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Metropolitan Division rivals: Washington Capitals preview

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 30: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates against Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers during their game at Madison Square Garden on March 30, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 30: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates against Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers during their game at Madison Square Garden on March 30, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – MAY 21: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Washington Capitals looks on before Game Four of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on May 21, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MAY 21: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Washington Capitals looks on before Game Four of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on May 21, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Arrivals

There are not a lot of new faces on the Washington Capitals this season.  They signed defenseman Matt Irwin from the Buffalo Sabres as a depth defenseman.   While Michal Kempny is not a new face, he missed the entire last season with an Achilles injury and cleared waivers and was sent to the AHL after a rough training camp.

Rookie defenseman Martin Fehervary has apparently made the team. Their top prospect is center Connor McMichael who had a decent season in the AHL, but he was sent to the minors as one of the last cuts and could return if Backstrom is out for a while.  In a surprise, 19 year old Hendrix Lapierre made the team. He was the Caps first round pick 22nd overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Some observers felt that the Rangers should have taken him instead of Braden Schneider. Washington also signed former Ranger first rounder Dylan McIlrath as a depth defender but he will start the season in Hershey.

Departures

The Capitals lost two key contributors in defenseman Zdeno Chara who signed with the Islanders and blueliner Brenden Dillon who signed with Winnipeg.   Also gone are left wingers Michael Raffl  and Daniel Carr, and goalie Craig Anderson.  The last three didn’t do much last season so their loss will not hurt.

Of course, another player listed as a departure is Henrik Lundqvist who never played a game for the Capitals.

Capital’s  salary cap situation

The Capitals are one of those teams dangerously close to the cap ceiling.  In fact, with a 21 man roster, they are under the cap by $1,793,740, but that doesn’t include the salaries of Fehervary  and Lapierre.  Combined they make about $1.7 million and that means the Caps would be right at the limit.    That is one big reason why they couldn’t retain Chara or Dillon.  As a result, they will they will be carrying close to the minimum 20 players allowable once the season starts.

The bad news for Washington is that it doesn’t get any better next year.  Dowd, Kempny and Justin Schultz are all UFA’s after this season and both of their goalies are arbitration eligible restricted free agents.

The Caps signed Alex Ovechkin to an ironclad five year contract with an AAV of $9.5 million.  He will be 40 in the last year of the deal and Washington has to hope that he stays healthy.  He’s been an iron man his entire career so there is reason for optimism.

The fact is the Caps have committed $32.45 million to four 30-somethings in Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie and Carlson for at least the next four years.  With the salary cap expected to remain flat for years to come, that’s 40% of their total budget.  Yikes.

What are three key questions for the Caps this season?

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