Projecting the Washington Capitals' Opening Night Roster

We're now less than four weeks from the start of the NHL season. Teams are finalizing their rosters and signing their RFAs, and players are getting ready for training camps to open. The Caps signed their big-name UFA this summer, locking up Alex Ovechkin for another 5 years. That should be long enough for him to surpass Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record and become an even greater hockey legend than he already is. He needs ~33 goals a season over those 5 years to achieve it, a total Ovi has had no problem achieving throughout his career. To help him in reaching that goal is the same core of players who have been with the Caps for years. Going into the season, their forward group looks like this:

Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Tom Wilson

Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Kuznetsov - T.J. Oshie

Conor Sheary - Lars Eller - Daniel Sprong

Carl Hagelin - Nic Dowd - Garnet Hathaway

Mike Sgarbossa

Joe Snively

Garrett Pilon

Not too much has changed from what the Caps had to work with last season, although the addition of Anthony Mantha at the trade deadline helped elevate their top 6 and should maintain the team's competitiveness going into next season. At this stage, it's unclear if the Capitals are going to strive for another Cup, or if they're content to stay competitive and push Ovi ever closer to that scoring record. The lack of meaningful new additions would suggest it's the latter, but it may just be a matter of their front office feeling that with this core they'll always be in the running for the Stanley Cup. Age will eventually catch up to them, but whether or not it happens this year remains to be seen. As for their forward depth, this may be Joe Snively's last shot at earning himself a permanent role on this team. Expect to see him in the lineup throughout the season. 

Similarly, on defence there isn't much in the way of major changes:

Dmitri Orlov - John Carlson

Michal Kempny - Justin Schultz

Trevor van Riemsdyk - Nick Jensen

Matt Irwin

Martin Fehérváry

Alexander Alexeyev

This defensive core remains largely the same, with the addition of Matt Irwin as a 7th D to round out their depth. Both Fehérváry and Alexeyev have been developing nicely in the Caps' system, and should injuries occur on the blueline, one of these two will be the first call-up. Fehérváry in particular has shown excellent progression at the AHL level and should earn himself a permanent spot in the NHL before long, possibly even this season.

In net, the Caps are running back the same tandem as last year:

Ilya Samsonov

Vitek Vanecek

Phoenix Copely

The Caps liked what they saw from their duo in net last season, going so far as to reclaim Vanecek in a trade after he was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, which cost them a 2nd-round pick. This is a young group of goaltenders, and they lack the pedigree to be considered sure-fire bets, especially when it comes to winning games in the playoffs. There's no denying the raw skill Washington has at this position though, and as these players develop their game at the NHL level the team's confidence in them will only grow.

What do you think of this lineup for the Capitals, and what would you change?

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports