Capitals embrace ‘challenge’ of trying to get younger while still competing
Caps embrace ‘challenge’ of trying to get younger while competing
ARLINGTON, Va. — Brian MacLellan understands the task laid out in front of him doesn’t have a set blueprint.
The Capitals, with a core built around several players well into their 30s, want to return to the playoffs in 2022-23 and surround Alex Ovechkin with enough talent for him to continue his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. They also want to get younger, a pursuit that typically requires taking a step back in the winning department to accomplish.
Washington’s general manager wants no part of sacrificing wins. After missing the playoffs for the first time in nine years, the Capitals have every intention of jumping back into the fray next season. They also recognize the reality of their situation: Their roster has gotten old, at least by hockey standards. The Capitals entered the season with the second-most senior roster in the NHL behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins, who also missed the playoffs to snap a 16-year streak.
“Trying to stay competitive while getting younger is going to be challenging, yes, but that’s the stage we’re at,” MacLellan said in his end-of-season press conference Saturday. “That’s the decision we’ve made here. We want to finish out a couple careers of important players in our organization and we want to stay competitive, but we also want to get younger. So, it’s a challenge to be in position to have all three of those things but we’re going to try.”
MacLellan has already started the process of bringing in younger players. He signed Dylan Strome to a prove-it deal last offseason and the 26-year-old center turned the opportunity into a career year, earning a five-year extension. Trade deadline acquisition Rasmus Sandin, 23, provided an immediate scoring boost from the blue line; he’s under contract for one more season before facing restricted free agency. MacLellan also expressed interest in signing right wing Tom Wilson, 28, to a long-term extension that keeps him in D.C. for the rest of his career.
The success of the Capitals’ approach hinges on several factors. Chief among them is continuing to get star-level production out of their aging players. There’s little doubt that Ovechkin, who will be 38 when next season gets underway, is able to do his part after tallying 42 goals and 33 assists this season. Of the nine other players to reach both those numbers in 2022-23, none were older than 27. He’s in a class of his own when it comes to scoring at his age.
John Carlson, 33, is still among the league’s best two-way defensemen whose presence was missed dearly in the second half after he suffered a scary head injury. Right wing T.J. Oshie, 36, can still be both a tone-setter and a scoring threat when healthy. Center Nicklas Backstrom, 35, is confident he’ll benefit from a full offseason after returning from hip resurfacing surgery in January. All three will once again take on significant roles next season alongside players still in their primes such as Wilson, center Evgeny Kuznetsov and goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
“I think the leadership and the group of guys is kind of second to none around the league,” Wilson said. “You've got really good quality people and really good teammates and that's a foundation that you can build around. Different guys come in and can complement that or add to that. There’s going to be probably a second wave of what we need younger guys to come in and start pulling their weight and adding and complementing the core that's getting a little bit older. I'll be probably a little bit of a hybrid of that in the middle.”
It's also going to be important for the Capitals to produce more young talent, whether that be through savvy wheeling and dealing by MacLellan or developing prospects within the organization. The Capitals hold the eighth-best lottery odds for this summer’s stacked NHL Draft — including a 6% chance at the No. 1 overall pick and Canadian phenom Connor Bedard — but in all likelihood the player they select will require some development before they can consider adding him to their active roster.
“The thing when you’re trying to get younger, we’ll have a good pick this year, but that’s probably a couple years away before we get that player,” MacLellan said. “The challenge has always been that we’ve been a good team and you’re picking late and you’re trying to hit on a good player. The odds are a little different from where we’re picking.”
The Capitals’ current prospect group is highlighted by recent first-round picks Ivan Miroshnichenko, Hendrix Lapierre and Connor McMichael. While the 19-year-old Miroshnichenko is still a few years away, Lapierre and McMichael both spent most of the season with the Calder Cup Playoff-bound Hershey Bears in the AHL this season and could make a case to open the season in D.C. with a strong training camp in September.
Opportunities for such players to prove themselves in a Capitals uniform have been sparse over the last few years. But even as the team was pushing for wins every night, fellow forward Aliaksei Protas and defenseman Alex Alexeyev, a pending restricted free agent, each pushed their way into the lineup for significant stretches this season and showed some potential.
MacLellan, who said Saturday he’s more “open-minded” to making substantial changes this offseason, has his work cut out for him. With a head coaching vacancy to fill on top of tough decisions to make about his roster, he faces a critical offseason that will determine the franchise’s trajectory for years to come. It’s a challenge the franchise has been ready to embrace for a while now.
