The Washington Capitals were swept in four games by the New York Rangers and had their season ended swiftly on Sunday night. But the team didn’t have much to hang their heads about after an incredible run down the stretch to even qualify for the playoffs.
The team’s MVP in 2023-24 was arguably goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who came out of nowhere to tie for the league lead in shutouts (6) and post career bests in appearances (50), starts (48) and wins (25). The Outlaw took over the number one spot in goal from 2022 Stanley Cup champion goaltender Darcy Kuemper, starting 28 of the last 35 games for the Capitals after the All-Star break.
“Chuckie has been arguably our Most Valuable Player,” Spencer Carbery said toward the end of the season. “He’s the reason we’re in the spot we are or a large reason why we’re in this spot.”
Now comes word from Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the Capitals could try to move Kumper over the offseason despite the veteran having three years left on his contract where he makes $5.25 million annually. Friedman made the remarks during the latest recording of the 32 Thoughts Podcast as he previewed potential offseason moves by the Capitals.
“Obviously they’ve got Lindgren in goal,” Friedman said. “Is Kuemper back? Do they try to find a new home for him? I think that’s possible. It’s not easy (with his contract), but I think they’re going to try.”
Kuemper, 33, had his worst full season in the NHL where he made 25 or more starts (30) in a year. The netminder posted career lows in goals against average (3.31) and save percentage (.890). Kuemper finished the season with a win/loss record under .500 (13-14-3) and did not win a game after February 26. He was even relegated to the bench on his bobblehead giveaway night.
The Capitals also have two intriguing prospects on the farm in Hunter Shepard (2023 Calder Cup playoff MVP) and Clay Stevenson, both of whom are deserving of more of a role next season. Stevenson led the AHL in shutouts (7) as a rookie and posted a 2.06 goals against average and .922 save percentage.
Meanwhile, Shepard was named AHL goalie of the year after winning 27 of his 34 games this season. Shepard was the Capitals’ third goaltender this season and went 2-1-1 in his four starts. He won his NHL debut on October 25, 2023 against the New Jersey Devils.
The Capitals signed both Kuemper and Lindgren as unrestricted free agents after pulling the plug on their young goalie tandem of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek during the summer of 2022.
Friedman also mentioned his belief that the Capitals would search for some high-end offensive talent, remarking “you have to find some scoring to take the load off of (Alex) Ovechkin and I have no doubt that they will try to do that.”
He also added that TJ Oshie could choose to wrap up his career due to injuries, giving the team even more flexibility to add impactful players over the summer.
Elliotte Friedman: Oshie lingered on the ice for a long time. He got to a 1,000 game this year the hard way. Dylan Strome said he played with a broken hand. He’s got one year left. His body has been through a lot. A lot. I’m not saying that I know here because I don’t but when someone told me he’d been out there late and he was the last guy to get off and he kind of lingered around a bit, you have to at least think he’s considering the possibility. Maybe he’s not the player he was before because he’s been banged up but he’s a big big presence in that room. Like it’s very clear the young players really like him they depend on him. He sets an attitude there. It’s just another hole in their lineup if he leaves… He’s been through a lot.
And you know what, that could give them a lot of LTIR flexibility. Now in the offseason it’s trickier, but when you’re looking for offense, what’s the most expensive to find? Scoring. But they’ve got one of the best cap people in the league down there in Don Fishman and if anybody can figure out how to maneuver that, he’s one of them.
The hockey insider noted that the team could also try to be creative with how it doles out minutes to Alex Ovechkin during his age 39 season.
Elliotte Friedman: Ovechkin, it almost reminded me of Dale Hunter, he played eight and a half minutes through two periods and then they loaded up in the third period and he played seven minutes. And again, that makes me wonder if next year… next year is going to be about going for the goal record. If they want to make the playoffs, I wonder if they’re think they have to spot him a little bit too.
