Response to Peerless

I applaud our friend over at The Peerless Prognosticator for his well-researched and thorough post on experience on defense being a major factor when it comes to success in the playoffs in the past decade. Of the ten Stanley Cup defenses he profiled, I would argue the Capitals are most similar to the 2000 New Jersey Devils with their two rookies and the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning, who only had one real veteran but an otherwise overlooked but quick, puck-moving defense corps.  Many of those teams, though, traded for at least one experienced blueliner during the season. I agree with Peerless that we could stand an upgrade over Tyler Sloan, but even so, there is still hope. 

Anton Volchenkov: Future Capital?

Unrestricted free agent (UFA) hunting season begins July 1.  The Washington Capitals do not have tons of holes to plug that they can't fill from within.  They could stand to upgrade in a couple of important positions, most notably the #2 center position and some would argue the team needs the ever-elusive "shut-down" defenseman, also called a "minute-muncher" or a "crease-clearer."  The #2 center vacancy is real, but how real is the need for another defenseman?  I would argue the Capitals do not need another big-time defenseman and the real vacancy is at the #6 defenseman spot. 

Minute-Muncher

Crease-Clearer

Jeff Schultz's Contract

Washington Capitals top-pairing defenseman Jeff Schultz is a restricted free agent this summer.  He made $715,000 last season.  In order to retain his services, the Capitals will have to tender him at least a 1-year qualifying offer of 110% of his 2009-10 salary, which equates to $786,500.  Judging by other young defensemen around the league, Schultz should earn quite a bit more than that, a multi-year deal in the millions.

#55 Jeff Schultz

Capital Inflation - New Career Highs

Much has been made of the tremendous offensive season the Capitals are having collectively and the scoring exploits of certain team members, but I thought it would be instructive to show just how many career seasons are going on right now for the Caps:

-Nicklas Backstrom has set a new career high in Goals (29) and Points (89).  His previous highs set last season were 22 Goals and 88 Points.

-Eric Belanger has set new career highs in Assists (25) and Points (39).  His previous highs were 24 Assists and 37 Points.