Who adds what?
Joined: Jul. 2017
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Another possibility is that the Caps have had two rookies and one very tough almost 40 year old on defense this year after losing Alzner, Schmidt, and Shattenkirk in one summer. Behind a decent defense like St. Louis has, Holtby should still be awesome.
In his off year he's got 34 wins. He's got the record with 48 in a season. He's got three back to back years of 40 or more. He's got the second best all time save percentage in recorded playoff history. Highest active. Only guys close are Luongo and Crawford. Age and injury make them questionable.
Holtby is 28 and won 34 games this year behind two rookies, a 40 year old, and three regulars defensemen. At the deadline the Caps rented another third pairing rookie for a 5th round pick and a 2nd year 3rd pairing guy for a 3rd pick. And this seems to constitute a bit of an improvement. At the beginning of the season Aaron Ness and Taylor Chorney also filled in for the Caps on defense. Both cleared waivers and are in the AHL.
No. Holtby hasn't personally lost anything about his game. If anything, he's playing better.