End-of-season thoughts on the Capitals - The Beginning

So that’s it.  It’s over.  For the first time since the spring of 2007, the Washington Capitals are not in the NHL playoffs.  It’s an odd feeling; one that I felt was inevitable at some point over the last three seasons, and now that it has, it’s quite empty.  But it’s here.  And now, it’s time to fix it.

Here are some (very early and preliminary) thoughts about this team and how to do just that.

I’m not going to go in to deep detail over what finally sunk this team to the level they are at right now.  I’ve written about their problems ad nauseam over the last three years but especially this year and by now, you know what did them in: bad possession, bad coaching, bad lineup decisions, and poor roster construction.  This is nothing new if you’ve read anything I have written over the last 24 months.

In reality, this team should have counted itself very lucky over the last two seasons, but particularly last year, to make the playoffs.  It was their failure to realize this that has ultimately led us to this moment.  Instead of being proactive and trying to fix a flawed team with deep issues, the cracks were papered over with rhetoric, public relations work, and t-shirts celebrating yet another Southeast Division Championship.

Now that the team has finally missed the playoffs for the first time since “the rebuild,” an opportunity has presented itself for real change.  This means several things, including but not limited to new people in charge, up and down the totem pole.  It means a new coach/coaching staff and a new general manager.  Names I would consider for each position, respectively: Guy Boucher, Peter Laviolette, Dan Bylsma/Barry Trotz (should they become available); Jason Botterill, Al Macisaac, Wayne Thomas, Joe Will.

Opening Night Lineup Predictions

In my latest for RtR, I predict what the opening night lineup for the Caps should be, complete with lines and defensive pairings.  You can read the article here.

Line Change

It's been almost two years since I started this blog on a cold, rainy fall night in 2011.  Through it, I have met many people who I now consider friends, peers, and colleagues covering the Capitals and the NHL.  Using this blog as a starting point,  I joined RocktheRed.net a little over a year ago, expanding to more in-depth analysis and news about the Caps.

And now, I will be shutting down this blog.  Original content on this website has taken a hit in the last year because of my work with RtR, and there is no sense in keeping two blogs running when I really only post to one on a consistent basis.  I will continue to link my RtR pieces here for the sake of it, though, and hope to bring you the best coverage I can from that site.

To everyone who helped me move on, thank you.  I never imagined when I started this site that it could grow as much as it did.

Oh, and I'm starting another sports blog called The Hawk's Nest.  Check it out, I would be much obliged.

Wojtek Wants to Win in Washington? Wow!

Read my latest for RtR, in which I examine new Capital Wojtek Wolski's career and what he could bring to the Washington lineup as George McPhee attempts to replace Alexander Semin.  You can read the article here.

Calle Johansson Named Assistant Coach

The Capitals have named Calle Johansson, the franchise's all time leader in games played, as an assistant coach, the team annoucned Wednesday.  Read more about the hire here.

Mike Green Signs - A Necessary Risk

Check out my latest for RtR - in which I defend the Mike Green signing as completely necessary despite what many may consider an inflated price and term.  You can read the article here.

Development Camp News, Forsberg Signs ELC

As the summer progresses, the Washington Capitals have continued their preparation for the 2012-13 NHL season.  Here are links to some of the news out of Kettler over the last week.

2012's 11th overall pick, Flip Forsberg, has signed his entry level deal with the Capitals.  For details, click here.

Day four of Development Camp, including a scrimmage, was headlined by Russian goaltender Sergei Kostenko.  Read about that and other players here.

Day one of Development Camp made it obvious which Capitals players are closest to making an NHL impact.  Read more about that here.

As always, follow me on Twitter here for all your Capitals needs.

Going Camping

Photo from KG's District

The Capitals' annual summer development camp starts Monday morning at Kettler.  In my latest fro RtR, meet some off the main grid prospects who could make the Caps' future that much brighter.  Read the article by clicking here.

Free Agent Folly

Read my latest for RtR - in which I examine George McPhee once again being smart enough to not let the market dictate his overpaying for mediocre players.  Read the article here.

Oates Hired; Trade Marcus Johansson?

Check out my latest two articles for RtR:

Adam Oates is the new head coach of the Capitals.  What does it mean?  Read here.

Should the Capitals trade Marcus Johansson?  Read here.

Capitals Go American

Read my latest for RtR - a Saturday column on the Caps' American infusion at the 2012 Draft.  Read the article here.

Capitals Run Pittsburgh

Read my latest for RtR, in which I recap what was an excellent first night for the Capitals at the 2012 Draft.  Read the article here.

Report Card: Alex Ovechkin

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games.  The final player to be evaluated is winger Alex Ovechkin, who finished his 7th NHL season, all with the Capitals, on this past campaign.

Season Summary: Coming off the worst statistical season of his career on 2010-11, Ovechkin only got worse in 2011-12.  In 78 games played, Ovechkin complied 38 goals (2nd lowest of his career), 65 points (lowest of career), a minus-eight rating (2nd lowest of career) and took 303 shots (lowest of his career).  In addition, unlike past years, Ovechkin struggled to find any sort of consistency in his game, and his scoring totals were boosted by two big hot streaks at the turn of the New Year and in late March, respectively.  His 65 points still led the team, but if Nicklas Backstrom had been healthy the whole season, they would not have, and it took Ovechkin about a month to catch Backstrom in points after Nicky went down.  Even more concerning was Ovechkin's dropoff in corsi rating, especially because in 2010-11 his corsi was still high despite career low offensive output.  This year, the Russian winger's puck possession level plummeted to -4.78 (from +11) - which was 8th on the team among 13 forwards that played 40 or more games.  Ovechkin also did all of this against relatively weak competition - not only relative to that of his fellow forwards (3rd easiest minutes) but compared to last season. Yikes. Grade: C
Role Play: Following his down year two seasons ago, I was in a majority of people who expected Ovechkin to return to form this past year.  Boy, was I wrong.  Ovechkin never got in to a consistent scoring rhythm, did not even come close to a point per game for the first time in his career, and was awful defensively basically the entire season.  Sure, he had those "oh wow" moments - Chicago comes to mind - and he likely always will, but that is not enough.  For a player with the captaincy of a franchise and the highest annual salary cap hit in the National Hockey League (for another nine years), I expect a lot more than 65 points, little defense, and bad positional play.  Ovechkin's leadership was again called into question by some, as well - and fair or not, I don't think a great captain's leadership would be as questioned as often as Ovechkin's is.  In short: much was expected from "The Great Eight" this year; he failed to deliver. Grade: C-

Report Card: Nicklas Backstrom

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is center Nicklas Backstrom, who finished his fifth NHL season, all with the Capitals, on this past year's campaign.

Season Summary: Marred by a concussion that caused him to miss 40 games between early January and late March, Backstrom's 2011-12 campaign was very good nonetheless.  Playing in 42 games, Backstrom was the only Capital to average more than a point per game and led the team in scoring for more than a month after he was hurt on January 3rd - it took Alex Ovechkin that long to catch him.  All told, the Swedish pivot had 14 goals, 30 assists, 24 penalty minutes, and a minus-four rating.  The bad rating was fueled by the fact that he was both unlucky (PDO of 986, fourth worst among Capitals forwards), and the fact that Capitals goaltenders only had a .900 save percentage when he was on the ice (second worst among forwards).  Backstrom was also one of only five Washington forwards to have a positive corsi rating for puck possession at 3.76, though he did it against very soft minutes. Grade: A-
Role Play: Coming off a very poor (by his standards) 2010-11, Backstrom was the Capitals' best player when he was healthy, producing steadily offensively and playing reliable defense as Washington's only above-average center.  His injury was obviously a huge loss for the Capitals, and with him out of the lineup, the team struggled mightily, but it't not in any way his fault that Rene Bourque decided to behead him.  In short, when he was able to lace them up, Nicky was a monster, which is what I expected - he's too good a player to be as average as he was two seasons ago. Grade: A

Report Card: Karl Alzner

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is defenseman Karl Alzner, who finished his fourth NHL season, all with the Capitals, on this past year's campaign.

Season Summary: Alzner was a rock virtually all season again for the Capitals, playing in all 82 games for the second consecutive season.  In those 82 games, Alzner set career highs in assists (16) and points (17) while also leading the team in plus minus rating (+17) - this was especially remarkable because he spent most of the season playing his even strength minutes with John Carlson, who had the worst plus minus on the team.  Alzner also played the toughest minutes of any Capital at even strength, and the only two defensemen to allow fewer goals against per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time while playing tougher competition were Ryan McDonagh and Nicklas Lidstrom (per JP).  Because Alzner played such incredibly hard minutes, his corsi was the worst on the team among defensemen.  Nevertheless, Alzner was a rock all year with very few exceptions as he continued to establish himself as one of the NHL's top shutdown defensemen. Grade: A
Role Play: Coming off his breakout first full NHL season, Alzner did not regress, unlike his partner John Carlson, in fact getting better in most respects.  I wrote in this space in September that the Capitals were going to lean in Alzner in all situations, and they did, particularly with a man down, as he led all DC players in shorthanded ice time and averaged over 20 minutes a night.  It is worth noting, however, that all of Alzner's shorthanded ice time came on the 21st ranked penalty kill in the league, which perhaps indicates too much ice for Karl in that regard.  Nevertheless, Alzner had established himself as a minutes-eating, responsible, steady defensive defenseman, and he was that this year, to a T.  He did exactly what he was supposed to and he did it well. Grade: A

Report Card: John Carlson

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is defenseman John Carlson, who finished his third NHL season, all with the Capitals, on this past year's campaign.

Season Summary: After a superb first full season in the National Hockey League, Carlson fell victim to the dreaded sophomore slump this season.  Expected to take a step forward by all, the young American defenseman struggled out of the gate and never really seemed to find his groove, going long stretches without points despite offensive opportunities being made available to him because of Mike Green's long term injury.  Carlson played in 82 games for the second consecutive season, scoring nine goals, 32 points, a -15 rating (tied for worst on the team), and 22 penalty minutes.  In addition, his corsi rating was the second worst among all Capitals defensemen at -5.08.  It is imperative to note, however, that Carlson played the second-toughest minutes among all Washington rearguards at even strength. Grade: B-
Role Play: As noted above, big things were expected from Carlson this season after an excellent first go around in the NHL.  Carlson was penciled in by many for around 40 points, excellent defense, and a two way game that could be rivaled by only Mike Green on the Capitals, if anyone at all.  But Carlson took a step backwards, not only in terms of points, but also in terms of defensive coverage, and his points, when they came, came in spurts and were followed by long bare patches.  He played against the other team's top line almost every night, but he looked lost in his own zone more often than not and seemed to fall apart whenever he was separated from Karl Alzner.  He ate minutes, which is certainly admirable, and his ability to stay healthy should not be understated.  But I wanted more from a player with such sky high potential.  Still, what happened was not totally unexpected, as disappointing as it was for most of the season. Grade: C+

Report Card: Alexander Semin

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is winger Alexander Semin, who finished his seventh NHL season, all with the Capitals, on this past year's campaign.

Season Summary: It was a tale of two seasons for Semin, who was downright terrible by his standards until late December, posting only 14 points through December with a plus-minus rating well in the red and over 30 penalty minutes.  After a two-goal performance against the Rangers on December 28, however, Semin was rather steady and inconsistent, save a five-game pointless stretch between February 28th and March 8.  Overall, Semin played in 77 games, tying his career high, posting 21 goals, 54 points, a plus-nine rating, and 56 penalty minutes.  He was also one of only five Capitals forwards to have a positive corsi rating, at 5.21; he did this, however, against the fifth-easiest competition among those forwards. Grade: B
Role Play: One-year deal or not, a player making $6.7 million (more than Jonathan Toews and Ryan Kesler, among others) is expected to score more than 21 goals and 54 points in 77 games.  Granted, Semin played very well defensively even when he wasn't putting up points for the most part, but those opening two months were simply ghastly from a player who is as good as Semin is.  Maybe he was hurt, maybe he was distracted, I don't know.  What I do know is that despite that bad first third, Semin helped the Capitals make the playoffs with a two way game that was not appreciated for how good it really was.  But man, that salary and that first two months. Grade: B

Report Card: Brooks Laich

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is center Brooks Laich, who finished his ninth NHL season, and ninth with the Capitals, on this past year's campaign.

Season Summary: In the first season of a new six-year contract, Laich, like most of the Capitals, experienced a drop off in point production, scoring seven less points this year than last.  He also managed to score his points rather consistently, though he did go through some rather long stretches with little point production in the winter months.  Overall, he had 16 goals, 25 assists, a minus-eight rating, and 24 penalty minutes while playing in all 82 games for the second consecutive season and playing all positions up front.  His puck possession numbers, however, were terrible; he checked in with a -7.49 corsi, the third worst among Caps forwards.  It should be noted, however, that he also faced the toughest competition among those forwards. Grade: B
Role Play: With a $4.5 million cap hit, Brooks Laich is overpaid.  But he is also an incredibly versatile player, and to me, he filled his role admirably for what was expected of him at the beginning of the season.  Playing third line center, second line wing, second line center, and first line center, Laich played tough shutdown minutes at even strength and was also one of the Caps' prime penalty killers.  His point production was modest, but again, similar to his career averages.  And despite his occasional poorly-timed remarks to the media, Laich continued to be a leader on and off the ice and show why he was important for the Caps to keep around...despite his big contract. Grade: B+

One Day

Read my latest column for RtR, where I close the book on the 2011-12 NHL season by talking about the Kings, what they tell us, and waiting. You can read the article here.

Report Card: Tomas Vokoun

As the 2011-12 season has come to a close, the time has come to evaluate what it meant for the Capitals, both as a team and as individuals.  As such, as the summer progresses, I will be writing a report card, or individual evaluation, for each player who played in 9 (~10%) of the team's games, or 4 playoff games. Next up is goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who finished his first season with the Capitals but his 14th NHL season overall on this past campaign.

Season Summary: After signing a one year, $1.5 million contract to head to Washington on July 2nd, Vokoun's season got off to a rocky start when Michal Neuvirth was inexplicably chosen over him to start the season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.  Once Vokoun got in the net, he was great, winning his first six starts with Vezina-caliber numbers and helping fuel the Caps' hot start.  His play declined in November and parts of December, but by Christmas, he was keeping the Caps afloat, winning all but two of his starts between December 28th and January 13th.  Vokoun began to struggle with injuries as the season wore on, and only played in four games after February 22nd.  Overall, the veteran had a 25-17-2 record, a 2.51 GAA, .917 save percentage, and four shutouts. Grade: B+
Role Play: Vokoun signed in Washington with the goal of making a long playoff run, he said such when he signed. However, his signing also gave the Capitals the first bona-fide star goaltender they had had since Olie Kolzig's prime.  It had been a long time since the Caps had a true number one guy, and when Vokoun was healthy, he played like that guy - stealing games for the Caps in their anti puck possession system.  He was significantly better than Michal Neuvirth this season, contrary to popular belief, and when he was healthy, he deserved to get the call in goal; this is not a debate.  Vokoun was the reason that the Capitals were able to tread water throughout the winter months, especially through tough patches in the schedule.  Unfortunately, he got hurt before he could prove his worth in the playoffs, but make no mistake: without him, there are no playoffs. Grade: A