Team: 2021-22 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 23, 2021

Published: Aug. 23, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This team is pretty cap strapped. The core remains mostly the same.
I expect Mantha to play with Ovi and Backstrom. While there's still a possibility Kuzy gets traded, I think he does not and stays to centre the 2nd line. Wilson playing left wing on this line and Sprong playing on the right wing is a little sus. Oshie on the 3rd line with Eller and Sheary should be fine. I'm pretty sure Oshie spent a some time on the Eller line. Fourth line stays the same.
Orlov and Carlson remain as the top pairing. Kempny returns to play with Schultz. I think it's possible Kempny plays with Carlson and Orlov plays with Schultz. The Bottom LD I have no idea. I don't really know much about Lucas Johansen, but do Caps fans really want Matt Irwin in the lineup? Samsonov and Vanacek remain the duo. That goaltending duo definitely raises some concern. Samsonov didn't have great regular season numbers an alright 2.69 GAA but only a .902 SV%. I'm pretty sure he spend a decent chunk of the season will a sub .900 SV%. Vanacek had a decent rookie season also a 2.69 GAA, but a .908 SV%. However he had a very up and down season and his SV% was way higher at the beginning of the season. .908% is probably not going to take you far in the playoffs. This past season the convo with Ovi was him slowing down or the injuries. For the first time in forever it felt like Ovi missed more than one or two games. He missed 11 games this season. (a few were for Covid protocol reasons, but still I think around 7-9 were due to injury) He did have a slow start, but he did score a bunch in the middle of the season. I think had Ovi played all 56 games, he would've hit 30 goals. I think missing the playoffs is possible, but I still think they are in a decent spot when it comes to making the playoffs.