Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Washington Capitals

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Travis Boyd, Braden Holtby, Radko Gudas, Ilya Kovalchuk, Head Coach Todd Reirden

Incoming – Daniel Carr, Justin Schultz, Henrik Lundqvist (later announced he would have to sit out the season), Head Coach Peter Laviolette

Impact of changes – The changes are centered on goaltending and coaching. The goaltending duties shift from long-time netminder Holtby to the Golden Boy Ilya Samsonov. Bringing in Lundqvist was a nod to Samsonov, letting him know that he's their guy – but no pressure, because the backup being brought in can take the heat off when you need it. But, the December 17 news of Lundqvist being forced to sit out for the season due to a heart condition really threw a wrench into those plans.

Samsonov has not started more than 37 games in a season in any of his last seven. So it's a little risky assuming he starts even 50. A shortened season is actually a great way to give him a high percentage of starts, yet keeping the overall start count at a manageable level – such as starting 40 out of 56 games. He'll have to shoulder more than they had planned, as a result of the Lundqvist news (unless the team signs a veteran such as Ryan Miller to replace King Henrik).

Reirden coached the Capitals to 240 goals-for last season, good for second in the league. You can't really top that, from a fantasy standpoint. A new coach can only bring that number down. Laviolette will clean things up defensively. Offensively, hopefully he leaves well enough alone. The top line of Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom, with a second line of TJ Oshie, Jakub Vrana and Evgeni Kuznetsov should continue to put up solid numbers, with Vrana still on a noticeable upward trend and Oshie likely approaching (or already in) his downward trend. But with a new coach there is a risk with superstar defenseman John Carlson, who was producing at a 90-point pace before the season was halted. Maybe Carlson becomes a 65-point player (at worst), or perhaps he continues with his torrid production. The point is – the situation has changed, and when a player is flying like that, the last thing you want is for the situation to change.

Ready for full-time – Daniel Sprong is finally going to get a second NHL shot. And it will be a good one, too. You see, the Caps are tight against the Cap and they lack forward depth. So, ready or not like it or not, Sprong is getting a spot. Likely on the third line. He'll be kept on a short leash and likely see his share of healthy scratches, but the upside is there and if used with the right linemates there will be spurts of fantasy-worth production.

The top prospect in the organization, Connor McMichael is still another year away. However, he could get an early nine-game trial look by the team, and in a shortened season that could mean he sticks around for the first three or four weeks. McMichael, who we profiled here, pretty much scores at will at the OHL level (47 goals in 52 games last year, 102 points).

Goaltender Vitek Vanecek is coming off a very strong AHL performance that saw him take over starting duties and post a 2.26 GAA and 0.917 SV% in 31 contests. He has to clear waivers in order to be sent down, which could encourage the Caps to keep him as their backup goaltender now that Lundqvist is forced to sit out the season.

Washington Capitals prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – The Capitals are perennial top-five scorers in the NHL as a team and while a new coach may hurt that, it probably shouldn't be too bad. However, the core is starting to age and the prospect pipeline is very lean. The Caps may have the fewest fantasy-worthy prospects of any organization. Turning Sprong into a productive star NHLer would make a huge difference, because otherwise the future at forward would just lie with Vrana and McMichael.

The defense will have to tighten up and a new coach should see to that. Especially with a young, unproven starting goaltender in Samsonov. This could turn Carlson's possible 90 points into something in the mid-60s

Fantasy Grade: B- (last year was B)

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2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades

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