Team: 2022-23 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: May 17, 2022

Published: May 21, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This is in the circumstance where Backstrom takes a year off and tries to make a return in 2023-24.

Dealing Eller and Vanecek away for picks makes the most sense to free up even more money. McMichael is ready for the 3C role and we need a veteran to pair with Sammy, so I don't think either of these are huge losses.

If Hagelin won't be able to play next year, I'd love to bring Larsson back. He fit in so well on the fourth line and I'd love to bring him back. If Hagelin can end up playing, we start AJF in that spot and put Hagelin there when he's ready. In that scenario we can't sign Larsson for cap purposes.

At the draft, I think we need to target high upside forwards and safe, projectable defensemen. If we go forward in Round 1, I would honestly love to take the risk on Ivan Miroshnichenko. Reports are that he's in remission, so if he's on the right track in his recovery, there's a potential star waiting there. I also like Jimmy Snuggerud. If we go defenseman, I like Ryan Chesley a lot.


Signing Malkin to replace Backstrom for a year is the perfect solution IMO. If we can get him at a one year deal, that eliminates a cap headache if Backstrom is able to return the following year. He can still play at a high level when he's healthy, and even assuming he misses between 20 and 30 games, I think that'll be a good time to call up Lapierre for an extended time as a 3C and let McMichael play more as a 2C. If it's a shorter term absence, we can call Protas up to play 3C in spot duty as well. Having those two in the system allows us to ensure Malkin is healthy come playoff time. But the best part about signing Malkin would be that any time a Penguins fan mentions how great he is, we can refer to Geno as a Capitals Legend (same thing I do with Chara and Lundqvist, even though Lundqvist was different).

Although I worry about how sustainable Nichushkin's point totals are if he isn't playing with the firepower that's in Colorado, I still think he does enough that would make him a great addition. He plays a hard, North South, two way game and we need some more of that in the lineup. Adding him gives us six wingers that are more than capable of playing in the top six, which will be huge to helping out young guys like McMichael and Lapierre.

Even though he had an inconsistent season, I think Campbell will probably be the best option on the UFA market for goalies (I doubt Kuemper hits the market and MAF won't come here). I think he's definitely an upgrade and should be able to split starts with Sammy. If we can ultimately get .910 goaltending out of Campbell, I think that's a win. And in a perfect world, we're able to bring Mitch Korn back which will in all likelihood end up in improvements from both guys.

I know it's more likely Giordano signs one year deals with Toronto until he retires, but if we can throw some more money at him it'd be great to bring him in. He can still play at a high level and he brings us some flexibility within our defense pairs to change things up, something we didn't really have this year. Even though he's an older guy, we have prospects like Alexeyev and Johansen that can play if someone needs a maintenance day off.


Ultimately, the Caps need to get younger. But my dream offseason consists of them signing two players in their late 30s because I think this is a year of transition. Having these older guys that can still play at a high level is the perfect mix of on ice production and being able to get the kids more experience when they're out of the lineup. Having prospects like McMichael, Lapierre, Snively, Leason, Protas, Alexeyev, Johansen, etc. that are on the cusp puts us in a position that allows for the older guys to take maintenance days when need be so they can be as fresh as possible come playoff time.

If this team performs to its full potential and is in a playoff spot, great. If not, there's a bunch of guys on expiring contracts (Malkin, Giordano, Orlov, Jensen, Sheary, Hathaway, Larsson, TVR) that can be sold at the deadline if they aren't in the long term vision. It keeps all of our options open for next year depending on how the team does, where the prospects are in their development, and how Backstrom's recovery is going. Ovechkin doesn't have enough time left for us to fully embrace a youth movement if we're committed to going for it while he's still around, so I think this is the best way to give us a shot at a deep run while still building towards the future.

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