Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic is reporting that the Washington Capitals are preparing for a potentially big offseason in which a lot of personnel decisions will need to be made. The Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season and while much of their 2018 Stanley Cup championship roster has moved on, some very important pieces remain.
El-Bashir reports that there is no update on the status of head coach Peter Laviolette. The veteran coach is a free agent at the end of this season and would still be in demand should he or the Capitals elect to part ways and start fresh next season. It is believed that Laviolette still has the support of many of the veterans in the Washington dressing room, but the recent stretch of games would give anyone pause as the Capitals have seemed indifferent at times. Laviolette is in his third season as the Capitals head coach and is the eighth winningest coach in NHL history. The 58-year-old has led three different organizations to the Stanley Cup final in his career, including a Stanley Cup victory in 2005-06 with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, in Washington he hasn’t been able to get the Capitals back over the hump and out of the first round.
In other Washington notes:
- T.J. Oshie was shut down earlier this week with the same back injury that has caused him problems all season. Oshie missed a total of 22 games this year after dressing in just 44 games last season. El-Bashir writes in The Athletic that he is being told that Oshie shouldn’t require surgery on his ailing back and that he should be able to recover with rest and rehab. For his part the 36-year-old Oshie has seen his offensive production slide the last two seasons. He’s failed to reach 40 points two years in a row now after missing that number just once in the previous 12 seasons. Oshie can still score, evidenced by his 19 goals this season in 58 games, but Washington will be counting on him to stay healthy going forward, especially with two years left on his contract.
- El-Bashir also writes in The Athletic that he expects the Capitals to move on from Conor Sheary and Craig Smith. Sheary is in his third season with Washington and has been a good depth scoring option with 37 points in 80 games. His scoring is down from last year, but the 30-year-old two-time cup winner should find an NHL job for next season as a depth forward with speed who can chip in on offence.
- Craig Smith will also be looking for a new job this summer. The former Nashville Predator has seen his numbers fall off a cliff this season as he bounced between the Boston Bruins and Washington. The 2009 fourth round pick had topped 30 points in five straight seasons as a dependable third liner but hasn’t been able to duplicate that success this season. He is in the final year of a three-year contract he originally signed with Boston and will likely be forced to take a one-year deal around league minimum to secure an NHL job in 2023-24.
The Caps need to move on from Laviolette. The team has needed an infusion of youth up front for a few years now & Laviolette doesn’t want to use the young players. He insists on using aging veterans. The Caps have 6 forwards under contract for next season that are 30 or older and this is includes Oshie & Backstrom who are injured often. The Caps seem to have this idea that you can’t contend for a Stanley Cup with young forwards in the lineup. That notion is ridiculous because recent Stanley Cup champions have had one or two young players in their lineup. The Caps have some guys in their system that can step in and be helpful if given a chance. The organization needs a coach who is willing to do that
I dont know if that is all Laviolettes fault. Those orders come from upstairs. The Caps are going to give Ovechkin whatever he needs to get him past Gretsky. They arent winning anything with what they have or what exists in the minors anyway. In 2-3 years once the goal record is broken they will rebuild.
Laviolette told the front office that he would rather have veteran players than young players. So, the Caps ran out more experienced players who didn’t help. Laviolette’s decision to continue to play Mantha in the top 6 when he was doing nothing is a prime example. He could have given Protas a shot in that role (could not have done any worse) and yet he continued to use and fail with Mantha. The Caps can give Ovechkin what he needs to get past Gretzky & still infuse youth into the lineup. The aren’t going to be competitive by continually running out retreads
I’ll take Sheary back on the Pens, at least you know what you get from him and it’s more than the bottom-6 has provided this year.