Washington Capitals offseason recap

Key additions: Justin Williams, TJ Oshie

Key subtractions: Mike Green, Troy Brouwer, Joel Ward, Eric Fehr, Tim Gleason

Offense: The Capitals usually high-flying offense added shootout guru Oshie and Mr. Game Seven Williams this summer, giving Washington the most talent up front its had during the Ovechkin era. The two veterans will give coach Barry Trotz all kinds of options, but the biggest reason for excitement is the continued growth of forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky. Kuznetsov seized control of the No. 2 center role as the season progressed and looks poised to become an opposing coach’s nightmare after focusing matchups on Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. 20-year-old Burakovsky demonstrated flashes of his explosiveness against the Blueshirts in the playoffs, and has the luxury of being brought along slowly thanks to Washington’s impressive depth. The Capitals did lose 59 goals with the departures of mainstays Brouwer, Ward and Fehr, but Washington shouldn’t have any difficulty replacing that production with increased roles for younger players and the aforementioned Oshie and Williams. And don’t forget about 2014 first-round pick Jakub Vrana, who could hit the ground in the NHL with two feet running.

Defense: Braden Holtby’s best season propelled Washington back near the top of the NHL standings and has the Capitals poised to stay there for the next chapter of Ovechkin’s career. Holtby is aided by the veteran quartet of John Carlson, Brooks Orpik, Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen, who may be expensive but do provide a consistent effort night in and night out. Everyone knows about Green’s struggle to stay healthy, but there’s no denying his impact when he was at the top of his game. Washington will miss his presence, but it was time for the Caps to move on and trust Carlson to be the primary triggerman on the blueline. The battle for jobs on the bottom pairing will be interesting to watch, with Washington clearly hoping youngsters Nate Schmidt, Connor Carrick and Madison Bowey seize the opportunity.

Franchise direction: Trotz has a stacked roster to work with in just his second year behind the bench with Washington. Scoring won’t be an issue and this team is a shoo-in for the postseason, but Trotz must help his players to learn from what’s kept them just shy of scaling the top of the mountain time and again in recent years. There’s no reason the Capitals can’t win the Stanley Cup, but that’s been said many times with disappointing results.

More offseason recaps: Penguins, Devils, Islanders, Hurricanes, Flyers, Blue Jackets