After squeaking into the playoffs last season, the Washington Capitals wanted to retool the roster and make a statement. This off-season, they did just that. General Manager Brian McClellan stood out as one of the busiest general managers on the league as he made moves to bring in pieces they were missing. However, do these moves make the Capitals Stanely Cup favorites?
Capitals, McClellan add impressive talent
Last season, Washington had little depth and even less scoring depth. They were often defeated because of the lack of offensive production, leaving the goaltenders to suffer losses after stellar performances. Scoring depth was the primary objective this off-season and those holes were filled with a number of additions through free agency and trades.
Added were forwards PIerre-Luc Dubois (via trade), Andrew Mangiapane (via trade), defensemen Jacob Chychrun (via trade), and goaltender Logan Thompson (via trade). Forward Brandon Duhaime (2-years, $3.7 million) and defenseman Matt Roy (6-year, $34.5 million) were signed in free agency.
McClellan added a bit of everything. Six, skill, offensive players, defensive players, grit, and a possible number one goaltender. He did a tremendous job in getting this team back in the hunt as most of the teams in the Metropolitan Division did not do too much to improve their team. Washington has put themselves back in the hunt for Lord Stanley and they may be one of the front runners after this roster's dramatic new look because of the overhaul of new talent on the roster.
Last season, Washington found themselves finishing the season with a 40-31-11 record for 91 points and were fourth in the Metropolitan Division. They were outscored 257-220 and were left looking for answers. They knew they had to be better but how could that change? They went out and made things happen without giving up that much in trades.
Offensivedly, forward Dylan Strome led the way with 67 points and John Carlson led the defense with 52 points. Gaoltender Charlis Lindgren led the teamw ith 25 wins between the pipes. Based on the offensive production from the 2023-24 season, they needed an upgrade in every area aside from goaltending.
Do these moves move them up to Stanley Cup favorites? Maybe not favorites but, on paper, they dramatically improved their roster to put them within the top five of teams to make a serious run. A division title is not out of reach, as well as a conference championship.
McClellan has given the Capitals many pieces to compete in the 2024-25 season. He has done his part in putting effective players on this team, enough to make them competitive in a tight division. The Eastern Conference is full of teams that are top notch but Washington may have put themselves ahead of everyone else after a busy off-season.