The Washington Capitals start their season on October 12th. Before they could look ahead to the the game, they had to set their roster and make final cuts to the team. There were the usual suspects who made the team, as well as some surprises.
Some of the usual suspects to make the team, include, the captain Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson. T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom are spending the year on injured reserve.
Newcomers Pierre Luc-Dubois, Taylor Raddysh, Andrew Mangiapane all made the opening day roster as well which was expected. Jakub Vrana who was with the team during the 2018 Stanley Cup run, got invited to camp on a professional tryout and made the team after being away from the Capitals since the 2020-2021 season.
The team also shored up the defense going out and acquiring players, Matt Roy, Jakob Chychrun, and Dylan McIlraths, who is getting a shot at the NHL eight years since he last made a roster.
The team also traded goaltender Darcy Kuemper who never lived up to expectations. The team traded for goaltender Logan Thompson to compliment goaltender Charlie Lindgren who won the starting job last season.
With the Capitals bringing in a good amount of veterans to team up with the young guns, while getting younger gives the team a good mix of speed, veteran leadership, and much needed scoring from multiple players which should make it easier on Alex Ovechkin.
The teams first game is Saturday, October 12th, at 7:00
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