As the Caps close out their 2024-25 season, General Manager Chris Patrick and President of Hockey Operations Brian MacLellan hosted their final media conference on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
Long story short, the Caps don’t plan to make any drastic changes this offseason. Most of their key producers are still under contract, and both goalies have been locked in this past year on multi-year deals. Washington entered the playoffs as the top team in the Eastern Conference with 111 points, six more than they had during their Stanley Cup winning season in 2017-18. Bottom line: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“I think we had some big spots to fill last year. This year there’s fewer holes, and we’ve had some growth in young players. We have some players that are young and coming up to make the next jump,” MacLellan said. “We’ve got to be cognizant of leaving room for improvement, leaving room for guys to come in, and hopefully still add a piece or two, but it’s not going to be the same as last year.”
The Bottom-6
The Caps plan to shake up their bottom-6 crew. Patrick weighed in on that during his press conference.
“Going into next year, I think that’s an area that we need to look at to find ways to improve,” Patrick said. “I think we have both internally some options with some younger players in our system, and we’ll also see what else is out there externally.”
News on Ovi
Superstar Alexander Ovechkin has just one season left on his 5-year, $47.5 million contract from 2021. After his record-breaking season, the hockey world is buzzing about whether Ovi will return for one last ride.
MacLellan shared his thoughts and predictions for the future of the Capital Captain.
“He had a fun year this year. He really enjoyed himself. The team had a lot of fun together and were successful. I think he’ll come back and see where it goes from there.”
Free Agents
Despite hammering out a few extensions during the regular season, the Caps still have a few pending free agents with uncertain futures.
“I think we’d like to be ahead of the curve on our higher end restricted free agents,” Patrick admitted. “You get yourself in a tough spot pretty quickly if a team gets aggressive, so we’d like to make sure we’re covered off there.”
One player who hopes he slots into the fold is trade deadline add Anthony Beauvillier.
“I would love to play here for a long time,” Beauvillier explained in his breakdown interview on Saturday. “The group here is special, the city is awesome. We got to discover the city a little bit more over the last few months, and obviously, the fans are great. So, yeah, this would be a place I would like to stay for a long time.”
In Summary
The Caps are more focused on riding the momentum from last season’s successes than doing anything drastic to disrupt the flow. As MacLellan explained, one or two new faces may show up on the roster come next season, but don’t be surprised if the team leans more towards their young, internal options to fill any small cracks that may come up.
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