fans in the surrounding area are fans of other NHL teams and 3) most caps fans are skins fans, and given the choice would go to a skins game.
The thing about all of that is that 1) The Caps are about to start winning, 2) Winning brings fans of other teams (West Coast or otherwise, I've seen Canes and Rangers fans become Caps fans this year at my University), and 3) If the trends go back to pre-fire sale ticket sellings, the Caps will likely average 16-17k during football season, and when the Skins get eliminated start selling out every game.
As far as mistreatment is concerned, I didn't mean Gibbs or Spurrier, I meant Saunders and Williams, and mainly Williams. He was lead on a leash waiting for the Skins job, while passing on other jobs that would have been his otherwise. I really only watched football for the Redskins, and Dan Snyder's treating of Williams kinda left me with a warped sense of...I don't really want this anymore.
Sold out or not, the Skins fans don't always fill the stadium. I've seen fedex less than half full if the team is doing poorly and is out of playoff contention. The tickets do get sold, and I'd bet that more skins tickets are given away than Caps tickets.
I'll go out on a limb and say as well that the Caps will win a Stanley Cup before the Skins win another Super Bowl.
4 months ago
I could see that...the Caps have a lot of talent while the Skins don't seem even close to winning a Super Bowl. But unless it's the play-offs Caps tickets are very cheap and easy to come by...I was going to games for 10 and twenty bucks once they got good this year and before that the scalpers were practically giving them away. Skins tickets cost money and a lot of it no matter what. By the way we were supposedly dead in the water last year, but we sold out the Bears game and the stadium was near capacity. The Skins are a way of life, the Caps, like you said, only get recognition when they are playing well.
from 4 months ago
A lot of the Bears game being sold out was the fact that fans wanted to come out and honor Sean Taylor, which I won't get into right now, and the team was "Dead in the water", but they showed they could come back. I'm not saying that tickets are *cheaper*. I"m saying that teams often give tickets away to organizations, charities, lots of places. The Caps were lower in attendance than most teams in the NHL, but were in the middle of the pack in tickets sold, partially between fairweather season ticket holders, and partially due to the fact that they don't give many tickets away.
As a friend of someone who's sold tickets to scalpers, yeah, there's scalpers there. But I saw scalpers for the circus when I was passing VC to watch a game at the Green Turtle bar right at the phone booth. Probably more. They were struggling to sell tickets too.
There's so many ways of looking at attendance. The easiest way to avoid having fairweather fans is to win, and I think if the Caps re-sign Huet, you'll see a spike in numbers, though it may not start until January.
4 months ago
I see what your saying, but get this. I went to the Buffalo game at Verizon in November. It was below half full and more than three quarters of the crowd were Buffalo fans. When the game ended (3-1 Sabres) the entire crowd spilled out onto 7th street chanting LET'S GO BUFFALO. Embarrassing. DC can't be a hockey town. Also the Bears game was after the Buffalo Sean Taylor game and by that point nobody (even me) had any faith, but we still showed up. Caps fans are good, but only when the team is doing well.
4 months ago
I never said they weren't - and I have been to several "Mostly other team" fans. In November, the Caps were DEAD LAST in the NHL. What I was saying is, people now when they can't get their Skins tickets might consider going to Caps games, and when skins season is over, look for sell outs. It's the first step towards being a hockey town. Buffalo fans (And Flyers, and Pens fans) will stop coming when it's not fun for them anymore. It wasn't fun for Flyers fans in DC because in the playoffs, it was 98% Caps fans, despite what NBC commentators will have you believe.
In all honesty, you're probably right. But for DC to become a hockey town, some people have to believe it will happen, and some day, I hope and believe it could be.
4 months ago
Yeah you got a point. You gotta believe if you want it to happen. I love the Caps, but the Skins are first to me though and they always will be. But hey both teams are great to root for.
4 months ago
nop one cares about the Redskins they suck. As for the the Caps I think they are gunna be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. They are solid and as for Olie. He is gunna come back as a back-up for the Caps or retire. He would never go anywhere else.
from 4 months ago
Ok then Shane you clearly have never spent much time in DC... even when the Skins suck they draw sell outs. There were more people at the Skins draft party at Fed ex then there were fans at a midseason caps game. And you clearly know nothing about the Caps either because Ollie announced three weeks ago he would not be returning to DC.
4 months ago
Well I am sorry I just don't see how the redskins are relevant in a HOCKEY STORY!!!! and I am all the way in canada I don't get news about WASHINGTON!!
write a new comment