General Manager of Washington Capitals talks about the Capitals after disappointing exit, once again
Washington Capitals was shocked by its loss to Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs last year and this year was no less than a shock as Capitals came up with one of the worst performances in the franchise’s history during the postseason.
Capitals already had three disappointing postseasons haunting it prior to this one and Lightning gave Capitals absolutely no margin for error.
In the end, Lightning came out on top being the dominating force in the series to win it by 4-0. Washington Capitals’ general manager, George McPhee, faces another off-season where he has to respond to countless questions, comparing the team’s performance
in the regular season with the postseason.
"In my own mind I know and I could see it during the series and all through the playoffs what I want to do for next season -- and it's crazy, even during games, I'm writing down lineups for next year based on the way things are going, the way people are
playing and what we have in our organization", McPhee said on Thursday as members of the organization addressed the media on ‘breakdown day.’ "There's a certain place I want to get to with the team and I think we have it within our organization to get there".
Though there are a number of players with the potential of making it to the starting line-up, McPhee is particularly interested in changing the entire outlook of the team.
The forward line-up seems to be stable and there aren’t any new expected additions to the squad. There have been several occasions where it seemed that Capitals was struggling but the nine players are in proper rotation and positions.
It is very unlikely that the Capitals’ management would change this especially with the offence getting deadlier with the additions of Jason Arnott and Marco Sturm in the mid- season.
The defence has been a little vulnerable and this is one area where a little bit of reconstruction could help.
This is further made necessary with the fact that Tom Poti’s, one of the star defensive players, future is hanging in doubt after the injury that he sustained.
There are also some other players in defence that are going to be on the free agency list like Karl Alzner which means if they move out then Capitals would surely need reinforcements.
Capitals’ goalie, Michal Neuvirth, played each and every minute of the games during the playoffs but this doesn’t necessarily mean that he is the best, perfect and assured number one goalkeeper for the team.
McPhee is reported to have said that Neuvirth wouldn’t be stopped to leave for playing for the KHL if he wants. McPhee is also expecting that the current coach, Bruce Boudreau, will maintain his spot as well.
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