The Washington Capitals have won the Metropolitan Division four seasons in a row. It’s been domination of a sort, but with two top draft picks and a flood of top free agents coming in, the Metro is shaping up to be the toughest division in hockey in 2019-20 — and a real threat to the Caps’ ambitions.
Here’s a breakdown of who’s tougher and who’s weaker after the free-agent frenzy of July 1.
By Peter Hassett 3 weeks ago
After my recent 2019 draft grades and the start of Development Camp, I decided to take a look back at my work from this time last year and see if my thoughts on the Caps 2018 draft selections have changed.
By Chris Cerullo 3 weeks ago
The 2019 NHL Draft has concluded and the Washington Capitals ended up with four players selected within the first five rounds of action.
It’s time to evaluate how they did after a few days of observation.
By Chris Cerullo 4 weeks ago
There are a bunch of open questions for the Washington Capitals this summer. After swapping Matt Niskanen for Radko Gudas and extending Carl Hagelin for four more years, the Caps still have eight free agents whose future is unclear. Muddying things up further is the absence of a concrete salary cap for next season and the twin, looming chaoses of the entry draft and free agency.
To help alleviate your anxieties, I’ve ranked the Caps’ free agents by how likely they are to suit up for the team next season. From slam dunks to long shots, here we go.
By Peter Hassett 1 month ago
I really like Washington’s trade on Friday of Matt Niskanen to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Radko Gudas. The trade has every hallmark of an expert-tier Brian MacLellan move: an under-appreciated target player acquired to address a specific team need.
In this case, it was two needs: defensive stability and cap relief.
By Peter Hassett 1 month ago
As the Boston Bruins prepare for Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, Marcus Johansson is one of two former Capitals left standing in the playoffs.
After the trade deadline when he was dealt to the team that had injured him yet again, I wondered how MoJo would fit into the B’s lineup successfully in such a short amount of time. Lucky for us, former Caps bench boss Bruce Cassidy has deployed Johansson in a role we know well: as a primary distributor for crash and bang forwards, and as a lethal producer on the power play.
By Julia Karron 1 month ago
The 2019 Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St Louis Blues got underway on Monday night. The Blues shot out to an early hot start, but were eventually doomed by discipline issues and a fiery Bruins comeback.
The Bruins out-shot the Blues 38 to 20.
By Chris Cerullo 2 months ago
The third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was brutal. The San Jose Sharks, devastated by injury, failed to get the baffling calls necessary to defeat the St. Louis Blues, who now enter the final round for the first time since the mid-17th century. The Boston Bruins, who are neither big nor bad, stomped the Carolina Hurricanes in four vicious games, led, I’m sure, by the pure hockeysexual charisma of Marcus “Joe Hanson” Johansson.
Now, just a scant 49 years later, the Bruins and Blues have their rematch. Some experts are saying it’s a coin toss, so let’s, um, ask a coin.
By Peter Hassett 2 months ago
With another dramatic couple of weeks, the NHL playoffs now roll into the third round. We had one sweep and one double-OT game-seven elimination, so as long as you could stay up late at night, you had a good round.
But the time for delighting in past is over. It’s time for predictions. It’s time for Keith, a coin.
By Peter Hassett 2 months ago
Round one was buckwild. Every division champion got eliminated, we got some very unlikely sweeps, and we got some dramatic games seven. There’s no way round two can match it, but let’s make predictions anyway.
Let’s visit with Keith, a coin.
By Peter Hassett 3 months ago
