For the first time in a while, the Caps have a number of roster spots up for grabs in training camp this season. In recent years, all but one or two spots were taken before training camp even started.
At forward the Caps have three open slots in the top-12 and likely one more spot for a 13th forward. Here’s a look at where things stand early in camp.
Nine returning forwards are a lock to make the team.
The locks: Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, Jay Beagle, Alex Ovechkin, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly, TJ Oshie, and Tom Wilson.
That leaves three spots in the lineup as well as one more extra forward spot up for grabs. While a lot of teams carry 14 forwards, it’s likely the Caps will only carry 13 due to limited cap space.
The players in the mix for the last four spots are: Jakub Vrana, Nathan Walker, Chandler Stephenson, Travis Boyd, Riley Barber, Alex Chiasson, Devante Smith-Pelly, Anthony Peluso, Liam O’Brien, Tyler Graovac.
DSP said he was hurt all of last year. A nagging knee thing that he mentioned to Devs in Oct. “I don’t want to say I was forced to play …”
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) September 17, 2017
Headline image: Chris Gordon
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