Washington Capitals: 2021--2022 By the Tens -- Forwards: Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson

“There is a certain combination of anarchy and discipline in the way I work.”
-- Robert De Niro

The player Tom Wilson was is no more.  He is no longer the player who, over his first six NHL seasons, compiled almost 100 more penalty minutes (934) than the player with the next highest total (Antoine Roussel: 839).  He is not the player who took more major penalties (64) than any player in the league over that span except one (Cody McLeod: 84), who was one of two players to be charged with two match penalties over that span. who, of 221 players to play in at least 400 games over that span, averaged more penalties taken per 60 minutes (2.95) than any other player.  That player is no more.  Not that he has become a shrinking violet, but over the last three seasons, he averaged one fighting major every 12.9 games, compared to one fighting major every 7.4 games over his first six seasons.  Physical play will always be a part of his game, but is a much more muted version he displays these days, while his other skills have emerged to make him a valuable element in the Caps’ success.

Fearless’ Take… Career year in goals (24), most assists in his career (28), first career 50-point season (52), tied a career high in shorthanded goals (two), best plus-minus rating of his career (plus-13), tied a career high in game-winning goals (five), career high in power play points (10), career best in on-ice goal differential at even strength (plus-14), tied a career high in first goals in games (six), career best in net minor penalties (drawn to taken) per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (0.11, first time he was better than even in this category), career high in power play ice time per game (2:32, first time over two minutes), career high in shifts taken (1,755). Yeah, you could say it was a good year.

Cheerless’ Take… His taking penalties can have a negative impact.  The Caps were 13-10-1 in the 24 games in which he took penalties, 2-4-0 when he took a major.  His offensive engagement was a bit of a mixed bag; the Caps were 11-10-2 in the 23 games in which he recorded three or more shots.  Even physically, not everything was unicorns and accordions.  The Caps were 14-11-5 in the 30 games in which he was credited with four or more hits (9-4-3 when he had one or none).

Odd Wilson Fact… Tom Wilson took more than 25 shifts ten times this season.  The Caps were 2-2-6 in those ten games. He took fewer than 20 shifts 11 times, and the Caps were 7-4-0 in those games.

Odd Wilson Fact II… Tom Wilson is the only player in Caps history to post more than 100 goals (115), more than 250 points (273), more than five shorthanded goals (seven), and more than 1,000 penalty minutes (1,221).

Odd Wilson Fact III… Two players in the league this season posted at least 20 goals, at least 50 points, at least 90 penalty minutes, and at least two shorthanded goals.  Tom Wilson was one; the other was Brad Marchand.

Game to Remember… April 9^th at Pittsburgh.  Tom Wilson scored his 100^th career goal against Anaheim.  He had three-point games against tough Colorado and Florida teams. He had a plus-4 game against the Avalanche.  But nothing satisfies like a good game against the arch-rival Penguins, especially in their arena.  That was the case in early April when the Caps, stumbling a bit with a 3-4-1 record over their previous eight games, landed in Pittsburgh.  Wilson was on a decent run personally, going 6-7-13, plus-2, over his previous 16 games.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring on a Bryan Rust goal in the first minute of the game.  The Caps scored a pair to pull ahead, but the Pens scored a pair of goals in the last two minutes of the first period to take a 3-2 lead to the locker room.  Alex Ovechkin scored in the fifth minute of the second period, the only goal of the middle frame, to set up a third period that would start with the teams tied, 3-3.  In the 12^th minute, Wilson broke the tie.  Justin Schultz swept a loose puck down the wall and out of the defensive zone where Wilson chipped it over the stick of defenseman Chad Ruhwedel.  Wilson ducked around Ruhwedel and skated down the left wing on a 2-on-2 with Alex Ovechkin.  From the left wing circle, he wristed shot to the long side past goalie Tristan Jarry, off the post, and in to give the Caps a 4-3 lead.  The Caps added a pair of empty net goals, Wilson assisting on the latter to give him his 11^th (and last) multi-point game of the season.  His goal was the game-winner, his fifth of the season.  He also added eight hits and four blocked shots to announce his presence loudly.

Game to Forget… January 7^th at St. Louis.  A lot of Caps had forgettable games when they visited St. Louis in early January.  Tom Wilson was one of them.  The Blues scored five goals; Wilson was on the ice for four of them.  He finished with no shots on goal, only two credited hits, no takeaways, no blocked shots, and a season-worst minus-4 rating, only his third minus-4 rating of his career and the first one he recorded without having so much as a shot on goal.

Postseason… 91 seconds.  That is all Wilson logged before sustaining a knee injury that will likely keep him out of the lineup until mid-season in 2022-2023.  He did have a goal – his second career playoff power play goal. Despite the short stay, he did score a goal in his sixth consecutive postseason.

Looking Ahead… Tom Wilson was establishing himself firmly among the top power forwards in the league when injury struck.  The fear at this point is that 2022-2023, a season in the middle of what should be Wilson’s productive prime, will be lost year, even if he does come back in mid-season, the nature of the injury he suffered being a serious one with long rehabilitation frames.  The Caps do not appear to have a player who can fill Wilson’s role, which has become quite varied in recent years as a scorer, physical player, penalty killer, and leader on the ice.  Replacing even a part of what Wilson provides will be among the biggest challenges facing the Caps next season.

In the End… Wilson’s development is a tribute to his skill, determination, and ultimately his discipline to become a more complete hockey player who has outgrown, except among the most rabid Wilson-haters, his reputation for being little more than an enforcer (the terms of preference among those not his fans might be something more vulgar).  The hole he leaves in the lineup as he recovers from knee surgery is a much larger one for the Caps to fill than it might have been five years ago.  His absence will be keenly felt and jeopardizes the Caps’ chances to reach the 2023 postseason.

Grade: A

Washington Capitals: 2021--2022 By the Tens -- Forwards: Conor Sheary

Conor Sheary

“It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”
-- Mark Twain

Conor Sheary might not get enough credit as a goal scorer (he has averaged 19 per 82 games over his career), but he’s not “elite.”  He might be a better playmaker than one might think (he averages 20 assists per 82 games over his career), but he is not “elite” here, either.  He does not take enough penalties to be thought of as “dirty” (he averages 16 penalty minutes per 82 games).  But Sheary has carved out a nice career out of being a hard-worker who can be a pest in hunting down pucks, putting himself in hard areas to convert chances, and being willing to take (and give) hits to make a play, despite his slight stature (5’9”/178 pounds, the shortest and third-lightest skater to play for the Caps this season).  Not that any of this kept him from one of his best seasons in seven years in the NHL.

Fearless’ Take… Sheary’s 19 goals this season were second-best of his career (23 with Pittsburgh in 2016-2017).  His 24 assists also were second best of his career (30 with the Penguins in 2016-2017).  His six power play points (2-4-6) tied his personal best (4-2-6 with Buffalo in 2018-2019).  For the second time in his career, he averaged more than 15 minutes of ice time per game (15:17; he averaged 155:56 with Pittsburgh in 2016-2017), a good portion of it devoted to skating first line minutes when injuries hit the club.  The Caps were 22-7-5 when he had at least one point, 6-2-1 when he was credited with two or more hits, 8-1-2 when he had two or more blocked shots.  He finished strong, going 8-12-20, plus-2, in his last 27 games.

Cheerless’ Take… Ten games with 18 or more minutes in ice time, the Caps were 4-5-1.  They were 20-7-4 in the 31 games he skated less than 15 minutes.  His ratio of takeaways to giveaways (12 takeaways, 38 giveaways) was worst on the team among players appearing in at least 15 games (0.32 takeaways per giveaway).

Odd Sheary Fact… Conor Sheary was the only Capital to average more than two hits, more than two blocked shots, and more than two takeaways per 60 minutes of play this season.

Odd Sheary Fact II… Sheary had more points against a former team – Pittsburgh (1-3-4) – than he did against any other opponent in 2021-2022. 

Odd Sheary Fact III… Over his career, Sheary has a plus-25 rating against Eastern Conference teams and a minus-25 rating against Western Conference teams.

Game to Remember… March 5^th vs. Seattle.  They all count if they cross the goal line.  Whether a snipe from the top of the circle, a snap shot from the slot, punching the puck in from a goalmouth scramble, they al count.  And that goes for empty netters, too.  When the Caps hosted Seattle in early March, they were looking to close out a three-game home stand with a winning record after splitting games against Toronto and Carolina.  Conor Sheary was looking to extend a personal run of good fortune after going 1-4-5, plus-1, over a six-game stretch. 

The Caps scored a pair of goals 34 seconds apart in the first period to take a 2-0 lead over the Kraken.  Seatlle tied the game with a goal late in the first frame and another less than a minute into the second.  Midway through the period, the Caps regained the lead when, on a power play, John Carlson fed Alex Ovechkin for a shot from the office.  The puck was muffled in front, but Tom Wilson corralled it at the hash marks and fired a shot that was stopped by goalie Chris Driedger.  He failed to control the rebound, though, and the puck slid to his left where Sheary out-maneuvered Jamie Oleksiak for position and tucked the puck past Driedger’s left pad to give the Caps the 3-2 lead.  Ovechkin gave the Caps a 4-2 lead less than a minute into the third period on another power play goal, and the game was sealed by Sheary late. There was a faceoff in the Caps’ end and the Kraken net empty with 2:18 to play.  Seattle won the draw but could not take control of the bouncing puck that jumped the blue line into the neutral zone.  Sheary jumped past Vince Dunn and sped off alone into the Seattle end, sliding the puck into an empty net for his second goal of the game and the 100^th of his career in the Caps’ 5-2 win.  Sheary recognized the somewhat odd circumstances this way… “"It's kind of a weird way to get your 100th (goal), but I'll take it.  I think sometimes those milestones can get in your head a little bit, so to get a nice, easy one was probably maybe the best way to do it and I can put it behind me and move forward."

Game to Forget... October 16^th vs. Tampa Bay.  Fresh off a 5-1 pasting of the New York Rangers in the season opener, the Caps looked to make it two in a row when the defending Stanley Cup champions came to town in Game 2 of the schedule.  It would be a close, hard-fought, low scoring affair, the teams skating scoreless until Alex Ovechkin got the Caps on the board with just over a minute to play in the second period.  The Lightning tied the game on a Mikhail Sergachev goal in the fifth minute of the third period, and that is how the teams would end regulation.  Steven Stamkos earned the visitors the extra standings point with just 15 seconds left in overtime in the 2-1 Tampa Bay win.  For Sheary, it was a miserable game.  In barely 12 minutes of ice time, he did not put up a single crooked number on his line of the score sheet, save for a minus-1 rating.  No shots, no shot attempts, no hits, no blocked shots, nothing.

Postseason… Sheary posted only a power play assist in the six-game loss to Florida in the first round.  He went without a goal on 12 shots and had a minus-2 rating.  It extended a frustrating postseason run for Sheary, who now has one goal on 44 shots in his last 28 playoff games. 

Looking Ahead… Sheary will be entering the last year on his current contract when play begins in October.  His $1.5 million cap hit is perhaps a benchmark number for an extension and would not cripple the Caps financially.  He is a reasonably productive player in largely a middle-six forward role who adds grit and consistent effort to a team that generally prizes such traits.  He will be just 30 years old on opening night, and he has been rather durable, given his style of play, missing a total of 27 games over the last five seasons.  He should be the kind of player that provides little drama of a negative nature while chipping in the occasional offense. 

In the End… Sheary is almost an echo of T.J. Oshie in terms of his willingness to perform the tough, often thankless jobs that invite physical abuse.  Even as Oshie does so as a player who plays bigger than his size, Sheary is more of that type of player, and this will always make one wonder if he can sustain his availability for play.  It has not been an issue in recent years, which would make Caps fans a bit more comfortable that Sheary, who had a near career year in 2021-2022, will be able to sustain that level of performance.

Grade: B

Washington Capitals: 2021--2022 By the Tens -- Forwards: Aliaksei Protas

Aliaksei Protas

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
-- Jean-Jacques Rousseau

As the 2019 Entry Draft began, the Washington Capitals did not have a third round pick, that (the 87^th overall) having been sent to the Los Angeles Kings as part of a deal that brought Carl Hagelin to Washington. But the Caps thought enough of Aliaksei Protas to package their fourth and fifth round picks (118^th and 129^th overall) and send them to the San Jose Sharks for their third round pick (91^st overall).  Protas had just completed his first season with the Prince Albert Raiders, a teammate of fellow Caps draft pick Brett Leason, who was taken in the second round (56^th overall) in that same 2019 draft.  While Leason was putting up 36 goals and 89 points in that season before his being drafted by the Caps, Protas finished with a more modest 11-29-40 scoring line in 61 games before the Caps took him in the draft.  Protas had a much more productive second season with the Raiders in 2019-2020, going 31-49-80 in 58 games, all three numbers leading the team.  He would spend parts of two seasons continuing his apprenticeship with the Hershey Bears (10-21-31, minus-2, in 58 games) and getting his first taste on NHL action with 33 games in 2021-2022.

Fearless’ Take… If 2021-2022 was, in some respects, “The Year of the Rookie” in Washington, Protas figured prominently among the 11 rookie skaters to dress for the Caps.  His 33 games were fourth among rookies, his 11:50 in ice time per game ranked second among rookies appearing in more than one game, his three goals tied Leason for fourth in that group, and his nine points were third.  He finished with a plus-4 rating, second among the rookies, his plus-5 goal differential at even strength was second I the group, and his 0.27 points per game were second among the eight rookies appearing in at least five games. The Caps won all three games in which he scored goals and were 7-1-0 in games in which he recorded points.

Cheerless’ Take… He was a bit sloppy with the puck, charged with 15 giveaways against eight takeaways.  Despite his size (6’6/225 pounds), he had only 3.07 hits per 60 minutes, seventh among the 11 Caps rookies.  In 20 games in which he skated at least ten minutes, the Caps were 10-8-2, while they were 7-4-2 in the 13 games in which he logged fewer than ten minutes.  And it was not as if the Caps were all that successful when he was in the lineup.  They were 17-12-4 when he played, 27-14-8 when he didn’t.

Odd Protas Fact… Protas was taken by the Caps in the third round of the 2019 draft, 91^st overall.  No player selected after him has yet appeared in more regular season games.

Odd Protas Fact II… Protas is the only player in Caps history drafted by and having played for the Caps who was born in Belarus.

Odd Protas Fact III… When Protas was taken with the 91^st overall pick, it marked the seventh time in Capitals history that teammates were selected with consecutive picks (Brett Leason, taken earlier, also being from Prince Albert).  The others were in 2015 (Connor Hobbs and Colby Williams from Regina), 2012 (Connor Carrick and Riley Barber from the USA U-18 team), 1994 (Chris Patrick and John Tuohy from Kent School), 1990 (John Slaney and Rod Pasma from Cornwall), 1985 (John Druce and Rob Murray from Peterborough), and 1977 (three players – Eddy Godin, Nelson Burton, and Denis Turcotte – from Quebec).

Game to Remember… November 28^th at Carolina.  When the Caps visited the Hurricanes in the penultimate game of the November schedule, they were on a roll, going 8-1-1 in their previous ten games.  Aliaksei Protas went into this game having posted the first multi-point game of his career, recording a pair of assists in a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers.  After a scoreless first period against Carolina, the Caps broke on top with an Alex Ovechkin goal in the 12^th minute of the second period.  Just 59 seconds later the all-time leading goal scorer in franchise history was followed by a rookie getting his first NHL goal.  Protas got his first NHL goal in unusual fashion.  John Carlson fired the puck at the Hurricanes’ net, but it skittered into the corner to the right of goalie Frederik Andersen.  Protas tracked it down at the wall and circled around the left wing circle.  He threw the puck to the front of the net, looking to hit Ovechkin with a feed on the weak side.  However, the puck hit the skate of defenseman Tony DeAngelo and snuck past Andersen’s left pad to make it a 2-0 game and put Protas on the list of all-time goal scorers for the Caps.  Washington went on to beat Carolina, 4-2, Protas tying Ovechkin for the team lead in shots for the game (four, his high for a game this season).

Game to Forget… November 1^st at Tampa Bay. Sometimes, particular with rookies, it seems, you spend a lot of time sitting on the bench, even when you get a sweater.  Such was the case for Protas in his first NHL game.  It might not have helped that his baptism came against the defending Stanley Cup champions on their ice sheet.  Nevertheless, Protas managed to log just 3:53 in ice time (his lowest of the season) on seven shifts, only one of which he took in the third period.  He recorded no points, no shot attempts, and no crooked numbers of any kind on his line of the score sheet save for winning just one of five faceoffs. 

Postseason… Protas did not dress for any game in the postseason.

Looking Ahead… Aliaksei Protas is another of those players who fit a profile preferred by the Caps, mainly size.  He does appear to have the potential to be a reliable secondary scorer who plays mainly a bottom-six role, perhaps getting top-six minutes from time to time.  He has two years remaining on his current contract with a $789,000 cap hit, after which he will be a restricted free agent. He will not reach his 22^nd birthday until January, so the Caps would appear to have the luxury of bringing him along slowly.

In the End…

Protas is a player that the Caps might be depending on to be a secondary player in the post-Ovechkin/Backstrom era.  He has the size to compete at this level and has shown occasional signs of being a player who can contribute on the scoreboard.  His 2021-2022 season suggested the possibility that his apprenticeship will be brief, but at this point it would be a stretch to think he will be a regular fixture next season, even with a decent start to his NHL career in 2021-2022.

Grade: B