What To Look Forward To In Capitals Preseason

With a shorter preseason and a veteran lineup in place, there won’t be as much intrigue with the Washington Capitals as in recent years. But the four-game slate opens Sunday afternoon at TD Garden in a game televised both locally and on NHL Network nationally.

The first two games in Boston figure to be a minor-league-laden lineup, and the Monday game at Giant Center in Hershey should feature a number of players who will be skating for the Bears this season.

And honestly, there aren’t a whole lot of decisions to make outside potential injury replacements, as Capitals GM Chris Patrick mentioned the auditioning would be for special teams rather than roster spots.

Even with that, it seems clear the intent this season is for Washington to roll four lines, with less dependence on the top two lines for offense.

Patrick also indicated that waiver status would be part of the decision-making process, but clearly part of that was out of their hands, like when they lost defenseman Vincent Iorio to waivers last season.

Capitals Goalie Situation

He also wouldn’t commit to the tandem of Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren, as with Clay Stevenson needing to clear waivers to go down to Hershey, the Caps could decide to trade Lindgren or Stevenson instead of losing them outright, or carry three goalies off the bat and wait to make a move.

Thompson secured the starting role last season with strong play down the stretch, and Lindgren played sparingly as the Capitals looked to make the playoff cut. With Lindgren’s more expensive contract of $3 million for this season and next, he could be an attractive deal to move, as Stevenson earns only $800,000 this season, although he will be a restricted free agent next summer and will earn a raise.

Washington has veteran minor-leaguer Cal Peterson as an option for Hershey if need be, as he is in camp on a PTO and can slot in should Washington need a goaltender for Hershey.

The goalies will get a chance to make an impression in the four games, and while Lindgren still has the inside track on the backup job, it’s very possible Washington opts to go younger – particularly with a rare lack of another true young goaltending prospect coming up as in previous seasons.

With an impressive NHL debut last season, forward Ilya Protas has an inside track to make Washington’s roster, but still would need to turn in a good camp to make the cut.

Another young forward worth watching in these gams is Ivan Miroshnichenko, as he is no longer waiver-exempt and would have to clear to go down to the AHL, so that certainly could be a factor is if he is on the initial roster, or they could gamble he would clear.

The younger Protas wouldn’t need waivers to be sent down, so if the two forwards end up fairly even on the depth chart, he could be the one left off the Opening Night roster – at least for now. But an impressive end to last season will certainly make it difficult to send him back to the AHL.

Another forward who could be in the mix is Andrew Cristall, although he is more a long shot to make the roster off the bat, as he is waiver-exempt and has not gotten a taste of the NHL yet, but that probably will change this season at some point.

It’s also important to note that, with some time between the NHL’s first game and Washington’s season opener a few days later, what is the first 23-man roster of the new season may change sooner rather than later, as the Caps may gamble on placing players on waivers after the rest of the league has its rosters set, and clubs are less likely to take a flier on a waiver claim. So Washington could hang on to a player who would need to clear waivers until a few days in, while sending down a waivers-exempt player.

As for the preseason slate, the first two games will be a lighter version of the Capitals lineup, while the two games next weekend against Boston at home and at Philadelphia will be more dress rehearsals for the season opener in Carolina on October 2.

With a compressed season and a veteran roster, while there will be less intrigue than usual with the Caps, there are a couple of decisions Washington will need to make that could impact the team’s future.