Hockey is finally back in the Nation’s Capital for the 2024-2025 season. This year marks the team’s 50th season in the league. Much has been accomplished in that time and after many years finally, a Stanley Cup. Let’s take a look at some storylines heading into this year:
- Spencer Carbery: Going into year 2 as the Caps bench boss, Spencer Carbery looks to lead this team to new heights. After taking the Capitals to the playoffs last year there is much to be excited about. Now they were quickly swept aside by a Rangers team that looked like an absolute wagon. Nonetheless the Caps seem to be in good hands with Carbery at the helm.
- The Great 8’s Goal Chase: The Great 8, Ovi, The Russian Machine. However you say it Ovi is on a mission this year. 853 goals, 41 away from Gretzky’s record. In the later years of his career there isn’t much left for the greatest goal scorer of our generation to reach. He’s missed some games with the lockouts and COVID, so his numbers could be even closer. He’s revolutionized hockey in the district. No doubt he’ll have his jersey in the rafters and a place in the Hall of Fame.
- Injuries to some familiar faces: To start the year, alternate Captain Niklas Backstrom and fan favorite TJ Oshie will be on LTIR. No telling if either of them will play this season or again, but it’s been an absolute pleasure watching them work. Backstrom is one of the most underrated players of his time and Oshie brings the energy every night.
- New Faces From New Places: After the swift exit last year changes were made. The Caps were very involved in the Free Agent market and brought in some new faces: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andew Mangiapane, Taylor Raddysh, Brandon Duhaime, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy and Logan Thompson all come to DC looking for a fresh start.
- Possible Impact: Dubois and Mangiapane both look to inject some energy in the top 6. Raddysh and Duhaime look to solidify the 4th line. Roy and Chychrun both look to add some experience and talent to the defensive corps.
- A Familiar Face Returns: The Snake returns to DC. Jakub Vrana returns after his time with the Detroit/ Grand Rapids and St. Louis/Springfield. Vrana was the main piece that went to Detroit for Anthony Manatha a few years back. Vrana, a key cog in that 2018 championship lineup, makes the final roster after beating out Ivan Miroshnichenko and Andrew Cristall. Now my guess is we see Miro back in the lineup at some point but that is TBD.
- Goaltending: The Caps have struggled with their goalie tandem since the time of Philipp Grubauer and Braden Holtby. In previous years we’ve seen Pheonix Copley, Ilya Samsonov, Vitek Vanecek, Craig Anderson, Zach Fucale, and just this last year Darcy Kuemper. The job now goes to Charlie Lindgren and new acquisition Logan Thompson from Vegas. Thompson has had some rough injury luck but is a reliable backup and should help out Chucky a bunch this year.
- The Old Guard: Only a few guys remain from that magical 2017-2018 team. Ovechkin, Wilson, Carlson, Oshie and Backstrom. It won’t be long until they are no longer here. We will never forget them or what they accomplished during that summer. We must enjoy them while we still can.
- Youth Revolution?: The Caps have gotten younger over the past season and have more young talent waiting in the wings. The Hershey Bears have been on fire in the AHL winning back to back Calder Cup championships. Some of that talent should eventually find their way down south to DC. Some guys have already arrived and stuck around: Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lappierre, and the aforementioned Ivan Miroshnichenko. Getting some younger guys ice time should prove valuable. Some of the big pieces of the future are current Boston College forward Ryan Leonard and University of Minnesota defenseman Ryan Chesley, both of whom have played for the US National Program. This past draft they took Leon Muggli who projects to be a terrific defensive player.
- Opening Night: The Caps open up their 2024-2025 season with a matchup against the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are currently 2-0 after winning their series with the Sabres in Prague this past week. The Devils are still one of the teams to beat in the Metro division. Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat, Tomas Tatar, and Dawson Mercer make for a dangerous offense. Defensively they feature former Capitals Brenden Dillon and Jonas Siegenthaler, and a former All-Star in Dougie Hamilton. Luke Hughes is also in that mix and will most likely play for them at some point. They have 2 very good goalies in Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. Puck drop from Capital One Arena is set for 7:00pm.
There is a lot to look forward to with this upcoming year. The Caps will look to take another step in the right direction. Being a much more competitive team in the division will be something to watch this year. LET’S ROCK THE RED. GO CAPS
The post Caps Open Up New Season With a Dance with the Devils appeared first on Marylandsportsblog.com.