Washington Capitals Season Preview

It seems the Caps just ended their season but As Alex Ovechkin turns 24 here we are about to embark on A.O. 4 (After Ovechkin 4).  Years from now the Caps franchise history will be divided up as to what happened before the Great 8 arrived, and what happened after.  Most in town hope/assume the A.O. years will include some Stanley Cup victories.  But is ownership ready to fully embrace the challenge of winning it all this year or will they be content to have another "good" year and sellout the arena most nights.  Herewith the top five challenges facing the Caps this year.

1.) Whose the Goalie? 

Three men vie for the title of starting goaltender, and at this point the role seems to be very much up for grabs.  Coach Bruce Boudreau has named Jose Theodore as his primary netminder but that's like Jim Zorn saying Jason Campbell is his starting Quarterback.  Err...that is...unless someone better comes along.  Theodore is in the last year of a large contract and so he will get first crack at the job but the suspicion is that his mediocre play will not sustain him throughout the entire season.

Recently renamed Semyon Varlamov will try to pickup where he left off last year when he subbed for Theodore and played the last thirteen games of the playoffs.  Semyon hopes to seize the mantle and he would appear to be the odds on favorite, but is he ready for the full time role.  He tired down the stretch last year and was fairly well "torched" the last three games of Round 2 against the Penguins.  He very well may find himself in a platooning role with....

Michal Neuvirth who led his Hershey Bears to the Calder Cup last year. Boudreau seems to be quite high on Neuvirth, and has spoken openly about his fondness for the player and the great experience Neuvirth got leading his team to the title.  Michal will almost certainly get his chance this year to prove how unflappable he is in an NHL net.

2.) Where's the Defense?

Last year one of the key flaws in the Caps was their soft defense.  Tom Poti and Brian Pothier while solid veterans are oft injured and may be getting a bit long in the tooth to be lock-down defensemen.  Mike Green is a great offensive defenseman but is not rugged enough in his own end in taking players off the puck.  John Erskine and Shaone Morrisonn are rugged but not skillful puck-movers.  Will Karl Alzner or John Karlson develop into defensive studs, GM George Mcphee hopes so in order to look smart for not parting with either one at the trade dealine last year.  Finally, Jeff Schultz and Milan Jurcina couldn't crack most NHL teams lineups.  

For the Caps to go deep into this years postseason one or both of the rookies must develop and the defense as a whole must keep opposing team's forwards from camping out in front of the net.   

3.) Net gains

The best acquisition the Caps made this year was acquring forward Mike Knuble from the Philadeplhia Flyers. Knuble is just the kind of presence the Caps need to crash the net and generally create havoc for the opposing team's goalie.  His grit will bring a toughness to the top line of Ovechkin and Backstrom and open up the outside lanes for them to create.  It is very conceivable that they will be the top scoring line in the NHL this upcoming year.  Brendan Morrison was another good pickup and the Caps offense should have no trouble scoring this year even with the losses of Fedorov and Kozlov.  Semin and Laich should also both score over 60 points this year.

4.) Where's the Beef?

With the offseason departure of Donald Brashear the Caps have no one to "goon it up" for them and to protect their skill players.  Brashear was overpaid by the Rangers who signed him to a 2 year $2.8M deal.  That is a lot of money to give to a man who is 37 years old and scored one goal last year.  Who more often than not was a "healthy scratch".  Still the Caps have no known pugilists but it probably won't matter to their win loss record.  The Detroit Red Wings have incurred the fewest fighting majors in the league the last three years and it doesn't seem to have affected their success.  The Caps still posesses some tough guys, inlcuding Alex Ovechkin who is one of the toughest in the league.  Even Alexander Semin won his first ever fight last year when he employed the windmill slap technique on his opponent. 

5.) Show Me the Money

One of the biggest disapointments for me as a Caps fan was when the teams management did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline last year.  The Caps were a healthy team capable of winning the Stanley Cup and maybe only two players from pulling off the trick.  Their problems seemed obvious, they needed an offensive player who could crash the net and a defensive player who could keep the other teams forward from doing the same.  There were many of both types out there at last years deadline, C Bill Guerin, RW Nikolai Antropov, D Derek Morris, and D Chris Pronger to name a few all moved, yet the Caps sat back and did nothing.  How many chances will they get where the puzzle is almost put together.  They seem to put more of an emphasis on keeping the young cadre of players so as to keep the team continuing along the path to greatness.  Hopefully this year is the year that management will feel it necessary to "pull the trigger" on a deal should the need arise.

In summary the Caps should be very good this year, better than last year.  But maybe still a top defenseman or two from winning the Stanley Cup.