Headlines

  • Buffalo Sabres Extend Dylan Cozens
  • New York Islanders Sign Bo Horvat To Eight-Year Contract Extension
  • Washington Capitals Extend Dylan Strome
  • Mark Stone Undergoes Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely
  • New York Islanders Acquire Bo Horvat
  • Cole Caufield Out For The Season With A Shoulder Injury
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Washington Capitals

January 14, 2020 at 8:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

We’re in the home stretch in our thankful series where PHR will continue its look at what teams are thankful for as the second half of the season gets underway.  We’ll examine what has gone well in the first half and what each team may be looking for at the trade deadline.  Next up is Washington Capitals.

What are the Capitals most thankful for?

Firepower and plenty of it.  Washington is averaging over 3.5 goals per game which has allowed them to overcome some shaky goaltending at times to sit atop the Eastern Conference in points while being tied with St. Louis for the league lead.  They already have seven players that have reached double digits in goals and the new $9.2MM man Nicklas Backstrom isn’t even one of them (he’s at nine tallies on the year).  They’re a team that is designed to have two high-scoring lines and so far, they’ve been exactly that which has made them tough to beat most nights.

Who are the Capitals most thankful for?

It would be very easy to pick Alex Ovechkin here.  He’s once again among the league leaders in goals and just keeps getting it done.  But the season that John Carlson is having is too much to overlook.  He’s on pace for 98 points which would blow past his previous career high of 70.  He has more goals than the rest of Washington’s back end combined.  He’s once again logging heavy minutes, checking in at 24:49 per night, the team high by a considerable margin.  He plays in all situations.  At this stage, he’s the hands-on favorite for the Norris Trophy.   And they’re especially thankful that he’s signed through 2025-26 on what is looking like more and more of a team-friendly deal worth $8MM per season, well below what he’d be getting if he was hitting the open market this summer.

What would the Capitals be even more thankful for?

More consistency from Braden Holtby.  While there are still some nights where he plays up to the top level he has been at before, there have been more where he has been average at best.  Ilya Samsonov, their goalie of the future, has been the better of the two netminders almost all season long.  With their eyes on a lengthy playoff run, it’s unlikely that they’ll consider trading him by the deadline even though they run the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency in July, an outcome that is looking more probable following Backstrom’s new deal.  Holtby playing like the Holtby of old would make that call much less painful.

What should be on the Capitals’ Wish List?

In a perfect world, a top-four defenseman would be added to serve as an upgrade over Nick Jensen and Radko Gudas.  However, that’s probably not a realistic addition with their salary cap situation.  While Washington is no longer at the point where they can only afford to dress 11 forwards for a game, they’re not near a point where they can say they have a lot of flexibility either.  As a result, they’ll have to set their sights lower.  A veteran third pairing blueliner to give them some injury insurance or matchup flexibility would be a useful addition and if they could find a way to add some more offense in their bottom six group (someone that could move up when injuries strike), that would be a nice added bonus as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Thankful Series 2019-20| Washington Capitals

East Notes: Maple Leafs, Capitals, Bernier
Main
Carter Hart Out With Abdominal Strain
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Buffalo Sabres Extend Dylan Cozens

    New York Islanders Sign Bo Horvat To Eight-Year Contract Extension

    Washington Capitals Extend Dylan Strome

    Mark Stone Undergoes Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely

    New York Islanders Acquire Bo Horvat

    Cole Caufield Out For The Season With A Shoulder Injury

    Vancouver Canucks Extend Andrei Kuzmenko

    Vancouver Canucks Hire Rick Tocchet

    Minnesota Wild Extend Matt Boldy

    Boston Bruins Extend Pavel Zacha

    Recent

    OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs Announce Temporary Relocation To Brantford

    Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Joseph Woll

    Trade Rumors: Kane, Chychrun, Oilers/Kings

    East Notes: Leafs Deadline Plans, Hughes, Senators Sale

    Snapshots: Demko, Islanders, Sabres

    Trade Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

    Pittsburgh Penguins Make Three Roster Moves

    Dennis Gilbert Returned To AHL

    Buffalo Sabres Extend Dylan Cozens

    Jonathan Lekkerimaki Expected To Miss Two Months With Foot Injury

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version