The Washington Capitals are one of the more surprising teams in the NHL this season. However, the Capitals retooled their roster quickly. Just look at the moves over the summer, bringing in Logan Thompson (who now has a new extension), Andrew Mangiapane, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, Brandon Duhaime, and Taylor Raddysh.
Not to mention, they had already brought in Rasmus Sandin a season and a half ago. All the while, players like Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie are no longer on the team due to injuries. The Capitals found a way to remain competitive after just squeaking into the playoffs last year before getting swept by the Rangers.
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In addition to the players who were added, new coach Spencer Carbery has brought a new edge to this team. Even when the team wins and plays poorly, he lets his players know it. And the players are buying into the system as well. There is a reason he will be up for the Jack Adams Trophy for Coach of the Year.
Remember, this was supposed to be just about Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky‘s record. He did that because the team was winning and they were having fun. There was a special bond in that room, which is why they did not make many moves at the trade deadline. GM Chris Patrick and President of Hockey Ops Brian MacLellan knew the mix was right.
What everyone seems to forget is that the Capitals know how to win in the Metro Division. Washington had winning records against all their rivals. That is why they could compete for a deep playoff run this season. Nobody, including this writer, thought first place in the Metro and almost a President’s Trophy. But here they are.
As Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period explained on TSN Radio in Montreal earlier in the week, everything that could go right went right for the Washington Capitals this season.
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NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Dave Pagnotta: “Everything that needed to go right and has needed to go right for this club has gone right. The acquisitions that they made, the changes that they made between (Brian) MacLellan and (Chris) Patrick, that kind of ran the construction of this group. Logan Thompson worked out tremendously. (Jakob) Chychrun has had a great season, worked out tremendously. Pierre-Luc Dubois has done a total 180 on his performance and has worked out for this club.
(Connor) McMichael has been fantastic. (Aliaksei) Protas has been great. To have him score 30, and Wilson score 30, and obviously Ovi doing what he’s doing. Everyone has contributed. You’ve got a guy like (Andrew) Mangiapane on the fourth line. You get to call in a little extra reinforcements, with Ryan Leonard entering the mix last week. I mean, everything that has needed to go well for the Capitals has gone well so far.
There has been a little slump recently. But maybe that’s just a reminder that we’re getting close to the playoffs, and you don’t want to take your foot off the gas. Again, now that the focus is not necessarily on the record anymore, even though for the next few days that’ll be—I mean, all week, that’ll be the topic. But they get to recalibrate a little bit and then shift their focus back towards competing for a championship with a few days off here.
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So this is a group, and I agree with you. I didn’t anticipate them being anywhere near this good this season. When the season started, I thought, Okay, well, maybe they battled for third in the division. Probably more likely a wild card team. Well, no, everybody on this club has proven all of us wrong, and let’s see how much more they can go.”
That said, the Capitals still have to finish the deal. With Alex Ovechkin’s chase over, they can get back to playing hockey. They need Thompson to come back as he is out with an injury. It is clear Charlie Lindgren, who also got a new extension, is getting fatigued.
However, with how quickly Washington was able to turn things around, more teams will follow this model of retooling at the trade deadline and into free agency via trade instead of signing players. The Capitals got ahead of it, while others started too late and will have several seasons of hard times.
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