Signings, trades shift balance of power
After building up to a playoff run that ended in the second round again, the Washington Capitals are going through a salary-cap nightmare usually reserved for Stanley Cup champions.
The same struggles that led to the deconstruction of the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings over the years is affecting the Capitals, though those teams have a pile of Stanley Cup rings to ease the pain.
Washington is expected to take a step back next season as the balance of power shifts in the Eastern Conference and across the league.
“We maxed it out, both playerwise and salary-wise,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. “It’s no different than the teams that have won in the past. We have the same kind of hangover, but we haven’t won a championship and we’re dealing with it now.”
The two-time Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals and the two-time Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be younger and the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes almost certainly better.
Elsewhere in the East, the Montreal Canadiens are reloading with the addition of longtime Washington defenseman Karl Alzner and the acquisition of forward Jonathan Drouin, as the Toronto Maple Leafs take another step toward being a championship contender by adding veteran winger Patrick Marleau to their young core.
Out West, the Dallas Stars could be one of the favorites to reach the final after bringing in goaltender Ben Bishop, defenseman Marc Methot, center Martin Hanzal and winger Alexander Radulov and given the Chicago Blackhawks’ movement toward future cost certainty.
Pittsburgh said goodbye to goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, defensemen Trevor Daley and Ron Hainsey, center Nick Bonino and winger Chris Kunitz, but may not take that big of a step back because of the young players ready to accept bigger roles.
The Hurricanes got a couple of Blackhawks castoffs — goaltender Scott Darling and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk — and signed Justin Williams, who has won the Cup three times and was playoff MVP in 2014.
The Rangers will be more relevant next season after signing defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for $26.6 million and re-signing Brendan Smith for $17 million over the next four years. The Devils haven’t made the playoffs since 2012, but will be improved after winning the draft lottery to pick center Nico Hischier, signing Brian Boyle and acquiring Marcus Johansson from the salary-cap-strapped Capitals.
Washington traded Johansson for picks within the division.
MacLellan still expects the Capitals to be a good team because of their top-end talent, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see them fall back to the pack without Williams, Shattenkirk, Johansson, Alzner and defenseman Nate Schmidt.
Not even getting to the East final in the Alex Ovechkin era makes it more painful for the Capitals to undergo so many changes.
“It hurts,” MacLellan said. “It’s just we’re maturing, we’re getting a little more top heavy as a team, like Chicago, like Pittsburgh, and we’ve got to pay the result for it.”