The Washington Capitals made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it certainly wasn’t easy. Washington struggled to score goals all season long. And these offensive woes continued to plague them in the postseason. In fact, the Capitals are the only team in this year’s playoffs to have been swept in four games.
The Capitals hoped to make some noise this year. But in the end, it wasn’t meant to be. To some extent, this was a better season than 2022-23 where Washington missed the playoffs altogether. Still, that fact doesn’t make this most recent failure sting any less than it already does.
Washington has a lot of work to do this offseason. Especially if they have playoff ambitions once again. But what exactly does this team need? Who could they target through trade and NHL Free Agency? Here are two moves the Capitals need to make this summer as they prepare for the 2024-25 season.
Capitals need improved goaltending
One thing that allowed Washington to overcome their scoring woes was their goaltending. More specifically, the play of Charlie Lindgren helped them make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, beyond Lindgren, the Capitals need better options. Darcy Kuemper had a poor season, posting the first sub-.900 save percentage of his career.
Furthermore, Lindgren lost the magic in the playoffs. He struggled against the New York Rangers in the first round. He posted an abysmal .864 save percentage in the four games against New York. Relying on Lindgren to replicate this season is a bit of a risky game for the Capitals to play.
Washington has a number of goaltending options in NHL Free Agency. They only have about $6.6 million in projected cap space, but the Capitals could still add a netminder. Cheap options include David Rittich and Casey DeSmith. If they wanted to splash the cash a bit more, Laurent Brossoit is another name to watch.
In any event, the Capitals must add another goaltender to their roster. It gives them depth in case one of Lindgren or Kuemper goes down with injury. And it may gives them more insurance in case one of the existing goaltenders begins to see a decline in their play. It can only boost their playoff hopes for 2025.
Washington must address scoring woes
As mentioned, the Capitals had issues scoring goals in 2023-24. In fact, Washington was one of the worst-scoring teams in the league statistically. It’s certainly impressive that they were able to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. But success is unsustainable when their goal-scoring is this dreadful.
Capitals had just three players score more than 40 points this season. Only three other players managed to score more than 30 points in 2023-24. Forward Dylan Strome had a great season with 67 points. And Alex Ovechkin overcame a slow start to score 31 goals this year. But more is certainly needed if they want to make the playoffs.
The Capitals once again have options in NHL Free Agency and through trade. For instance, Washington could go big and target Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk. The Edmonton native scored 40 points in the regular season and led Boston in points during the playoffs.
If they want to go the trade route, Washington could target some under-the-radar players. One option is Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko. Kakko scored just 19 points this season, but the former second-overall pick is not far removed from a 40-point season in the NHL.
The Capitals must find a way to address their inability to score this summer. As with Lindgren, relying on Ovechkin to go on another surge down the stretch is risky. If Washington can’t score, their playoff chances are certainly grim heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
