5 Free Agents Who Must Be on the Washington Capitals' Radar

In the end, not even a shortened season could reverse the fate of a Washington Capitals franchise that just seems to find new ways to lose each spring.

Here in 2013, the latest playoff disaster for the Caps saw the team blow a 2-0 series lead, inexplicably, for the ninth time in the team's less-than-stellar playoff history.

As if that was not bad enough, the Caps blew a 3-2 series lead by failing to score a single goal over the final 120 minutes of their series with the New York Rangers.

Suffice it to say, the only hockey fans feeling worse than Caps fans right now are the poor folks in Toronto, who had to endure one of the most heart-breaking collapses in sports history.

Nevertheless, Caps fans used to this yearly heartbreak now enter into an offseason filled with all sorts of questions.

Exactly what does this team need to do to get over the hump? Can anything be done to get this team to that elusive next level, or are they doomed to fail each and every year?

After this latest failure, even the most optimistic of Caps fans have got to be questioning whether this team—for that matter, whether this franchise—has what it takes to succeed.

The Caps have to start by trying to bring in the right players via free agency. They have to focus on players who will actually fill a need and make a difference. Short-term rentals are not the solution. Trying to get that one player who will make a difference come playoff time is a strategy that failed before and failed yet again this season.

Instead, the Caps need to make some long-term investments in some key players who can not just help the team win next regular season but who could actually be productive and effective during the playoffs.

Roughly a month ago, I wrote an article taking an early look at some good free-agent fits for the Caps this offseason. Some of you agreed, others did not.

With this latest playoff debacle still stinging, it is time to revisit that list, to a certain extent, and perhaps make some modifications or, alternatively, further my case for some of those free agents.

Here, then, are the five free agents I believe absolutely have to be on the Caps' radar this offseason.

Ryan McDonagh

Yes, I know that the odds of Ryan McDonagh ending up a member of the Washington Capitals are about as good as the chances we will get snow in Los Angeles next season during this outdoor game that's being planned for Dodger Stadium.

Yes...I get it.

But if you are general manager George McPhee and—assuming this latest playoff disaster does not cost you your job—after watching what McDonagh just did to Alexander Ovechkin, don't you have to seriously consider making a major run at this young man who's blossoming into one of the best defenders in the NHL?

If you are GMGM and you were so willing to mortgage your future to acquire a player like Martin Erat, then why not mortgage more of it by acquiring someone who will actually make possibly the biggest impact of any free-agent acquisition ever in Caps history?

If you can't beat him, then get him on your team. That would be my motto.

McDonagh is a restricted free agent this offseason and it goes without saying the Rangers will almost assuredly re-sign him. If he was somehow looking to make a move, though, then he would fill some huge holes for the Caps.

For one, he would give the Caps four excellent defenders. It is hard to complain a lot about the play of Karl Alzner, John Carlson and Mike Green in the recenlty completed series. John Erskine played fairly well, as did Steve Oleksy and Jack Hillen.

Still, Carlson fired a ton of shots and could not score, Erskine was not effective at times, Oleksy was erratic and Hillen was inconsistent.

Add McDonagh to the mix and you solve many of those problems immediately. No, he would not be brought to Washington to score goals since that is not what he really does.

But what he does is something the Caps need desperately—he plays tough, hard-nosed defense. He gives no quarter and asks for none in return. With help from Dan Girardi, McDonagh just absolutely shut down Ovechkin, fresh off winning his third Rocket Richard Trophy and being nominated for a third Hart Memorial Trophy (CBS Sports). Ovi had just one goal and one assist the entire series.

Do you want physical toughness? McDonagh is a good shot-blocker who is ranked fifth in the NHL with 20 blocked shots in the playoffs. And how about his returning to Game 7 despite his face being busted wide open after a crushing hit by a clearly frustrated Ovechkin.

How about mental toughness? It was McDonagh's delay of game penalty that led to Mike Green's game-winning goal in overtime of Game 2. A lesser man could have quit. McDonagh, instead, got stronger as the series moved on.

McDonagh logs a ton of ice time and does not make mistakes. McDonagh logged about 25 minutes of ice time per game against the Caps and most of that was spent shadowing Ovechkin—no easy task, to say the least.

So, the benefit of adding McDonagh, who is only 23 and is just going to get better, to the Caps is apparent. McDonagh is young. He is balanced. He would chew up some serious minutes, add some depth to the Caps defense and, quite simply, make the Caps defense a lot better.

Obviously, it would take a huge offer by the Caps to acquire McDonagh. To make him an offer that even the Rangers would not be willing to match, honestly, is just not likely at all.

But after watching what McDonagh can do—and after watching him shut down the Great 8 yet again—George McPhee would be absolutely crazy to not at least try and explore McDonagh as an option.

Pascal Dupuis

As high as I was on the idea of the Caps signing Pascal Dupuis a few weeks ago, his performance in the playoffs has only made me more convinced than ever that general manager George McPhee absolutely, positively, needs to have this guy on his radar this offseason.

As the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to steamroll through the Eastern Conference playoffs, it seems that everyone is into the scoring act. Four of the top 10 point scorers in the playoffs are members of the Pens.

Dupuis is one of them. He is having a tremendous spring so far. In seven games, he has scored six goals, added two assists and has a plus-two rating.

The Pens appear to be far from done, yet Dupuis already has a career high for goals in a playoff campaign. His previous high was four goals when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild back in 2003.

At 34 years old, Dupuis has never played better. He is about to be an unrestricted free agent and if GMGM does not make some serious inquiries, then Ted Leonsis needs to show McPhee the door very quickly.

Dupuis would bring so much to the Caps. He does not make mistakes. His plus-31 rating for the season led the Penguins. Dupuis also led the Penguins in shots for the regular season with 140.

Most important for the Caps, though—and especially after this latest playoff disaster—is that Dupuis is a proven winner and a Stanley Cup champion to boot. If the Caps are ever going to be a threat to win the Stanley Cup, then a player like Dupuis, who has been there and done that, is just what the Caps need.

He might not be a spring chicken any longer, but his performance this season—and especially during the playoffs—clearly demonstrates that Dupuis is still a top-six forward who can be enormously productive.

As far as the realities of signing Dupuis, there is a so-so chance of a deal happening. If the Caps were to offer Dupuis a deal worth $5 million per year, this would almost completely exhaust their cap space.

It will probably cost that or more to lure Dupuis away from Pittsburgh. Still, the Caps would have the cap space available (barely) to get the deal done, although signing Dupuis would likely eliminate the Caps as a possibility for any other major signings.

But with the way Dupuis has played this season, he might just be worth it.

Tyler Bozak

Caps fans must face the sobering fact that Mike Ribeiro's play in the series against the New York Rangers did nothing to make any decision as to whether to re-sign him or allow him to become an unrestricted free agent any easier.

Yes, Ribeiro scored the huge overtime winner in Game 5 that, at the time, had the Caps in control of the series. But Ribeiro, like the rest of the Caps, vanished after that moment in time. There were also many times in the series where Ribeiro just would not shoot the puck, even though the Rangers were practically begging for him to do so. 

It begs the question, yet again, as to whether the Caps wish to make a long-term commitment of any sort to Ribeiro. Logic would seem to dictate otherwise, and if Ribeiro leaves D.C., then the Caps have to start thinking about a replacement for Ribs.

A few weeks ago, I suggested that Tyler Bozak, the Toronto Maple Leafs outstanding young center, would make a more-than-adequate replacement for Ribeiro. After both the Caps and Leafs were eliminated on the same night, I still believe Bozak is someone the Caps need to have on their radar this offseason.

Bozak was playing pretty well for the Leafs in their series against the Boston Bruins until an undisclosed upper-body injury forced him to miss Games 6 and 7 of that series (via SBNation.com). Would Bozak's presence have prevented the meltdown that was Game 7 for the Leafs? It sure would not have hurt.

Up until Game 6, though, Bozak had a goal and an assist in the five games in which he played. His goal was of the shorthanded variety in Game 5, with the Leafs trailing the Bruins 3-1 in the series. Bozak's goal really seemed to turn the momentum of the series in the Leafs' favor—or at least until the final 1:22 of regulation time in Game 7.

When compared to Ribeiro's numbers, despite Ribeiro playing in a full seven games, Bozak did quite well. Ribs also had a goal and an assist, the same as Bozak. Ribeiro did have better success at the faceoff circle, as he won 51.7 percent of his draws compared to Bozak's 42.6 percent. This was a reversal from the regular season, where Bozak won 52.6 percent of his draws and Ribeiro only won 44.8 percent of his.

If, however, the goal is to secure a very good second-line center—or one who could easily be a top-line center for many teams—and perhaps sign him to a long-term deal, then Bozak has a big edge over Ribeiro. At all of 27 years of age, the thought of a long-term deal for Bozak will not phase the Caps at all.

As far as the Caps being able to make a run at Bozak, similar to the Pascal Dupuis situation, it is possible, albeit not likely. Leafs fans who commented on my prior article seemed to think Bozak would command a $4-5 million per year salary. The Caps could probably absorb something in the realm of $4 million per year. Anything beyond that might be too big a hit.

Nevertheless, Bozak would seem to be a very good fit for the Caps if Ribeiro does not return to Washington next season.

Mark Streit

Assuming that the Ryan McDonagh scenario plays out as most think it will—namely with McDonagh returning to the New York Rangers—then the Caps might want to cast their gaze toward Long Island to address their defensive issues.

Mark Streit, the captain of the New York Islanders for the past two seasons, is set to become an unrestricted free agent come July 5. If that happens, then the Caps should be one of his biggest suitors.

Part of the culture change that needs to take place in Washington would involve refraining from putting so much emphasis on the offense, time and time and time again, at the expense of the defense. Forgoing another splashy forward and actually signing the man who might be the cream of the crop as far as defensive unrestricted free agents go would be the type of shift in philosophy that could actually yield some results.

Admittedly, Streit is sort of long in the tooth at 35. Still, he fits in well with what the Caps like to do on defense. He is not as dangerous a two-way defender as Mike Green, but Streit still led all Islanders blueliners in points this past season with 27.

He is also very good on the power play. Half of his six goals from the regular season came on the power play. With the Caps power play being one of their strengths, adding a player like Streit would only make the power play more effective.

In the playoffs, Streit was again very good. Believe it or not, Streit actually was tied with John Tavares for the Isles' lead in points during the playoffs with five.

He had a minus-one rating for the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but when you are dealing with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Jarome Iginla on a nightly basis, a minus-one is not bad at all.

Streit has said that he wants to remain in Long Island (NBC Sports). Naturally, that is the right thing to say. But Streit also indicated he was looking for a three-year deal in the $16 million range. That might be too high for the Islanders or, for that matter, anyone else. In the end, as is often the case, money is likely going to talk as far as this situation is concerned.

If Streit hits free agency and the Caps want to make a real move toward him, they could probably absorb something in the three-year, $15 million range. Even that would be spreading the Caps and their cap situation very thin.

Nevertheless, if Streit does go to free agency—and with the Caps absolutely needing to improve their defense—he would have to be someone on the radar of general manager George McPhee.

Valtteri Filppula

The Washington Capitals have always been somewhat of an international melting pot when it comes to players. Unfortunately, the Russian contingent of Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Semyon Varlamov did not get the Caps to the Stanley Cup Final.

Swedish stars such as Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson have not yielded better results. Ditto for Canadian-born players like Mike Green, Troy Brouwer or Mathieu Perreault.

Maybe the Caps need a player from Finland to get them over the hump.

Could Valtteri Filppula be the missing link for the Caps? Could he be the player that the Caps need to finally get to the next level?

Opinions on Filppula vary widely. Detroit Red Wings fans I know are equally split on him. Invariably, the phrase I hear said often when Filppula is discussed is "unrealized potential."

For the Caps, though, Filppula would likely be more of a second-line center than Tyler Bozak—and he might be cheaper as well. A member of the Red Wings since the 2005-2006 season, Filppula has always been a solid player, but there's always been the feeling he could be much more.

His numbers have never been astronomical. His best season came in 2011-2012, when he cracked the 20-goal barrier for the first time with 23. He also had 43 assists and a very good plus-18 rating.

During this past regular season, Filppula's numbers seemed to go down some, as he only had nine goals in 41 games played. Filppula did play pretty well down the stretch, though, and his overall play was one of the reasons the Wings were able to reach the playoffs.

In the playoffs, Filppula has again been solid but not spectacular. In the first-round series against the Anaheim Ducks, Filppula had a goal and three assists. His goal in Game 7 turned out to be the series-winning goal for the Wings. His four points in the playoffs so far have him ranked fifth on the Red Wings.

There are question marks surrounding Filppula, to be sure. What I like about him is the way he plays defense, and I think he would be an upgrade over Mike Ribeiro as far as two-way play is concerned. I also like his speed and his vision. He can be a pretty good playmaker, too.

What is concerning is how it just seems like he should be doing more. He is a player that should consistently score 20 goals per season. So far, that has not been the case with Filppula. Still, Filppula is only 29 years old, so there is still quite a bit of time for him to refine his game and get even better.

The big question now becomes just how much would Filppula be worth if he hits the free agent market. Is he worth $4-5 million per year? He has the potential to be worth that much. What he does not have, though, are the actual stats to justify that.

The Caps could probably afford to do a deal with Filppula for somewhere in the $4 million-per-year range, and this would still leave them with about $1.6 million to spend on other free agents or re-sign their own. Though I feel Bozak is the better player, and better investment, Filppula might be obtained for a bit less and would be a true second-line center.

If Filppula does hit the free-agent market—and if Ribeiro is not re-signed—then with all his upside potential, he is the type of player that the Caps would have to take a long, hard look at.