Washington Capitals Approach Season With Many Questions Remaining

As the weeks leading up to training camp go by, the Washington Capitals have many decisions to make in order to be ready for opening night.  The most pressing issue at hand seems to be the opening in the middle on the Capitals second line and power play unit.  

The Caps elected to try Brendan Morrison out in this spot last season, but had mixed results with the diminutive pivot and decided to go in another direction for the 2010-11 season.  Tomas Fleischmann, Eric Belanger, and Brooks Laich also all got their chances, but none were best suited for the position. 

One solution appeared to be 2009 first rounder Marcus Johansson, but his performance at the Capitals Development Camp in July suggested that he may need more time before he grows into the North American game.  

European-trained centermen usually need more time to adapt to the more physical NHL game, as can be seen in Washington's own Nicklas Backstrom.  Backstrom really came into his own after his first season, and had a rough first few months in the league while learning the more hard-nosed game played on this side of the pond.  

Assuming Johansson needs another year in the Swedish Elite League (and his offensive outputs seem to agree with this), the Capitals may be forced to look at a home grown talent from their AHL affiliate in Hershey, PA instead.  

Mathieu Perreault had a few stints with the big club in Washington last season, and was effective offensively at times.  The small, skilled forward brought an energetic presence, and produced reasonably well, scoring nine points in 21 games.  

Further down the pipeline, Evgeny Kuznetsov (2010 first round pick) has the skill and talent to eventually fill the role of second line center, but needs to develop physically before he takes his game to the NHL.  

If Johansson, Perreault, and Kuznetsov don't fit the billing, the Caps may be forced to look to fill the void through a trade or late free agent signing.  While the options are limited right now, as soon as teams with high priced unrestricted free agents fall out of the playoff race, the Caps could pounce on a more seasoned veteran to anchor the second line.  

The other burning question that remains is who will start between the pipes come opening night, as youngsters Semyon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth remain largely untested over the course of a full season.  

One would assume that Varlamov will get the opportunity to start, but his shaky play at the end of the Quarterfinal series loss to Montreal, coupled with Neuvirth's AHL championship performance in Hershey makes the decision harder.  

With three straight early exits from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the pressure is on the young Capitals to produce at the same level in the postseason that they do during the regular season.  

A large part of their success will hinge on their scoring depth and the play of their starting goaltender, so the answers to these questions will help answer the larger question of what will become of the Capitals in 2010-11.