Washington Capitals 2023-24 NHL Season Preview

Washington Capitals 2023-24 NHL Season Preview

As the saying goes, you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. The Washington Capitals may have largely avoided significant roster changes over the last few years, but it’s clear which category they belong in right now. Last season, the Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. They had a losing record (hockey-standings-wise) for the first time since Alex Ovechkin’s second NHL season. Almost every single member of the Capitals’ core either struggled, was injured, or both. And given most of those players are on the wrong side of 30, the long-term outlook for the Capitals doesn’t look good.

That’s never really been disputed, though. All great teams meet their end at some point. The question is how long they can put it off. The Capitals wouldn’t be the first dominant team to bounce back from a one-year decline, and there’s enough name-power for them to defy the odds. But the Capitals are running out of time before they reach the point of no return.

Projected Lineup (Via Daily Faceoff)

New Faces

Well, this is awkward.

3 Players to Watch

1. Alex Ovechkin — There’s no point in burying the lede here. The main reason to watch the Capitals this season is to see how much of the 72-goal gap between the Great Eight and the Great One for lamp-lighting supremacy. Just make sure your Ovechkin watching doesn’t continue when the puck enters Washington’s zone.
2. Connor McMichael — A first-round pick in 2019, McMichael has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHLer, with just 18 points in 75 games across three seasons. The biggest reason teams like the Capitals fall off is because they fail to produce quality young NHL talent. McMichael has the chance to be an exception, but this is a big year for the 22-year-old.
3. Lucas Johansen — Speaking of young talent, Johansen got a three-game trial with Washington last season. Now that Dmitry Orlov is gone, there are top-four minutes for the taking on the Capitals’ backend. It’s now or never for the 2016 first-rounder to make his mark.

Riser and Faller

Riser: Rasmus Sandin was a near-instant hit after coming over in a potential steal of a trade from Toronto. Sandin had 20 points in 53 games with the Maple Leafs last season, then put up 15 in 19 games with the Capitals. He’s a smooth-skating defender with a nice offensive instinct who should see more consistent power-play time than he saw in Toronto as well. The key for Sandin is to establish consistency because he definitely has the skill set to be an impact defender.

Faller: It’s painful to put Nicklas Bäckström in this category as his potential Hall of Fame career draws near a close. However, Bäckström put up just 21 points in 39 games last season after undergoing significant hip surgery after the 2021-22 season ended. Perhaps the biggest reason for Washington’s downfall is the duo of Bäckström and Evgeny Kuznetsov haven’t been the true high-end centers they were when the Capitals won the Cup in 2018.

The Big Question

Is a coaching change enough to turn the vibes around? Peter Laviolette never seemed to fit with this group, lasting just three seasons and taking some parting shots from Kuznetsov on his way out the door. Spencer Carbery is, as you’d expect, a hire in the opposite direction, a first-time head coach coming over from the Maple Leafs, where he served as an assistant. Washington hoped bringing in Laviolette would give the Capitals’ core a jolt after consecutive first-round exits following their Cup win. Now, they’re hoping Carbery can do the same.

The Verdict

It’s hard to see the Capitals making a jump this year. Other than Carbery changing everything, there just isn’t a reason to expect it. Washington’s core is what it is — still talented, but no longer with enough in the tank to drive the bus themselves. A lack of new blood feels sorely needed for them to have any shot at maximizing the closing years of the Ovechkin era. Until that happens, the Capitals will probably find themselves buried in the back half of the deep Metropolitan Division.

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Advanced Stats via Natural Stat Trick and MoneyPuck.com; Contracts via CapFriendly