Team: 2020-21 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: Mar. 5, 2021

Published: Mar. 5, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Defense:

IMO, the Caps defensive group is solid, and there's depth in case of injury. The pairings have been playing well so far this season, so I can't imagine there being an upgrade that makes a lot of sense. Caps have Siegenthaler, TvR, and Fehervary waiting in the wings in case of injury or drop in performance. Basically, no moves necessary.

Forwards:

The only area where I could see adding is more scoring on the third line. Oshie and Eller are fine, but Panik isn't really a goal scorer, more of a possession/defensive forward. The Caps would have to move out a contract in any move to grab a third liner, and I think Sprong could be deployed on the third line if the Caps are having goal scoring issues.

Goaltending:

This is probably the only area where I could see the Caps exploring options. This really depends on how Samsonov performs in future games. Anderson is pretty old, but won his only start of the season. The Caps would likely have to move a contract to a team that's willing to part with a pending UFA goaltender with salary retention added. Hagelin is the likely choice here, since he has a relatively high cap hit for essentially being a PK specialist and a fourth liner. I think Jonathan Bernier could be an interesting pickup, but that would mean sending Vanecek or Samsonov to the taxi squad.