.png)
The Washington Capitals season came to an end Thursday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils.
The Caps playoff hopes had been squashed over a week prior, and the team stumbled to the finish line in 2022-23, losing 11 of its last 13 games and finishing with a record of 35-37-10.
For the first time since the 2013-14 season, Washington will not be playing in the postseason. It’s only the second time since 2006-07 that the Capitals have missed the playoffs.
The Capitals have not won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018 / Photo: NYT
Even though the team had made the postseason eight years in a row, they have not advanced past the First Round since 2017-18 when they won the franchise’s only Stanley Cup.
It’s clear now; change is necessary and it’s coming.
Following the worst season in 16 years, the Capitals have already started cleaning house, beginning with the dismissal of Head Coach Peter Laviolette on April 14.
“We are grateful for Peter’s leadership and dedication to our organization for the last three seasons,” Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “Peter is a first-class individual who has represented our club with integrity and guided our team through many difficult circumstances in his tenure as head coach. We wish him all the best going forward.”
Three days later, on April 17, the team parted ways with assistant coaches Kevin McCarthy and Blaine Forsythe.
“We want to sincerely thank Kevin and Blaine for their efforts and contributions to the Capitals during their respective tenures and wish them the best moving forward,” said MacLellan. “Blaine has been a dedicated member of our organization for 17 seasons and was instrumental in helping the franchise capture its first Stanley Cup in 2018.”
The search for a new coaching staff is on. It will be the third head coach to lead the Capitals since the title just five years ago and the most pivotal hire for the club in years.
The team is coming off a five year stretch without a playoff series win, which has not happened since a stretch from 1977-1982.
Fortunately, there are some existing pieces on the team that have been a part of success and could be again in the future, most notably Alex Ovechkin.
The 37-year-old Ovechkin led the team with 75 points this season , including 42 goals and 33 assists.
This season, Ovechkin surpassed Gordie Howe for the second-most goals of all time, now sitting at 822 in his career.
The best NHL player of all-time, Wayne Gretzky, sits atop the list with 894 career goals. At his current pace, Ovechkin will catch him three seasons from now and take his place at the top of the league’s most prestigious list.
Besides Ovechkin, Dylan Strome had a career year in his first season in D.C. He was second on the team with 65 points this season, a career-high, including a career best in both goals and assists with 23 and 42, respectively.
All of the Caps players are contracted through at least next season, so it’s possible that a lot of the roster will remain the same.
Paired with some young talent and a new coach, it shouldn’t take long for the 2023-24 Capitals to click and hopefully propel back to the postseason and into the mix for championships.
Across the board, D.C. sports are down…but there’s nowhere to go but up, especially for the Capitals, which is traditionally the best and most consistent team in the DMV.
Comments