Washington Capitals Need Young Defensemen to Step Up
The Washington Capitals are still Stanley Cup contenders, but their young defenders need to make a splash in 2017-18
The Washington Capitals have offensive firepower and elite goaltending, but the time has come for fresh faces on the blueline. After several Stanley Cup pushes, the Capitals find themselves at a new stage from a defensive perspective.
This offseason, the Capitals lost Karl Alzner to the Montreal Canadiens, and Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers. As it stands, the core of the defensive group remains John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, and Brooks Orpik. While this is far from the worst group in the NHL, one injury on the defensive front could have the Capitals in a state of panic.
The Capitals’ Salary Cap Situation
On the four defensemen mentioned above, the Washington Capitals are currently spending just over $20 million. They also have plenty of funds tied up in Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and T.J. Oshie. Just about $30 million, to be exact. All in all, the Capitals have just over $4 million to spend and a minimum of four (likely more) roster spots to fill.
The Capitals have plenty of forwards in the pipeline, but there is simply no more time for the unproven. They need to bring in experienced and consistent players to help carry this team to the promise land. The Penguins proved that solid goaltending and defensemen are great assets, but the power of depth up front should not be ignored. The Capitals have forced plenty of prospects into depth roles alongside players like Justin Williams, but they have come up short in the NHL playoffs.
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With Braden Holtby in net and a capable backup in Philipp Grubauer, the Capitals could use some of their younger defensive prospects this season. The hope is that they will succeed in the long with such a strong group, and provide some much-needed depth at a low cost. The St. Louis Blues have succeeded in this over the past few seasons, which has allowed them to build a strong group of forwards for the postseason.
The Capitals Defensive Prospects
The top of the food chain has to be Madison Bowey.
He is a strong skater with great offensive instincts, and provided great leadership throughout his junior career with the Kelowna Rockets. Bowey spent the last two seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, and scored 43 points (7 G, 36 A) in 104 games. He also maintained a plus-28 rating in that span, and should be the favorite to make the jump with a strong training camp.
If Bowey fails to perform, Christian Djoos could steal the spotlight. After an underwhelming career in Europe, Djoos made substantial improvements in his game last season. Scoring eight goals with 14 assists in 62 games as an AHL rookie, Djoos scored 13 goals with 45 assists in 66 games last season. He followed up his strong regular season with two goals and six assists in 12 playoff games, after scoring two goals and seven assists in 21 playoff games the year before.
In terms of dark horses, look no further than Connor Hobbs. He was an offensive dynamo at the junior level, and will make the jump to the AHL next season. With a strong performance in training camp or early next season, Hobbs could see NHL ice time sooner than people thought.
The same could be said for last year’s first round pick Lucas Johansen. The brother of forward Ryan Johansen, the younger Johansen shined at the junior level and has good size for the NHL. However, with zero professional experience, the wait-and-see approach will likely be used for Hobbs and Johansen.
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Looking Ahead for the Capitals
The defensive prospects in the Capitals pipeline, there are plenty of options for them heading into 2017-18. They are desperately in need of depth forwards, and need to focus on bringing in the right players with the remaining cap space. Holtby and the veteran defensemen will provide plenty of support, which should allow the Capitals to explore plenty of options.
If there is any hope of bringing a Stanley Cup to Washington, the Capitals need to focus on developing their young defensemen, and spend the rest of their money on the right veterans for the NHL playoffs.