The Washington Capitals made several additions to their lineup this offseason, and none were more newsworthy than acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings. Washington, betting on a return to form for Dubois and cashing in on his low trade value due to his long-term contract, added to their core group of centermen with the pickup.
Dubois joins Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael, Nic Dowd, and likely Hendrix Lapierre down the middle, presenting a logjam for head coach Spencer Carbery to solve. Only four of the five players can line up at center at one time.
“Two initial thoughts,” Carbery said at the final day of Development Camp. “One is, whatever you plan on thinking that is going to be healthy and available every single day, usually is not what’s available. So, I look at it like that. I know you’re always hopeful that you’re going to have your entire lineup there for 82 games and everybody stays healthy, but I think it gives us some depth there if we lose someone to injury.
“But, also guys that can play the wing. Mikey’s played, started last year on the wing. I thought [he] can easily, seamlessly go there. Lappy, we’ll see what it looks like, but we do have some options there and we’ve got some depth there. So it’s good to have that, especially down the middle.”
All but one of the five centers, Nic Dowd, have spent meaningful time playing wing in the NHL. As things currently stand, Dubois, Strome, and Dowd appear to have their spots on the center depth chart locked down which would leave the final battle between the younger McMichael and Lapierre.
The two early 20s forwards are no stranger to that fight as they’ve duked it out for roster spots at the past three Capitals’ Training Camps. Carbery’s mention of McMichael’s name first tracks as he seemed like the far more natural fit on the wing when he has played there and has more experience playing the position.
“He’s done a really good job on the walls and working at winger-specific stuff,” Carbery said of McMichael last season.
The second-year bench boss may also not want to mess with the good thing Lapierre has going after the Quebec-born forward earned AHL playoff MVP honors, leading the Hershey Bears to a second consecutive Calder Cup. The 22-year-old pivot centered Hershey’s top line and their top power-play unit, posting 22 points (7g, 15a) in 20 postseason games to lead both the champion Bears and the league overall in playoff scoring.
“We’ll look at a bunch of different things,” Carbery said. “I’ve thought about — that’s the luxury of training camp and the length of it, to be able to look at some things.”
Last season the Capitals were forced to adjust on the fly up the middle after losing two of the franchise’s key cogs, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The absences forced players like McMichael and Lapierre into bigger roles than they were slated to take at the start of the schedule and other names like Aliaksei Protas, Mike Sgarbossa, and even TJ Oshie man the middle in tight spots.
Dylan Strome, who entered the 2023-24 season as either the team’s third-line center or a top-six winger, was thrust into the team’s first-line center spot. While Strome succeeded with his second straight 65-point year and formed perhaps the best chemistry with Alex Ovechkin among the centers, the 27-year-old is better slated in a lineup to carry offense from a supporting line.
“Looking at the way the roster has shaped up and the lineup and what that looks like, I think it’s just now Pierre-Luc Dubois, Strome, McMichael, Lappy, there’s a little bit more balance there down the middle,” Carbery said. “So, those things, I think check some boxes for us of slotting players in the right spots and make it a highly competitive camp, give us an opportunity to look at some different guys in different spots, and see what fits.”
Overall, Carbery was pleased with the job general manager Brian MacLellan and the rest of the front office have done this summer. MacLellan has made it clear that he expects his team to compete next season and now it’s on Carbery to see how best to fit his new puzzle pieces.
“They did a phenomenal job,” Carbery said. “All we want as coaches is to have a clear plan and direction with where we’re going and ultimately trying to do everything they can to improve the roster. And I feel like that’s exactly what they did. So I think they’ve been working their butts off trying to find creative ways to improve our roster while we’re trying to get younger, while we’re trying to retool this thing.
“You’ve got to get creative with some stuff and that’s what, for me, they’ve done a superb job of. So now it’s on us as coaches to make sure that we’re getting everybody on the same page. We’re real clear with how we want to play and what our identity looks like from day one. And that’s what we’ll get to work on.”
