TEAM PREVIEWS: THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Introduction:

These are more than just the Washington Ovechkins. Somewhere in the middle of last season a combination of Washington's young talent, veteran moves, and the inspired coaching of Bruce Boudreau came together to give Alexander the Great his first trip to the postseason.

The composition of this team is mostly the same, with one very large change. Gone is Cristobal Huet and in his place is Jose "The Streaky" Theodore. Nevertheless I like this team's chances. Theodore is certainly still more competent then Kolzig and the young guns really came into their own last year. Lets see what we've got.

Key Departures:
Cristobal Huet

Huet was fantastic in his brief stint with the Capitals last season, posting 11 wins in 13 starts and a 1.63 GAA. This is certainly a big loss, but the Caps were fighting for the posteseason prior to his acquisition.

New Faces:
Jose Theodore

Theodore is a capable replacement for Huet. He will certainly perform better then Kolzig over the course of the regular season. Will that be enough though?

The Offense:

Yes, its tough to beat the Penguins 1, 2, 3 punch of Crosby, Malkin and Staal but the Capitals come close with a talented bunch of young stars and up and comers in Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin. They also have some veteran grit in Nylander, Kozlov and Federov. If this isn't a team of right now its a team of very soon.

You Want to Draft:
Alexander Ovechkin
Nicklas Backstrom
Alexander Semin

What hasn't been written about this guy? Ovechking, Alexander the Great, Oven-Chicken, Александр Михайлович Овечкин... whatever you call him Ovechkin is a serious consideration as your number one overall pick. 65 goals, 47 assists, +28, 446 SOG, 37 Powerplay points, and 11 GWG (if you use that stat). The only thing he doesn't do is spend time in the box. Ovechkin's position as a left wing and his absolute domination of two categories, goals and shots on goal, make him incredibly attractive as first overall. Plus he can do stuff like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzbmI6-YSnQ. He's been playing for three years and he already has a play that's referred to simply as "The Goal." What more do you need to know?
FACT: Ovechkin is only the 19th player in NHL history to reach the 60 goal plateau. The others: Phil Esposito, Reggie Leach, Steve Shutt, Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Dennis Maruk, Lanny MacDonald, Jari Kurry, Mario Lemieux, Bernie Nichols, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Alexander Mogilny, Teemu Selanne, Pavel Bure, Luc Robitalle and Jaromir Jagr.

Backstrom had a heck of a rookie season, scoring 69 points and playing a full year. If not for the double threat of Toews and Kane out in Chicago he certainly would have won the Calder. Furthermore, he added 6 points (4 goals and 2 assists) in the Capitals 7 game foray into the playoffs last season. I would expect a modest increase from Backstrom this year and would draft him as a competent second or excellent third center with a focus on him as an assist and powerplay specialist.
FACT: Backstrom really turned it on once he was placed on a line Ovechkin. Expect him to start as the number 1 center this year.

Semin had an off year. He missed 19 games to injury and only scored 42 points, falling way off pace of the 73 points he put up the year before. Despite these setbacks, Semin was still on pace to score over 30 goals. Semin takes a ton of shots and receives significant powerplay time. As he is a left wing capable of scoring over 35 goals, gettting 30 Powerplay Points and taking over 240 shots I'll give him a pretty strong recommendation here.
FACT: Semin also gets you PIM (90 in 06-07, 54 in 63 games in 07-08).

You Want to Keep an Eye On:
Michael Nylander
Chris Clark
Eric Fehr

Nylander continued his career resurgence, started in New York by Jaromir Jagr, by scoring 37 points in 40 games last season before tearing his rotator cuff (an injury that ultimately required season ending surgery). In his abscence Nylander would appear to have lost his position centering Alexander Ovechkin to Nicklas Backstrom. It remains to be seen how that will affect Michael. Loss of first line time aside, Nylander will likely still see significant powerplay time, where he had 18 points in only 40 games, and will still be centering the OTHER Alexander on the team, giving the team two solid and balanced scoring lines. If Nylander isn't a point a game and/or receiving significant powerplay time his SOG will kill you, particularly for a center. So I would take your time on Mr. Nylander and see what develops.
FACT: Nylander has played for 7 different teams, one of them (the Capitals) twice.

Clark missed all but 18 games with a wonky groin. Yes wonky is a technical term. The season before Clark scored 30 goals, playing largely on Oveckin's Right Wing. If Clark wins that job again he could very well have a similar year (30 goals, 54 points). Its worth keeping an eye on.
FACT: Before Ovechkin's arrival in Washinton the 32 year old Clark had never scored more then 10 goals.

Fehr is Washington's other high first round offensive pick. Fehr was drafted 18th overall in 2003. He hasn't done much in the NHL but scored 41 points in 40 games in the AHL in 06-07. Last season Fehr suffered a herniated disc and missed much of the year, but was resigned to a one year deal by the Capitals in the off-season. This could very well be his last chance to flash his offensive chops for the Caps. The Caps are relatively light at Right Wing so if he makes the big club Fehr should have every chance. His pedigree is good enough that if he finds his way onto one of the top two lines he could really make some noise.
FACT: Though he hasn't shown it yet in the NHL, Fehr is something of a power forward. At 6'4" Fehr is the owner of an 84 point 129 PIM season and an 111 point, 91 PIM season in the WHL (junior hockey). I'm just saying... kid is a fantasy god in the waiting if he can make the transition.

The Defense:

You Want to Draft:
Mike Green

Fast... heavy shot from the point... plays on the powerplay with Ovechkin... Poti is his only serious competition for that slot... what's not to like? And there is room for improvement! Green scored only 4 goals after the all star break last year, likely because the grind of his first full season had begun to wear him down. Still... Green led all defenseman in goals last season.
FACT: Holy crap where to start! OK... two facts for Green, I'll give him Poti's fact. One his nickname is "Game Over" for his clutch and overtime goals. Hell of name to give to a 22 year old. Ok...
FACT 2: Green's shot is so hard that when Patrick Thoresen laid down to block it in the first round of the playoffs, the puck actually broke his protective cup and nearly ruptured his testicle! Think about that the next time you go down to block a shot.

You Want to Keep an Eye On:
Tom Poti
Karl Alzner

Poti has consistently disappointed me. I put him here only because if Green goes down he's worth giving a look, and could very well have enough points to justify a low pick in deep leagues. He's only one season removed from a 44 point year with the Islanders. At 31 he's still a few years from being washed up, so he's worth at least a look.

Karl Alzner. Who? Karl Alzner? Alzner was drafted 5th overall in 2007. He may not even get a spot on the team this year, he's only 19, but he has been very very good in junior's (playing for Bret Hart's Team, The Calgary Hitmen). At 19 he is already the owner of a 47 and 36 point season (playing 63 and 60 games respectively). He's worth keeping an eye on, even if he doesn't make it to the big team at the start of the year.
FACT: Last season Alzner was named the WHL defenceman of the year AND the WHL player of the year.

The Powerplay:
Alexander Ovechkin
Alexander Semin
Nicklas Backstrom
Michael Nylander
Mike Green

Deadly efficient. Just the right number of shooters and passers. They are going to have to win a lot of games 4-3 and this powerplay is the key to that strategy.

The Goalie(s):

Theodore had... well he had a good year with the Avalanche. I can't believe I'm saying that. He split time with Budaj and put up respectable numbers in all three categories (28 wins in only 52 starts with a 2.44 GAA and .910 SV%). Theodore steps into a similar situation to the one he had in Colorado, minus the competition. He'll be playing behind a young, but improving, D and an offense that is steadily maturing but loaded with talent. Similar numbers (except for wins which should see a modest improvement to about 34) should be expected.
FACT: There is reason to worry. Last season was the first season since 03-04 where Theodore's GAA was below 3.00. I'm optimistic though.

Should Theodore need some spelling, Brent Johnson is a capable backup. I think we're still a few years off from the emergence of Varlamov, Washington's highly touted goalie prospect, but crazier things have happened.

The Verdict:

The Capitals are the gem in the rising Southeast Division. The Caps' young guns and veterans should keep them in the playoff race from wire to wire. Draft Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green with confidence. Theodore is worth the risk and consideration should be given to Nylander and Poti for their significant upside.