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As Ovi enters his 22nd year, he could have the best group of forwards he's ever had around him. Ilya Protas could win the Calder Trophy and I wouldn't be surprised. Yes. Cole Hudson could win the Calder Trophy and I wouldn't be surprised. Seriously, yes, Cole Hudson. Two guys who could go out there and win the Calder Trophy. With Ovi and the Penguins, who don't have an amazing roster. That's the simplest way to say it. They did it. Tell that to the Flyers. That's what I was going to say. We've talked for however long, maybe 20 minutes, about the Capitals and nobody has mentioned Tom Wilson even once. Once again, he's on the Olympic team. So, is
there a better restructuring in hockey than that of the Washington Capitals and the group they're presenting this season? We've seen teams do this time and time again, notably, you know, the Pittsburgh Penguins with their big three Malkin, Crosby, and Letang, holding on, I think, to their franchise icons and pillars, trying to build around them a little too long, and look where that leads. They made the playoffs last year, but the year before, they were last in the league. I don't think it's working out so well for them. If you want to get away from sports, as I always like to do, look at the Los Angeles Lakers and how bad they were with Kobe Bryant in his last year.
They even tried to build around LeBron when he was 41, and sure, they got Luka, but that team wasn't achieving anything. Uh, there are many examples of, you know, nobody wants to part ways with their franchise icon and start a new chapter. Sometimes you have to do it. In very rare cases, you end up with the Washington Capitals who, as Ovi enters his 22nd year, might have the best group of forwards he's ever had by his side. I feel pretty confident saying that. I think this is a group of top five forwards, maybe top two in the entire NHL. Look at what they did last year or this offseason, they brought in Alex Tuch, they brought in Jordan Kyrou, they brought in Boone Jenner. Seven years ago, this team won a Stanley Cup.
They finished 25th in the league three years ago. There were a lot of pieces in motion and Ovi has been there all this time, and now you're seeing the other side of the coin when they have this loaded group, and just to talk about the depth of how good they are, I'm focusing particularly on the forward group. I know there's more to talk about, and we're going to get into that. Their fourth-row center earns 6 million a year, or Justin Schultz will earn that much if Boone Jenner earns 5.75 million a year. And then there's Anthony Beauvillier, who projects as the winger on that line, who had 15 goals last year. That's not a fourth row on any NHL team, I think, other than the Capitals. Let's start with how they managed to do this, you know,
what the method behind it is and why they look so good. And by the way, we talked about how this team was a dark horse. What are they? The sixth favorite at the moment to win. Something like that is crazy. Yes, after missing the playoffs. So, show a Yes, even though, you know, people don't talk about them that much, important people are talking about them and seeing how good this team is. But yes, I'd like to start, we'll start with you, Josh, about how they've managed to do this and go from being out of the playoffs last year, almost at the bottom of the league a couple of years ago, still with Ovi on the roster, to being the sixth favorite.
What do you think is the main reason for this? I think it's a combination of great professional and amateur scouting work. If we think about professional scouting, that change for Justin Schultz. People were saying, "Hmm, I think they gave up a second- round pick for him." a guy who went through waivers that fall. Yes, and then it turns out he has a great year, he received some votes for the Selke Trophy, he scored 15 goals. He is a third-row center caliber player and is their fourth-row center. Their fourth row, I think 75% of the teams in the league would be happy if that was their third row. Yes. I think you can increase that number.
80%, 90%. And then you look, I think a couple of years ago, that switch for Jakob Chychrun was simply exceptional. They gave Nick Jensen plus a third-round pick, it's crazy. He became, you know, number one defender, a guy who received votes for the Norris Trophy. And then you go to the amateur scouting side, the Protas brothers, both third-round picks. They are absolute workhorses too. And development there too. Exactly. And Cole Hutson, a second-round pick in the same draft as Ilya Protas. In other words, that's an incredible draft. So you combine all of that with really good salary cap and asset management, and you have the space to go out and spend on someone like
Alex Tuch, and you have the space and assets to get someone like Jordan Kyrou, and then you just have this team that, well, maybe lacks that superstar striker. I think that, from beginning to end, it is the deepest group of forwards in the league, without a doubt. Yes. And my point is that we just saw a Stanley Cup winner, the Carolina Hurricanes, win the cup wearing that kind of kit. Yes. Basically exactly that. As if this were even two years ago. As if this were this time last year, really due to doubts about whether the Hurricanes could overcome that obstacle. Perhaps we wouldn't have so much hope in the Capitals. But after watching a
team win the Stanley Cup with a very curiously similar model, based only on depth and rotating line after line. They can come towards you in waves. It's crazy. Exactly. What strikes me most, what makes the difference here, is that we call this a readjustment rather than a reconstruction for a reason. This isn't a team that hit rock bottom and got a bunch of top-5 picks. Yes, there's that guy Ryan Leonard, being the top-10 pick they actually nailed. The only top 10 pick they've had in. I think he's the only top 10 pick the team has had since Karl Alzner. That's.
Wow. Which is crazy. But, getting back to the point, there are some teams that have legitimately rebuilt. But this is a team that had that one bad year. They had that trade deadline where they traded Dmitri Orlov and it looked like they were going to be a team that would sell everything. Ovechkin would have already retired by now, and the Capitals might be on the rise again with some good young pieces. But the best thing about this restructuring is that they have those young players who will carry the franchise in the long term thanks to the work of the amateur scouts you mentioned. But the reason they're here, I think, is because of professional searchers. And because of the low-cost bets they've made.
Since you haven't mentioned it. Pierre-Luc Dubois. That's a great example. After terrible results there in LA, they made the move to acquire him in exchange for Darcy Kuemper. And look how that turned out. Logan Thompson, a Vezina candidate whom I selected this year for the Canadian Olympic team, was unhappy in Vegas; They acquire him even though they already had Charlie Lindgren, who looks quite good, and they get rid of Kuemper and all that. Look how that turned out. You mentioned Chychrun for Nick Jensen and a third-round pick. Dylan Strome, too. In other words, their two main centers were basically players that nobody wanted at that time.
Yes. Which is crazy. Dylan Strome was not rated. He was a restricted free agent at that time. They could have kept him for nothing, and yes, him too. That's very much related to the stagnant salary cap. But also on the blue line, he is injured now, but Rasmus Sandin; Toronto was in a strange position with its blue line. They traded some assets to go after a guy like that who, when he's healthy, will be in their top four. There's a lot there, and then you also look at last season, where they had a slight dip after being a surprising team two years ago at least in the regular season.
They acquired assets for him, and converted those assets into much of what we see for this team in the future. So this is a team that hasn't been afraid to change assets when necessary, like with Orlov or Carlson. I think Carlson was the most controversial, but it's a team that has made smart bets, made big bets in the draft, and that's why it's a team that's loaded up front. Defensive depth is much more of an unknown, but I think there's still a pretty good core there. And then you have a contender for Vezina in goal. That is to say, this is, and I think what needs to be mentioned in addition to all this is the bet they made on Spencer Carbery.
Yes. Winner of the Jack Adams Award. coach there. So I think everything has come together there. It's a really impressive management of that team to have him in this position where Ovechkin is the guy in terms of being the captain and the face of the franchise and all that. He is no longer the one driving the results. No. He's in the power play, he gets his goals, all that. That is no longer the reason why this team is successful. They have a lot around them. That doesn't mean Ovechkin is bad or anything like that. Although he remains useful for what he contributes, this team is built to succeed with or without Ovechkin, which I believe is the big unknown for the future.
I think the best way to sum up everything we've talked about is that this is a very smart directive, and one that has been in charge for a long time. Brian MacLellan is now the president of hockey operations, but he was the general manager when they won the cup, I don't remember the year, but. 18, yes. 18. Yes, this management has had a plan and a vision all this time, which generates many comparisons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. And I think that's the reason why they are in the current situation, where they don't have as much depth as Washington; They have had several owners and different general managers in charge. Like when Ron Hextall set this team back after Jim Rutherford left, and then Dubas arrived, who has a
mess to clean up. That is not the case in Washington. That vision has been very consistent. That was going to be my next question, you know, these guys have been rivals their whole careers. They're both, you know, entering their 22nd year, Crosby and Ovechkin. And you see the situations they're in. We're talking about one of the five favorites for the Stanley Cup, on the verge of achieving it like the Caps, and the Penguins who don't have an impressive roster. That's the simplest way to put it. They did tell us They're in two completely different places, sorry. What's been the difference? So you think it's an issue with the owners and what goes on behind the scenes? Is there more to it?
Yes, mostly across the board. And with the owners, that's where it starts, right? The Caps have remained the property of Leonsis and his company Monumental Sports, I believe, all this time, while the Penguins passed from the Lemieux family to the Fenway Sports Group, and now have new owners, the Fenway family, sorry, the Hoffman family. So, there were many changes, while the Capitals have remained very consistent. But the interesting thing here is that we 're analyzing it that way. One team made the playoffs last year and the other did not. Yes I know. It's true. I think it's an important thing in terms of that consistency or mentality you were talking about: the Hextall years and even Kyle Dubas' first year were trying to remain a
competitive team. Mhm. Not necessarily rebuilding. It wasn't about not making certain bets or not being afraid to trade certain players to bring in assets or accumulate future assets to turn them into present ones, as the Capitals have done with guys like Chychrun, Dubois or someone like Kyrou this summer. That's something the Penguins weren't doing much of. As soon as they settled with Dubas, they started placing these bets on certain players. Suddenly, last year you see that they bring in a new coach and have a bunch of players almost discarded from other organizations. Like Connor Dewar, who had a great season, and this year they're bringing in Nick Robertson, they have Ville Koivunen and
Hendrix Lapierre; They have many of these kids who are rejects or simply bets of the type: "we'll see how this one turns out". I think the big gamble last year for Pittsburgh was Anthony Mantha, who was coming off a cruciate ligament injury and had a great season. Making those kinds of bets puts you in a better position to recover from being a mediocre or bad team. And I think we saw that from the Capitals in recent seasons, the way they built by making certain bets. I think we 've really seen that from the Penguins last season too. And we'll see what they do this season. They are not at the same level, at least in my opinion, as the Capitals when you look at the depth of their staff. But I think they're now trying to do
similar things, which I think is a big reason why we're seeing an upswing, at least in competitiveness, from the Penguins, when it looked like they were going to be in a much worse position the last two seasons than they are now. Yes. Uh-huh. As I said, I think they were last in the league two years ago, or at least among the worst teams. So, is that basically what it is? Crosby and the Pens have stolen the Capitals' plan and had some success moving forward? It more or less seems so. When you see a team succeed in a position similar to yours, there are certain things you're going to try to emulate. And it hasn't been exactly the same. I think the Capitals have opted more for established talents, like Dubois, Logan Thompson to some
extent, Dylan Strome, that type of player. While the Penguins have done more with young talents yet to prove themselves. When thinking about some of their additions, like Nick Robertson and some prospects they have been integrating, like Hendrix Lapierre, a former first pick of the Capitals that they had to trade due to lack of space. Things like that. I think they have followed slightly different approaches. Although one could also point to the Erik Karlsson transfer and say that it is a similar move, in terms of buying cheap or trying to acquire someone who has already proven his worth in the NHL. Yes. Quickly, before we go, I'd like to know, since I keep mentioning that they're the favorites to win the Stanley Cup,
what do you think is the ceiling for this Caps team? I know we published our article with the preseason predictions. I had them making it to the conference finals, losing to the Panthers. So I have a lot of faith in this team. Me too. Josh thinks the same. Which means they would probably eliminate the defending champions along the way, perhaps the Hurricanes. I feel really good about that. Yes, what position did you have them in last year? I put them second in the division. The truth is that I hesitated about putting them first. I think it's a team that could really impress, just like they did two seasons ago. My concern is the matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, you know? Although we have spoken very highly of
how these Capitals were assembled. I still think the Hurricanes are a superior version in that respect. Perhaps there is more depth in the Capitals' forward line. But I like the Hurricanes' main defense and things like that a little more. Although you could also point to Thompson. I think it's a very close race, and we're literally talking about the defending Stanley Cup champions. And when you talk about a team that missed the playoffs last year, there's been so much noise about the Panthers that we've forgotten the Capitals did the same thing. As we were two seasons ago, being the team that finished first in the East, I'm pretty confident. Sure, things didn't go well in the playoffs once they
reached the second round and all that, but I think if you look at the fit of someone like Alex Tuck and what he brings, or Jordan Kyrou and his rebounding potential, there's a lot going on with this team. Ilia Protas could win the Calder Trophy and I wouldn't be surprised. Cole Hutson could win the Calder Trophy and I wouldn't be surprised. They have two lads who could go out there and win the Calder. Ryan Leonard could go out there and score 80 points and I wouldn't be surprised either. They have a group of these young players who could go out there and impress. They have candidates to bounce back. They have established players like Ovie. They meet all the requirements of what could
make them a successful team, and it doesn't have to be in just one area. They don't depend on a single man to achieve it. If Alex Tuck has a bad year, perhaps Jordan Kyrou will take over and have a great season. Perhaps Ilia Protas doesn't fit the center position. Well, then you have Justin Sourdif, who can take on a role in the third line. You have a lot of potential and, again, a large part of that focus is on offense. There are some guys in defense who are also interesting, such as Cole Hutson and Vincent Iorazio, an intriguing signing at least defensively. Rasmus Sandin will be healthy at some point. There's a lot here. And I believe this is the definitive testimony before we leave. We've
talked for whatever time, maybe 20 minutes, about the Capitals and nobody has mentioned Tom Wilson even once. A boy who is on the Olympic team. A consistent striker. We haven't said his name even once. So yeah, this team. I think the best way to describe them is like a not-so- dark horse, where nobody. I thought they were a dark horse. I thought, "I'm going to go in here with my Capitals pick as the dark horse," and I look at the odds and they're sixth or seventh. And I was like.
They absolutely can win the Cup this year, with the caveat that I think they need one more defender. I think they're missing that piece in their top four, because you brought up De Haan and Liljegren, who are interesting signings, but I don't trust either of them for a playoff series. So I think. De Haan might be a player for the third pair. I think so, maybe they need that second or ideally first pair right back to shift Matt Dumba to the second pair, but other than that, they are absolutely loaded and have no weaknesses. No. Very well, there you have it. The best rebuild in hockey is that of the Washington Capitals, with Alex Ovechkin entering his 22nd year in the league. I'm excited to see how this team looks on the ice, and they kick things off
Friday night against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. That's going to be a good game to watch. Let us know what you think of this team and if you believe there's a better rebuild in the comments. I'll see you in the next episode. This has been Top Shelf. Don't forget to like and subscribe.
