Washington Capitals: 2 Breakout Candidates For Next Season

With each season that passes, it seems as though every team has players who improve significantly. They often turn out to be prospects naturally, but players who have some experience in the league also can. In this segment, we will be looking at two potential breakout candidates from each team. We will also be setting a max age limit of 26 years old, so older players are not eligible for discussion.

In this one, we look at our final Metropolitan Division team, the Washington Capitals. We recently had a piece covering two prospects who could make the team, so they will not be talked about in this one. Instead, we will be looking at two young players who already have NHL experience who should improve even more next season. They each were pleasant surprises this past season and could have even more left to show.

Daniel Sprong RW: Daniel Sprong left a good first impression with the Capitals this past season. In 42 games, he scored 13 goals and recorded 20 points. It came after a rough season with the Anaheim Ducks that only saw him play in eight games. Other than that, he was stuck in the AHL. However, he showed this season that he is meant to play at the NHL level and has the potential to be maybe become a top-six winger for them. He could even be capable of hitting the 25-goal plateau over an 82-game schedule, which would be huge. Keep in mind, he is only making $725,000 this season, too.

Vitek Vanecek G: It's been a crazy off-season for Vitek Vanecek. After being selected by the Seattle Kraken at the Expansion Draft, he would then be traded right back to the Capitals. This season was fantastic for him, as he went from a third-string goaltender to a starter. In 37 games, he had a 21-10-4 record to go along with a .908 SV%. This was only his rookie season and he should be able to improve even more moving forward. He will be in a battle with Ilya Samsonov for the starting job yet again, but realistically, they could make a perfect 1A-1B tandem if they both reach their potentials.