Washington Capitals Season Preview

A post-free agency look at the Caps going into the next season

Early Offseason

This offseason has been relatively busy for the Capitals. They made several moves focused on acquiring young forwards to improve their forward group for both this year and beyond. Players like Marco Rossi, Fraser Minten, Mavrik Bourque, and Liam Ohgren were all acquired to be part of a this team's young core for many years to come. They also acquired some defensemen like Wyatt Kaiser and Anton Johansson who the team believes will be important parts of the team in the future. At the draft, the Caps didn't make any first round picks, but they made many picks this year. Most notable among them was offensive defenseman Tommy Bleyl. Overall, the Caps made moves to improve both now and to improve their future outlook. 

Free Agency

The Capitals signed 2 defensemen in free agency so far, both of which are veteran D that will play alongside their younger defensemen. First, Brent Burns was signed to a 1 year deal for 15M. Burns is expected to play on a pair with their young star defenseman and captain Zeev Buium. They also brought back defenseman Jared Spurgeon on a 2 year deal worth the max amount of 19.1M. Spurgeon previously played for the Capitals in 2023-24, where he had a career year, putting up 80 points in 82 games and won the Norris trophy. Spurgeon is expected to play on a pair with Wyatt Kaiser.

The cap hits are quit eexpensive, but the Caps can afford to take that hit given that many of their players are playing on contracts that are under 1M. Most of these players won't be signing new deals until Burns's and Spurgeon's deals are over, so there's no risk in not having cap space for their young guys. This is a move to hit the cap floor and provide some veteran mentorship to their younger players. 

Projected Lineup

Minten - Rossi - Graf

Chernyshov - Kasper - Bourque

Ohgren - Sourdif - Gritsyuk

Dach - Hyry - Kartye

Buium - Burns

Spurgeon - Kaiser

Wilsby - Korczak

Knight

Husso

Analysis: The Caps have a lot of forwards with relatively equal offensive abilities. With the first line, they're pairing their number 1 center Marco Rossi with the two best defensive forwards on the team in Collin Graf and Fraser Minten. This is a line that can produce offense while also shutting down other teams' top lines. Then, the second line of Igor Chernyshov, Marco Kasper, and Mavrik Bourque is a line that plays with a ton of pace, forechecks hard, and puts up offense. The third line of Liam Ohgren, Justin Sourdif, and Arseny Gritsyuk plays a similar role to the second line and will likely be more of a 2B line than a true 3rd line. Lastly, the fourth line of Colton Dach, Arttu Hyry, and Tye Kartye will play the role of a physical shutdown line that should prove very difficult to play against. 

On defense, the first pairing of Zeev Buium and Brent Burns will provide good offense while Burns offers defensive stability to the young offensive defenseman. The second pair of Jared Spurgeon and Wyatt Kaiser are both responsible in their own end and can provide secondary offense. Finally, Adam Wilsby and Kaedan Korczak is the team's third pair who will play a more limited role while being reliable in both ends of the ice.

In net, the Capitals are running back the same tandem with Spencer Knight as the starter who is projected to play at least 60 games, while Ville Husso will serve as the backup. 

Projected Special Teams

PP1

Chernyshov - Rossi - Bourque

Buium - Graf

PP2

Sourdif - Kasper - Gritsyuk

Spurgeon - Minten

PK1

Hyry - Graf

Burns - Spurgeon

PK2

Minten - Kartye

Wilsby - Kaiser

Analysis: Special teams were possibly the biggest issue that the Caps faced last year. Their powerplay ranked 30th in the league while their penalty kill was the worst in the entire league by a wide margin. The Caps acquired a lot of defensive forwards and defensemen who are reliable in their own zone to address the penalty kill. Meanwhile, internal growth is the biggest factor for what should be an improved powerplay.

Overall Expectations

The Capitals, by all means, are still a rebuilding team. They will still have a high 1st round pick this year. No one is expecting the Capitals to be a top team in the league. However, at some point in a rebuild, you need to start seeing improvement. It looks like this will be the year that the Washington Capitals will begin on an upwards trajectory and start seeing progress year-over-year.