Washington uses reshuffling as motivation for Cup
Every hockey fan in the nation’s capital owns a theory about why the talented Washington Capitals haven’t won a Stanley Cup, and somehow goaltender Braden Holtby has managed to sum them all up in 12 words.
“We are still working on getting that comfort level in uncomfortable situations,” Holtby told USA TODAY Sports.
Holtby’s succinct summation seems particularly important during this training camp because the Capitals, despite leading the NHL in points for the second season in a row, were forced into a roster shake-up because of salary cap concerns.
With the Capitals saying goodbye to veterans Marcus Johansson, Justin Williams, Karl Alzner and Nate Schmidt, it’s easy to project them taking a half-step backward this season.
Holtby doesn’t see it that way. “I think we are all excited by this challenge,” he said. “There was a lot of frustration and disappointment from last year, and if we channel it the right way, we can create something great.
“We have new energy coming up from the minors. Sometimes a little young blood helps.”
Johansson posted 58 points last season, and Williams was a
24-goal scorer. The Capitals are hoping that rugged forward Tom Wilson, 23, will claim a top-six forward job and take another step to become a 15-plus goal scorer. Likewise, they would expect more from Andrei Burakovsky, 22, who had 35 points in
64 games.
Devante Pelly-Smith is the only new veteran under contract, and the expectation is the third and fourth lines will have new looks.
“The more competition we have, the better it is for us,” Washington right wing T.J. Oshie said. “It’s better for our mental side of the game. There’s going to be guys who will need to prove they are where they need to be or that they should be playing more minutes. I think it will be exciting what level of competition will be brought out by this.”
The Capitals’ makeover would have been more painful if they hadn’t re-signed Oshie, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent. Oshie had 33 goals last season.
Oshie signed an eight-year,
$46 million deal after it appeared Washington could lose him. Even though Oshie will be 38 when the deal expires, a
$5.75 million cap hit is manageable. He could have commanded an average salary of between
$7 million and $8 million on the open market.
Oshie re-signed knowing changes were coming. He said he believed in the organization top to bottom.
“When you fall short, you just look for different ways and different solutions to bring the best out of people,” Oshie said. “I don’t think it’s in the personnel. We just didn’t find a way to collectively bring our best game when it matters most.”
Washington players lobbied general manager Brian MacLellan to find a way to keep Oshie.
“My answer is what we need to do differently is to learn from the hurt and anger of how we ended last season,” Oshie said. “Each guy just needs to be better.”
What Oshie is also sure of is that it is misguided to single out Alex Ovechkin as the primary reason for the Capitals’ playoff shortcomings.
“You can tell through his emotion on the ice and when he talks, he wants to win just as bad as any of us do,” Oshie said. “He’s a scapegoat because he’s Ovi. But it’s unfair for him, and maybe the rest of us, because everyone lets us off the hook, and that shouldn’t be the case.
“He will do anything he has to do for us to win, but it has to be a team collective thing. But his attitude is contagious. He has the young love for the game.”