Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Dale Hunter

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. His administration was but one part of what historians refer to as the “Age of Jackson.” The person behind the age inspired considerable respect…and hate.  In that sense, he is not unlike a former Washington Capital whose years spent in Washington might be considered its own “age” as well, the age of Dale Hunter.

Where Jackson was born is in some historical dispute. It seems that what is agreed upon is that he was born on or near what is now the border of North and South Carolina, an area that today remains rural, but in that era would have been little more than wilderness. Growing up was a battle for Jackson, quite literally. At the age of 13 he was a courier in the Revolutionary War, during which he became a prisoner of war. He grew up to be a lawyer in the frontier territory of Tennessee, where a lot of the work was in hotly contested land claims and assault cases.  He grew up a prideful person, quick to fight when he perceived assault on his honor, and he dueled Charles Dickinson, who published an attack Jackson and his wife, killing him while suffering a wound that he would carry all his life.  It was a reflection of a personality that was once described as “tough as old hickory wood on the battlefield,” leading to his nickname, “Old Hickory.”

Dale Hunter didn’t have quite the raw and treacherous youth of Jackson, but neither was it entirely dissimilar. He was born in Petrolia, Ontario, the town’s name being derived from the oil boom that swept that region of Ontario in the 1860’s, and he grew up in Oil Springs, a town even smaller than that in which he was born. In terms of his hockey development, he clearly had talent, but he was also something of a provocateur. In three seasons in the QMJHL (Kitchener, Sudbury), he had 98 goals and 259 points in 188 games, but he also accumulated 492 penalty minutes. And it was not any different when he arrived in the NHL. Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, he would be nicknamed “The Nuisance” by his head coach, Michel Bergeron for his ability to antagonize opponents.

Jackson was also an astute manager of his affairs.  He managed to accumulate sufficient resources to build a home and general store near Nashville.  To this he added a plantation, the “Hermitage” and additional land later.  He was owner of more than 1,000 acres that continues today as a museum. 

What Dale Hunter built came after his playing days were over, and was accomplished in very different ways (Jackson is said to have once owned more than 300 slaves).  He took over the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League as co-owner, president, and head coach in 2000.  Since then, his Knights have won eight division titles in the OHL, four OHL championships, and twice won the Memorial Cup as Canadian Hockey League champion. 

As President, Andrew Jackson might have been described as confrontational toward elites.  He advocated abolishing the Electoral College and opposed patronage.  But he also had the idea of the “commander” about him, making use of the veto and his partisan position in an effort to dominate Congress (it was under Jackson that the old “Republican” party split, with “Democratic-Republicans,” what would become the Democratic Party, following Jackson), and throwing his weight against the rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States and efforts to end protective tariffs.

Dale Hunter was not any less the “commander” as a Washington Capital, and he was no less confrontational on the ice.  He came to the Caps in a 1987 trade and would eventually become the ninth captain in team history in 1994.  He led be example, and quite an example it was.  He was widely considered a “dirty” player, a reputation Hunter would inflame in a 1993 playoff game against the New York Islanders in which he checked Pierre Turgeon into the boards after Turgeon scored an insurance goal in what would be the series-clinching win for the Islanders.  Turgeon suffered a separated shoulder than caused him to miss the first six games of the next playoff round, but Hunter received a 21-game suspension from new Commissioner Gary Bettman, then the longest suspension in league history for an on-ice incident.

Hunter might have been the bete-noire of 29 other teams, but he was a rough sort beloved by Caps fans, especially after scoring the game-winning, series-clinching overtime goal in Game 7 of the Patrick Division semi-finals at home against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988.  He served as Captain of the club from 1994 until he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche late in the 1998-1999 season and was a player who, throughout his tenure as a Washington Capitals player, inspired strong feelings, good and bad.  He was a player who commanded respect for his skills, but who inspired hate among opponents and their fans for his antics outside the rulebook.  Hunter is the only player in league history to record at least 300 goals (323) and accumulate at least 3,000 penalty minutes (3,565).
 

Andrew Jackson defined an age in American history and was an important transitional figure from the revolutionary past to a more modern nation.  He was a complex personality that could, even in the context of his achievements, inspire respect and hate.  Dale Hunter was a soft-spoken sort off the ice, but on-ice he was as much a person capable of inspiring respect and hate, despite his achievements (the Caps reached the postseason in 10 of his 11 full seasons with the club, including reaching their only Stanley Cup final).  In many respects, Andrew Jackson and Dale Hunter were one-of-a-kind.

Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Chris Bourque

John Quincy Adams was America’s sixth President.  He was the first son of a President to take the oath of office.  While one of a select few to hold the office, it could be fairly said that he did not have the resume of accomplishments his father – John Adams – had.  In that respect, and some others, he resembles another son of a more accomplished father, a son who played for the Washington Capitals – Chris Bourque.

Adams the Younger had what was arguably an undistinguished term as President.  He served but one term, losing his re-election bid to Andrew Jackson in 1828.  He had quite a list of accomplishments before he became chief executive, though.  Minister to the Netherlands, Minister to Prussia, Minister to Russia, Minister to the Court of St. James, member of the House of Representatives, senator from Massachusetts, and Secretary of State, all of which he accomplished over a 30 year-period in public service before becoming the sixth President of the United States.

If John Quincy Adams was the well-traveled son of a former President in his climb to the White House, Chris Bourque was the well-traveled son of an NHL Hall of Famer.  From Cushing Academy in Massachusetts, Bourque moved on to the Boston University Terriers in the NCAA for a year after he was taken in the second round of the 2004 entry draft by the Caps.  Then he started his way up the Caps organization, playing with the Portland Pirates late in the 2004-2005 season before the AHL affiliation moved to Hershey and the Bears.  Bourque played two seasons with the Bears before making his NHL debut in the 2007-2008 season.  He ended up playing just 12 games with the Caps over two seasons before he was waived and claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Barely two months later, after playing in 20 games for the Pens, he was waived again and re-claimed by the Capitals.

Bourque played just one game with the Caps in his second tour with the organization, spending most of his time in Hershey and wining a Calder Cup with the Bears in 2010 as well as the Jack Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the AHL playoffs.  Finding his path to the NHL blocked, though, he headed to Europe to start the 2010-2011 season, joining the Atlant club in the KHL. Lasting just eight games there, Bourque then moved on to the HC Lugano team in the Swiss League.  After the season he returned to North America and the Capitals for a third time, this time failing to crack the parent roster.  He did play in 73 games with the Hershey Bears.  He was traded late in the spring of 2012 to the Boston Bruins for Zach Hamill and split time between the Bruins and the AHL Providence Bruins in the 2012-2013 season.

After that, Bourque was on the move once more, heading back to the KHL and the Kazan Ak-Bars club, followed by a trip to the Biel HC club to close out the 2013-2014 season.  Then it was back once more to North America, first with the New York Rangers’ AHL club in Hartford, then this past season once more in the Hershey with the Bears where he led the league in points (80 in 72 games).

Chris Bourque is under contract to the Capitals for the 2016-2017 season, but who knows where his travels will take him after that (if not sooner)?  In that sense, as much as he is the son of a more famous father, he has much in common with John Quincy Adams.

Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Marcus Johansson

America’s fifth President, James Monroe, is not the revered figure in American history that other Presidents are.  He is not mentioned in the same breath as a George Washington, or an Abraham Lincoln, or a Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  That is not to say he was not an effective President, perhaps worthy of a little more “good feeling” than he generally gets.  In that respect, he is not unlike a current Washington Capital – Marcus Johansson.

You might say that James Monroe had a “first round” pedigree in his development.  He studied law under Thomas Jefferson, was Governor of Virginia, served as a diplomat to France where he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, and served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War under James Madison. 

Marcus Johansson became a first round pick of the Capitals by effecting a steady, purposeful rise through the ranks of hockey in Sweden – the IF Malmo Redhawks, the Swedish U-18 national team, Lulea HF, Farjestads BK Karlstad U18, Skare BK, Farjestads BK Karlstad, the Swedish Junior National Team.  It prepared him to become a 24^th overall selection for the Capitals in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

Marcus Johansson has no “doctrine” as James Monroe has, but there is something of a connection here.  For those of you who have forgotten just what the Monroe Doctrine is, here it is in the “author’s” words… “as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. . .”  In other words, any efforts by European nations to colonize territory in the Western Hemisphere would be considered an act of aggression requiring an American response.

But did he write those words? No, he didn’t.  It turns out that the wording came from his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.  Not to take away anything from Monroe, who certainly was an advocate for the point of view reflected in the statement, but it sort of shows the importance of teamwork.

As for Johansson, it is worth noting (and we have in the past) that Johansson is among the brightest stars of his draft class.  Seventh in games played, eighth in goals scored, fourth in power play goals scored, fifth in assists, fifth in points.  Since he came into the league with the Caps in 2009-2010, he is fifth on the team in games played, fourth in goals scored, fourth in assists, third in total points.  However, over those years, Johansson spent the bulk of his 5,407 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time playing along side Alex Ovechkin (1,864 minutes) and Nicklas Backstrom (1,533 minutes).   It would be hard not to be productive playing more 5-on-5 minutes with those two forwards than with any other for the Caps over that period.  Not to take anything away from Johansson, who certainly has been productive in that role, but it demonstrates the value of teamwork.

As President, James Monroe’s administration was one characterized by a disinclination to draw party lines.  He made appointments without regard to partisan affiliation for many posts, a behavior that led to his era being called the “Era of Good Feelings,” although there are those who employ the term with a measure of sarcasm.  Marcus Johansson is a player who in a sense epitomizes “good feelings.”   Since he came into the league in 2010-2011, no player in the NHL has appeared in at least 375 games and accumulated fewer penalty minutes than Johansson (52).

James Monroe is often lost in the reverie of our Founding Fathers and as a result might not be accorded the respect he deserves as President and in his other capacities.  But, in an aggregate ranking of American Presidents, there he is, in 16th place, between Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Marcus Johansson might not be generally recognized among the best of his generation of hockey players, either in the NHL generally or the Capitals specifically, but he has made his contributions.  In that respect, there are some things that the two have in common.

Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Kelly Miller

We have had a look at three Presidents of the United States and who we think might be their Washington Capitals counterparts.  In a way, Washington-Adams-Jefferson might be something of a “top line” threesome of Presidents, but let’s not underestimate the fourth person to hold this office – James Madison – or who might be his Capitals counterpart – Kelly Miller.

There is the superficial similarities between Madison and Miller.  Both came from large “families,” so to speak.  Madison was the oldest of 12 children, while Miller is a member of one of the largest families in hockey.  Ten hockey-playing members, in fact. 

Both were a bit undersized for their positions.  “Jemmy” Madison was the smallest President in American history, coming in at five-feet four-inches tall and barely breaking 100 pounds.  Miller, who spent most of his career as a checking forward in a division known for its bare-knuckled physical play, was just 5’11/195 pounds.

There are deeper similarities, though.  Madison is often referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.”  He was a major force in the calling of a constitutional convention to replace the Articles of Confederation of the new Republic and was a prolific speaker during the proceedings of the convention. His work was not limited to that of debate within the confines of the convention, though.  He was a durable advocate of the product of that convention, assuming the role of a leader of the effort to ratify the new constitution.  He was one of three authors (all writing anonymously) of a series of articles published over a ten-month period in 1787 and 1789 that constituted a comprehensive argument in favor of ratification and would later be compiled and known as “The Federalist Papers.”  Then, as a member of the new House of Representatives, he was a principal sponsor of the first ten amendments to the Constitution -- the "Bill of Rights."

Miller could not be fairly claimed to be the “father” of the style of hockey the Capitals played over his tenure with the club, but he was the embodiment of it.  From the time he arrived in Washington in a New Year’s Eve 1987 trade with the New York Rangers until his last season with the Caps (and in the NHL) in 1998-1999, Miller was the epitome of a 200-foot, hard-working sort of player what was the style of the Capitals of the period.  He was an extraordinarily durable player, especially given his size and style of play, setting what was a career record of 940 games played in a Capitals uniform (since eclipsed), appearing in more than 95 percent of the games played by the Capitals in the 12-plus seasons he spent with the club.  Although he was a fine scorer in his college days (82 goals and 163 points in 163 games at Michigan State), he would forsake the scorer's role to find multiple ways of contributing at both ends of the ice -- the timely goal or taking on the opposition's top offensive threat.

If there was one thing that characterized Madison’s tenure as chief executive, it was presiding over the War of 1812, thought be some to be one conflict in the much broader series of conflicts grouped under the “Napoleonic Wars” that involved more than two dozen participants.

In 12 full seasons with the Capitals, Miller had some of his harshest competition in the battles of the Patrick Division (later morphing into the Atlantic Division) and in particular the two Pennsylvania and three New York area teams that made for the nastiest rivalries.  In those 12 seasons, Miller went 59-112-171, plus-36 in 335 games against those five teams, his 171 points representing more than 40 percent of the points he scored as a Capital (408) and his plus-36 almost half way to his career plus-75 with the Caps.

In his post-Presidential years, Madison went on to serve as a member of the Virginia state constitutional convention, wrote a number of essays on political subjects, and served as chancellor at the University of Virginia, thus passing along his experience and employing his knowledge for the benefit of future generations.  In Miller’s case, coaching was the avenue.  He started soon after his playing days were over, serving as an assistant with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.  He also served as an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks and the New York Islanders in the NHL, among other positions, before returning to his alma mater – Michigan State University – where he serves as an assistant coach.

Given the breadth and depth of his contributions to a young nation, perhaps James Madison does not get as much historical recognition as he should for those contributions.  Kelly Miller has played more games than all but two players in Capitals history, and no one has played in more postseason games (he’s tied at 100 with Dale Hunter).  He is in the top-20 in team history in regular season points scored and would arguably be the last name fans would identify to be on that list.  Kelly Miller was the personification of a Capitals style of hockey for more than 1,000 regular season and playoff games, but in the years that have passed since his retirement, he does not seem to get nearly the credit he might deserve for being such an important part of the franchise’s history.  In that sense, his career bears a resemblance to that of the Nation’s fourth President.  

Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Bengt Gustafsson

We continue our stroll through the history of American Presidents and compare the third President of the United States – Thomas Jefferson – with a Washington Capital of the past.  And that Capital is… Bengt Gustafsson.

Any child in grade school knows the basic history of Thomas Jefferson’s life and career.  Governor of Virginia, member of the Continental Congress, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, the first Secretary of State in American history, and Vice President under John Adams, in addition to serving as the Nation’s third president.

In Washington Capitals history, Bengt Gustafsson holds a lofty place of his own.  He ranks 14^th in team history in games played (629), sixth in goals scored (196), seventh in assists (359), and seventh in total points (555).  Despite appearing in only 32 postseason games in Caps history, he ranks 15^th in goals-per-game, fourth in assists-per-game, and sixth in points-per-game.

Those are the basics.  But what sets each of these individuals apart, and in a sense what binds them for purposes of this whimsical scribble, is what lies beneath.  With regard to Jefferson, John F. Kennedy once remarked at a dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners that the gathering was “the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”  

It was not hyperbole.  Jefferson was a prolific inventor and innovator.  Some were mundane, like the “turning machine” for clothes.  Others served a utilitarian purpose, such as his take on the “moldboard plow.”  He also explored the process of copying with his “polygraph,” a redesign of the “dumbwaiter,” and even delved into encryption with his “wheel cipher.”   Certainly, Jefferson was much more than the offices he held.

It could be said that Bengt Gustafsson was more than goals, assists, and points, too.  He was a particular effective player on both sides of special teams.  More than 40 percent of his career assists (145 of 359) and more than a third of his total career points (194 of 555) came on the power play.  Four times in his last five seasons in the NHL he received votes for the Selke award as the league's top defensive forward, finishing as high as fourth in the voting for the 1985-1986 season.  And, as if to illustrate he could play the entire spectrum of “gentlemanly play,” Gustafsson demonstrated a certain fearlessness (if utter lack of good judgment) in playing physically, from his rookie year, when he had the temerity to dump Gordie Howe to the ice, to his last year in the NHL, when he finished sixth among 27 players receiving votes for the Lady Byng Trophy. 

When Thomas Jefferson died, he was buried at his home at Monticello under a marker engraved with an epitaph he wrote: “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.”  He did not include his offices held among those accomplishments and for which he might be best known to students of American history. 

For Caps fans, Bengt Gustafsson is best remembered for the nine seasons in which he played in Washington.  But more than that, he was a fixture on the Swedish national hockey team, playing in five world championships, medaling four times (two Gold).  He played in Canada Cup tournaments in 1984 (runner-up) and 1987 (eliminated in the semi-finals).  Gustafsson also appeared once in the Olympics for Sweden, that in 1992 (Sweden finished fifth).  He would go on to become an assistant coach with the Swiss national team, then move up the coaching ladder in Europe including stops as head coach with Färjestads BK in Sweden, where he won a championship in 2002, and with the Swedish national team.  In 2006 he cemented his spot in coaching history as the first coach to win both a world championship (over Czech Republic) and an Olympic gold medal (over Finland) in the same year.

Thomas Jefferson might have been, as John Kennedy suggested, the greatest collection of talent and human knowledge ever to find himself in the White House.  It might be said that Bengt Gustafsson was among the most talented and versatile players ever to have worn a Washington Capitals jersey.  It is in the richness and depth of their respective endowments, abilities, and varied experiences that is the reason they find themselves mentioned in the same space here.

Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Adam Oates

After our look at which Washington Capitals player might be best compared to the first President of the United States, we now take a look at the second chief executive and which Capital might be the best comparison.  Today, we look at a pair of “Adams…es…”  John Adams and Adam Oates.

John Adams was our second President, but he was much more.  He was one of the most prolific and well regarded political theorists of his time and in American history. He provided a key "assist" to Thomas Jefferson in the writing of the Declaration of Independence.  He was the principal author of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  He served two terms as Vice President under George Washington.

Adam Oates would play 19 seasons in the National Hockey League and would play more games with the Washington Capitals (387) than he would for any of the seven teams for which he played.  But he was more than that.  He was twice a first team All American and was named to the All-Tournament team in the 1985 NCAA playoffs while at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  He would become one of the greatest playmakers the NHL has even known, currently seventh in the all-time career assist rankings in the NHL.  He is one of just five players in NHL history to record at least 90 assists in a season two or more times (only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have done it more than twice).  And, he would return to Washington after his playing days to coach the team he once captained (we will return to this).

And about those assists.  John Adams provided a lot of assistance to his cousin, Samuel, in the revolutionary period of American history, even as Samuel was perhaps the more dynamic personality of the two.  In two and a half seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Adam Oates recorded 228 assists in 195 games, many of those helpers put on the stick of Brett Hull, quite a personality himself, who scored 212 goals with the Blues while a teammate of Oates.

But it was with the Capitals…sort of…that Oates twice led the league in assists (he led the league three times in his career).  We say “sort of,” because while he led the league with 69 assists in 81 games in 2000-2001, he recorded 57 of what would end up being a league-leading 64 assists in the 2001-2002 season.  He was traded by the Caps late that season to the Philadelphia Flyers for goaltender Maxime Ouellet and a first, second, and third draft pick in 2002 (that first round draft pick would later be traded to the Dallas Stars for a draft pick that would become Alexander Semin).  

John Adams’ tenure as Chief Executive might have been expected to go smoothly, given his experience as Vice President under Washington.  However, it was not without its controversy.  He signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, four bills that brought the full weight of the executive branch down on immigration, citizens deemed by the government to pose a danger, and those critical of the Federal government.  He also had his philosophical disagreements with Alexander Hamilton over the matter of strong central government.

Hockey has far less consequence than national policy, of course, but Adam Oates had his share of controversy, even if he brought assistant coaching experience to his first posting as a head coach in the NHL.  There was his odd and persistent obsession with “handedness,” not just for defensemen, but extending to the forwards, flipping Alex Ovechkin from the left side to the right in no small part because Ovechkin is a right-handed shot.  There was his odd line combinations, most notably with respect to Ovechkin, who skated a substantial amount of time with the likes of Matt Hendricks, Jason Chimera, Aaron Volpatti, and Joey Crabb.  Then there was the borderline bizarre venture into coaching Braden Holtby in the finer arts of goaltending despite never having played the position that, while not career-shattering, perhaps wasted a year of productive development. 

It is worth noting that John Adams served only one term as President of the United States.  He was defeated for re-election by Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1800.  Jefferson reversed a number of initiatives enacted by Adams, including the Alien and Sedition Acts and a number of taxation measures.  Similarly, it is worth noting that Adam Oates did not survive as head coach after his second season with the Capitals, one in which the club failed to reach the postseason.  He was replaced by Barry Trotz, under whose administration Alex Ovechkin was returned to his natural left wing, and Braden Holtby returned to a more aggressive, athletic style of goaltending.  Ovechkin scored at least 50 goals in each of his two seasons playing for Trotz, while Holtby continued his ascent into the elite ranks of NHL goaltenders, winning the Vezina Trophy as the top netminder in the league in 2015-2016.

Despite being born 227 years apart, one in Massachusetts, the other in Ontario, there would seem to be much in the experience of John Adams and Adam Oates that connects them.  Well, enough for us to write about.

Washington Capitals: If Players Were Presidents -- Yvon Labre

And now, as we steam (quite literally) into the dog days of summer, and we gird our loins for what looks to be an entertaining political season, we will take a look back at Washington Capitals over the years and ask ourselves, “if so-and-so was a U.S. President, which one would he be?”  Let’s start at the beginning…

Yvon Labre, the “Father of Our Franchise.”

It makes sense, right?...

George Washington, first President of the United States, first (and to date, only) President to be elected unanimously (in 1789 with all 69 electoral votes).  Yvon Labre was not the first Captain of the Washington Capitals (Doug Mohns was), but he scored the first home goal in franchise history (the Los Angeles Kings were the victim; it was the only Caps goal in a 1-1 tie, the first standings point earned in club history) and was the first player in franchise history to have his number retired.

George Washington fought for the British before fighting the British.  Yvon Labre was a Pittsburgh Penguin before he played against the Pittsburgh Penguins...

George Washington lost more battles than he won.  In fact, “he lost more battles than any victorious general in modern history.”  Yvon Labre lost more games than he won as Captain of the Capitals (91 losses to 41 wins).

George Washington was the only President who did not live in Washington, D.C.  Yvon Labre didn’t play for the Capitals in Washington, D.C.  The Caps played at the Capital Centre in Landover, MD.  Oh, and Washington was a landowner…land-owner…land-over.  Almost the same, eh?

George Washington did not wear wooden teeth (his false teeth were made from other materials), but he famously had problems with his teeth (mostly a lack of them).  Yvon Labre was a hockey player…’nuff said.

George Washington had a variety of health problems over the course of his life.   Yvon Labre had knee injuries that would ultimately cut short his career. 

Yvon Labre played his last seven NHL seasons with the Capitals, all of them in the difficult, formative years of the franchise.  It was not unlike a military commander called upon to lead a young collection of colonies to independence through battle and into the formative years of the Republic.

OK, it is different, but let’s not get too serious.  After all, it is summertime.  

Washington Capitals: As The Great Talent Rush of 2016 Begins

July 1st is a date that every hockey fan circles – the start of the unrestricted free agent signing period.  Like its comparison event, the NHL entry draft, it represents hope.  Hope that can be addressed in a more immediate nature with the signing of players who can help their team now, not four or five years down the road (if at all).

Fans of the Washington Capitals are no different.  They were made very happy last year at this time when the club signed free agent winger Justin Williams to help get them over the pesky second round playoff wall they never seem able to scale.  Things did not turn out as planned, but hope springs anew as the 2016 version of the “NHL Talent Rush” commences.  I’m sure the cousins have something to chime in with on this issue, so let’s get their take…

Peerless… OK guys, let’s start with holes.  Where are they on this roster?

Fearless… If you look at the 12 forwards and six defensemen, plus the two goaltenders you are likely to want playing every night with this team, it isn’t really a team with holes, or at least they have fewer than just about any other team in the league.  Their top-six forwards are not in such a state that you would seriously contemplate taking on salary to add that level of skill, given where the Caps are on the salary cap.  The same goes for the top-four on defense.  There might not be a Norris Trophy candidate in that group, but there aren’t many teams with the balance the Caps can ice at that position.  Goaltending certainly isn’t an issue for this club.

Cheerless… Well, cuz, in this game, if you snooze, you lose.  Stand still, and you’re moving backwards.  If you’re not the early bird, you don’t get the worm.  Are you going to look at what the bottom nine forwards did in the playoffs and what the defensemen not named “Carlson” did on offense and say, “we’re good?”  If you can improve there with a free agent, you do it.  You strike while the iron is hot.  You can make the numbers work.  Other teams seem to be able to do it.

Peerless… The Caps have several free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, whose futures must be addressed.  Who stays, and who goes?

Fearless… By the time folks read this, I suspect Jason Chimera will shortly, if not already be the property of another club.  His fate was sealed when the Caps traded for Lars Eller, which will end the matter of Marcus Johansson, wing or center?  As for Johansson, a restricted free agent, I have a hard time imagining how the Caps don’t re-sign him.  He’s among the most productive players from his draft class, and he’s a solid, reliable 45-50 point contributor (at that level or better per 82 games over the last five seasons).  As for the “Mike’s” – Latta, Richards, and Weber – Latta (a restricted free agent not tendered a qualifying offer) is gone, and the other two will follow.  That leaves the other restricted free agents, Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov.  Both, like Johansson, were extended qualifying offers.  They have roles to play on this team; I don’t think either is going anywhere (note: Wilson was signed to a two-year extension).

Cheerless… What Fearless said, but I wonder about Tom Wilson.  Something Brian MacLellan said about Latta sticks with me… “I think the key for him is he’s gotta bring something besides energy in that fourth-line role. He’s got to kill penalties; there’s got to be another dimension to his game for him to be successful in the league.”  Something like that might have been said about Wilson last year, when it seemed his biggest skill was making mayhem.  He added penalty killing this past year, fourth among Caps forwards who appeared in more than half the games.  But he’s a 16th overall pick, too.  I think folks are going to want to see him add some more offense to his game, even if his point totals have improved every year.  The team thinks there is something there; they re-upped him for two more years. 

Peerless… Let’s get right to the nub of it.  This is a team that has built itself largely from the draft, but the last two summers the Caps have been busy under Brian MacLellan, getting defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen in 2014 and forwards T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams last summer.  Will they be busy this summer?

Fearless… No.  Head Coach Barry Trotz gave up the ending yesterday when he said:

“I don’t think we’ll be actively going after a high-end free agent or anything…One of the reasons is we have a couple players out here that could challenge I think for our hockey team. We’ve been patient with some of our young guys who really made a lot of progress and showed how much they’ve grown. They went to the Calder Cup Final, and they’ve really grown. We don’t want to block our good young guys with a 35-year-old veteran, who can get it done, because we have a veteran team now…We want to give some opportunity to our kids. They’ve made great progress, and I think they’ve earned that right to challenge for spots, and I think we’re not going to block them. I think if we do anything, we might add maybe one forward. I think we’ll be pretty quiet.”

That pretty much sums up what Caps fans can expect.

Cheerless… If I’m dealt two pair, I’m not throwing one of them out to try to get four of a kind.  I like my chances with this hand…maybe I look for another card to round out a full house, but I’m not blowing up my hand.  All that talk about snoozing and worms and all that.  Forget it.  The Caps have a pretty good hand right now. 

Peerless… In the end, the Caps are in a pretty good place, if you’re an optimist.  If you look at the postseason just completed, the Caps were an overtime away from taking the eventual Stanley Cup champions to a seventh game on home ice despite:

• Their leading scorer in the regular season having one point in six games against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Evgeny Kuznetsov just turned 24 in May.
• The 13^th player in team history to record at least 60 points over his first two seasons before reaching the age of 22 having one point in six games against the Penguins.  Andre Burakovsky turned 21 in February.
• A defenseman who missed an entire regular season of hockey coming into this season and who had never appeared in an NHL postseason game before this year having no points in five games against the Penguins.  Dmitry Orlov is 24 years old.
• A 16^th overall draft pick who has improved on his regular season scoring numbers in each of his three seasons having one point in seven games against the Penguins.  Tom Wilson turned 22 in March.

The worst you could say about this quartet is that they won’t get worse in the postseason.  Frankly, it would be hard to do that.  You hope, if not outright expect, that they will improve.  And, if they do next season, they do it with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, and others to perform at or near their production levels this past season. 

Go back to the quote from Barry Trotz above, and think about where the open roster spots are.  The Caps probably stabilized their forwards by trading for Lars Eller, which will likely settle Marcus Johansson in a wing slot on a permanent basis.  With Jason Chimera (likely) and Michael Latta not coming back, one could envision a spot for a winger, but this is where those “good young guys” come into play.  The Caps might want to take a long look at players like Jakub Vrana, Riley Barber, Chandler Stephenson, or Travis Boyd to fill a slot to reward developmental performance and, in the longer term, keeping salary room available for any moves the team might want to make in season or at the trading deadline.

If a lot of moves in free agency is something fans find entertaining, this free agent signing period is likely to look to Caps fans like a bad public access cable talk show.  But this is a club that would already seem to have the parts it needs, just with a little more experience for some of them, to kick in the door to the vault where that Stanley Cup is kept.

Washington Capitals: 2015-2016 By the Tens -- Goaltenders: Braden Holtby

Braden Holtby

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”

-- Jonathan Swift

In less than nine years, Braden Holtby went from an obscure fourth-round draft pick, the tenth goaltender taken in the 2008 entry draft, to the pinnacle of his profession, tying a record for wins in a single season by an NHL goaltender.  Measured another way, only one of the nine goaltenders taken ahead of him – Jake Allen of the St. Louis Blues – has more career wins (57) than Holtby recorded in the 2015-2016 season (48).  Five of those goaltenders taken ahead of Holtby have yet to appear in an NHL game.  He has come a long way indeed.

Holtby started fast this season, setting a performance standard that would be difficult to maintain over a full season.  Looking at his ten game segments, he had that hot start – 6-2-0 in each of his first two segments, followed by an 8-0-1 record in his third segment, with goals against averages under 2.00 in each of those three opening segments – but he hit a rut in the middle of his season.  His win-loss record did not suffer, going 19-2-2 in his fourth through sixth ten-game segments, but his goal against average was progressively worse in each one, and his save percentage was barely above .900 in the fifth and sixth segments.  Holtby rebounded in his last two segments, going 9-3-4, 2.17, .916 over his last two segments, but it was still short of that blistering start to his season. 

What he did over the course of the season was something more than give his team a chance to win.  He was often the best player on the ice for either team.  It was a matter of being very good when he was on, posting a record of 38-2-2 when allowing two or fewer goals over a full game.  No goalie in the league finished with more games allowing two or fewer goals in a full game (minimum: 55 minutes) than Holtby (42).

Fearless’ Take… Braden Holtby obliterated the franchise wins record, surpassing Olaf Kolzig’s 41 wins (later tied by Holtby) with his 42^nd win on March 15^th in his 56^th game of the season and Game 69 for the Caps in 2015-2016.  He became the first player in franchise history to appear in at least half of the team’s games, post a goals against average under 2.25, and record a save percentage of .920 or better.  Kolzig is the only other Caps goaltender to have accomplished that feat (2.20 and .920 in 1997-1998).  Holtby is still younger (26) than Kolzig was when he had that season (27). He did not lose consecutive decisions all season until April 5^th and 7^th, his 64^th and 65^th games of the season, and even then both losses were in overtime.

Cheerless’ Take… There really isn't a lot here to get all wound up about from the regular season.  Even when he was bad, he wasn't often awful.  He was pulled early three times in 66 games, and in his 16 regulation and extra time losses he had a goals against average of 3.44 and a save percentage of .882.  That save percentage just in losses isn't a lot worse than Eddie Lack (.901) or Mike Condon (.904) posted in all games this season.

Odd Holtby Fact… Braden Holtby allowed four or more goals eight times during the regular season.  Seven of them came after January 1^st.

Bonus Odd Holtby Fact… There have been 33 instances in NHL history of a goaltender winning 40 or more games while appearing in 70 or fewer contests.  Only two of those goalies won more than 70 percent of their appearances – Ken Dryden (.732 winning percentage on 41 wins in 56 games in 1976-1977) and Braden Holtby (.727 winning percentage on 48 wins in 66 games this season).

Game to Remember… April 9^th versus St. Louis

Approaching a record, especially one held by a legend, is something that can often play havoc with the pursuer of that record.  As Braden Holtby got nearer to the single-season wins record by a goaltender, held by hall of famer Martin Brodeur, the wins were slower in coming.  When Holtby took the ice in St. Louis against the Blues, he had just two wins in his previous five games.  What made things more agonizing was that all three losses in that five-game stretch came in extra time.  And, as if to amp up the pressure just a little bit more, Holtby was seeking to tie the record with the record holder in attendance in St. Louis.  Brodeur was serving as an assistant general manager for the Blues.

It was not a start that inspired visions of a celebration for Holtby or the Caps as the Blues scored just 75 seconds into the contest, courtesy of Vladimir Tarasenko on the Blues’ third shot of the game.  That would be the last the Blues would see of a puck in the back of the net, though.  Holtby stopped the last 17 shots he faced, while the Caps scored five unanswered goals, three of them on an Alex Ovechkin hat trick.  Holtby had his record-tying win and a handshake of congratulations from Brodeur to seal the occasion.  Holtby would tie the season wins record in his 66^th and final game of the regular season; Brodeur won his 48^th season game in Game 78 of the 2006-2007 season (through 66 games that season Brodeur had 41 wins).

Game to Forget… December 18^th versus Tampa Bay

Sometimes one will hear talk of a goalie feeling the puck early in games to get into the swing of things.  When that first feel doesn’t come early, things do not always end well.  In mid-December, they didn’t for Holtby against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Verizon Center.  He did not face his first shot on goal until the 8:18 mark of the first period.  Unfortunately for Holtby and the Caps, the Lightning scored on that shot, Alex Killorn doing the honors.  He did not record his first save until 10:33 had passed in the period.  He would not face his third shot until the 19:24 mark of the period and faced only four shots in all over the first 20 minutes. 

The Lightning got pucks to the net with some more frequency to start the second period, but it was still hardly a barrage.  When the Lightning broke through with a pair of goals just over two minutes apart on consecutive shots, their 11^th and 12^th of the contest, it was clear that Holtby was not sharp.  He was pulled after allowing his third goal on 12 shots in 28:57 of ice time.  The Caps roared back with Philipp Grubauer in relief in goal, scoring five unanswered goals to steal a 5-3 decision, but for Holtby it was arguably his worst performance of the regular season in one that had few poor ones.

Postseason: 12 games, 6-6, 1.72, .942, 2 shutouts

Among goaltenders appearing in at least half a dozen postseason games this season, Braden Holtby led all goaltenders in goals against average (1.72) and save percentage (.942).  He had one fewer shutout in the postseason than leader Martin Jones in half the games played (12 for Holtby to 24 for Jones).  And yet, the Caps still didn’t advance past the second round.  What happened?

Well, for Holtby it was a tale of two series.  In the opening round against the Philadelphia Flyers he was 4-2, 0.83, .968, with two shutouts.  In the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins he was 2-4, 2.57, .923.  It was not as if he was significantly outplayed by his Penguin counterpart, Matt Murray, but given the starting point of expectations – Holtby as a potential Vezina Trophy winner and with a record-tying season in wins versus Murray appearing in his first NHL postseason after playing just 13 regular season games – Murray’s better goals against average (2.40 to 2.57) and save percentage (.926 to .923) for the series had the feel of a clear Pittsburgh win at the position.

In the end…

Braden Holtby is now at that point in his career where he can be mentioned among the very best the league has to offer among goaltenders, but he has unfinished business.  His career postseason record is, on the whole, sparkling – a 1.87 goals against average, a .937 save percentage.  He is the only goaltender in more than 30 years to post a career playoff goals against average under 2.00 and record a save percentage better than .935 in 20 or more postseason games played.  On the other hand, his win-loss record of 22-24 is very much underwhelming. 

What has been perhaps the most agonizing part of this is that Holtby’s last two postseasons ended on an overtime goal allowed, in Game 7 of the Caps’ second round series against the New York Rangers in 2015 and in Game 6 in the second round against the Penguins this season.  Three of his four season-ending games in the postseason have been by one-goal margins.  Such is the thin line between success and elimination in the postseason.

Braden Holtby is very much a believer in vision training.  He uses it, as he puts it, “to warm up [his] eyes and keep them sharp. If you're not seeing it, nothing else matters. Your eyes are the basis of your whole game."  If there is one “vision” yet to be realized, it is Holtby finding a way to piece together more of those superb postseason efforts to help get the Caps past the frustrating obstacle of the second round of the postseason and perhaps to the Cup that has long avoided this franchise.

Grade: A-

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2015-2016 By the Tens -- Goaltenders: Philipp Grubauer

Philipp Grubauer

“A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.”

-- Mark Twain

Coming into the 2015-2016 season, only three goaltenders in Capitals history over their first three seasons recorded a career goals against average better than Philipp Grubauer while having appeared in 20 or more games: Jim Carey (a Vezina Trophy winner with the Caps), Semyon Varlamov (who would go on to become a Vezina finalist with Colorado in 2014), and Braden Holtby (currently a Vezina finalist).  Grubauer’s career save percentage tops the list (.924, one point better than Holtby over their first three seasons).

After those three seasons and a 100-plus game apprenticeship with the Hershey Bears in the AHL (55-39-9, 2.37, .919, 11 shutouts), Grubauer was prepared for the next step in his development, serving as the full-time backup to Holtby for the 2015-2016 season.   As it turned out, the 2015-2016 season had its expected outcomes and some unexpected ones.  First there was the matter of retaining Grubauer’s services, but his re-signing with the club with a two-year, $1.5 million contract could hardly be considered surprising after going 7-6-5, 2.44, .924 in 20 games over three seasons with the Caps.

Back safely in the Caps’ fold, going into training camp Grubauer had to be considered the favorite, even if not a prohibitive one, to emerge as the team’s backup goaltender over Justin Peters, who served as backup to Braden Holtby in 2014-2015, and Dan Ellis, a nine-year NHL veteran signed as a free agent in the off-season.  After posting a respectable 2.22 goals against average and a .919 save percentage in the pre-season, the backup job was Grubauer’s.  Put that in the “expected” column, too.

Given that Braden Holtby came into the 2015-2016 season as the minutes leader among goaltenders in the 2014-2015 season (4,247; one of 13 goalies to play at least one 4,200-plus minute season since the 2004-2005 lockout), Grubauer was not likely to get a lot of ice time, even if there might have been a desire to pare back Holtby’s workload.

Grubauer did, in fact, get a substantial amount of ice time in 2015-2016, his 1,111 minutes more than doubling the total he compiled in parts of three seasons preceding this one (1,032).  The profile of appearances through his ten-game segments looked like something one might have envisioned when the season started and unfolded as it did.  He averaged two appearances and about 113 minutes per ten games in his first four ten-game segments, then, as the Caps pulled away from the rest of the league and the season wound down, he appeared a bit more frequently – averaging 3.5 appearances and 165 minutes per segment in the second half of the season.

Fearless’ Take… Among goaltenders appearing in at least ten, but fewer than 30 games (an arbitrary range for a “backup” goaltender), Grubauer finished sixth among 28 goaltenders in this category in goals against average (2.32) and 11th in save percentage (.918).  It might not make him an “elite” backup at this stage of his career, but he was solidly in the top half of this cohort of goaltenders.

Cheerless’ Take… OK, so let’s get to that “unexpected” portion of the show.  He played in 22 games, a total that was weighted to the second half of the season (14 appearances in the last 41 games versus 8 in the first 41).  The Caps were 4-3-1 in Grubauer’s first half appearances, but they were 5-9-0 in his second half appearances.  He was personally 3-6-0 in the second half of the season.  That kind of win-loss record wasn’t on anyone’s “expected” list.

Odd Grubauer Fact… About that second half of the season.  The odd part of it was that despite the deteriorating win-loss record, his goals against average was better in the second half (2.27 versus 2.40), as was his save percentage (.920 versus .914).

Game to Remember… February 16th versus Los Angeles

Going into a mid-February game against the Los Angeles Kings, Philipp Grubauer had not faced 40 or more shots in a game since he stopped 38 of 40 shots on goal by the New York Rangers in a 3-2 win on December 27, 2013.  His workload to start the game against the Kings was not very noteworthy, if a bit on the heavy side (12 shots in the first period).  It was not the shots but the circumstances that left him and the team with a bitter taste in their mouths heading into the first intermission, a shorthanded goal by Anze Kopitar late in the period that gave the Kings a 1-0 lead. 

However, Grubauer slammed the door in the second period, stopping all 19 shots he faced as the Caps tied the game, then he nailed it shut in the third frame by stopping all nine shots he faced.  The Caps took the lead late on an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, then they scored an empty netter in a 3-1 win.  The 40 shots on goal was a season high for Grubauer, and in an odd bit of history represented the only time all season that a Caps goalie faced 40 or more shots from a team not from Pennsylvania (Braden Holtby faced 40 or more shots three times by Pittsburgh and once by Philadelphia).

Game to Forget… February 2nd versus Florida

The lack of work within a game can be the bane of the NHL goaltender.  Seeing few shots prevents some goaltenders from getting into a working rhythm, and they can end up being off their game.  Such was the case for Philipp Grubauer in a game against the Florida Panthers in early February.  It was not a case of lack of work generally; he appeared in three of the Caps previous six contests and stopped 55 of 57 shots in that span (.965 save percentage).  However, against the Panthers, while the Caps were piling up early shots on Panther goalie Roberto Luongo (16 in the first period, but without a goal), Grubauer saw half of the workload (eight shots on which he allowed two goals). 

The workload shrank in the second period, but the results didn’t – two more goals allowed.  By the time it was over for him, when he was pulled for an extra attacker in the last minute of what would be a 5-2 loss, he allowed four goals on just 18 shots.  It was the worst save percentage for a single game (.778) by a Caps’ goaltender in at least 30 years in which the goalie played more than 55 minutes and faced fewer than 20 shots.

Postseason… no games played.

In the end…

Philipp Grubauer had a bit of an odd season that, if anything, seemed to be characterized by a lack of “run support.”  He was 2-8-1 in full games played in which he allowed more than one goal.  He was 5-0-0 in full games played in which he allowed a single goal (Grubauer did not have a shutout this season).  Still, his first full season as the Capitals’ backup goaltender was, on balance, what one might have been expected.  His second half win-loss record was mitigated by his performance numbers (goals against and save percentage), which improved over his first half.  As first-year backup goalie seasons go, it was a good start on Grubauer’s NHL career, although there is enough slack in his game to think that there is room for improvement, too.

Grade: B+

Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America

Washington Capitals: 2015-2016 By the Tens -- Defensemen: Nate Schmidt

Nate Schmidt

“Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.”

-- Greta Garbo

Google “Nate Schmidt,” and click on “images.”  Go ahead, we’ll wait…

Have you ever seen anyone smile so much?  The guy must have a bowl of “happy” every morning at breakfast.   There was reason for Schmidt to be happy about his 2015-2016 season.  In his third season with the Washington Capitals, the defenseman appeared in more games (72) than in his previous two years combined (68).  His assist total (14) doubled the total from his previous two seasons (7), and he set a career high in points (16).  His plus-12 ranked third among Capitals defensemen, and he was fourth in blocked shots (111).

His progression through his ten game segments looked like something of a bell curve.  Schmidt had a slow start with no points in his first ten game segment, but he improved to two points in each of his next two with a plus-1 followed by a plus-4.  He peaked in the fourth and fifth segments with four point in each and was a plus-10 over that span.  He slid back over his last three segments, finishing the season with one point and a minus-3 in the last segment of his season.

If there was a more consistent theme with Schmidt, it was outcomes in heavy minute situations.  When Schmidt logged at least 20 minutes of ice time, the Caps were 18-3-3.  However, what is odd about that nugget is that he did not reach the 20 minute mark in ice time in any of the last 23 games in which he played in the regular season.

Fearless’ Take…  Among Caps defensemen logging at least 500 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, Schmidt finished fourth overall in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (50.6 percent) and was second in Corsi-for/Relative (plus-0.4; numbers from Corsica.Hockey).

Cheerless’ Take… Schmidt’s possession numbers – his 25-game rolling average Corsi-for at 5-on-5 – look like the Loch Ness Monster with this big hump in the middle (numbers from Corsica.Hockey)…

…and that rolling shots for has a wee bit of a wilt at the end, too…

These young guys, they have to learn to grind out that 82-game season.

Odd Schmidt Fact… If blocking shots is a function of effort and will in the face of hardened vulcanized rubber hurtling toward your body, Schmidt’s reward was the team’s.  The Caps were 13-1-1 in games in which Schmidt blocked at least three shots, 24-4-2 in games in which he blocked at least two shots.

Game to Remember… January 9^th versus New York Rangers

Nate Schmidt recorded multi-point games twice this season, once against the Montreal Canadiens on December 26^th and again against the New York Rangers two weeks later.  It was that second game that was one to remember for the circumstances of his points.  He recorded a primary assist on a goal by Justin Williams, springing the latter on a breakaway with a nifty lead pass from his own blue line to Williams breaking at the other blue line, to give the Caps a 2-0 lead…

The Rangers took the lead, 3-2, midway through the third period, but the Caps tied it with 5.7 second left in regulation on a goal by Nicklas Backstrom.  That left overtime for settling matters.  With the clock just under four minutes to go in the extra session, the Rangers won a faceoff in the Capitals’ end, and both Rick Nash and Derek Stepan had chances from in close.  Stick work by Schmidt helped keep the puck out of the net, and it squirted to Alex Ovechkin, who proceeded to execute and end-to-end rush that ended the contest…

Schmidt got credit for an assist on the play, giving him a pair for the game.

Game to Forget… April 7^th versus Pittsburgh

Schmidt’s stick got him in trouble early in this game.  Less than a minute into the contest he tried to poke the puck off the stick of Tom Kuhnackl while backing up and had the effect of merely waving at the biscuit.  Kuhnackl found Matt Cullen darting behind Schmidt, and Cullen beat goalie Braden Holtby for an early 1-0 Pens lead.  With Pittsburgh holding a 2-0 lead midway through the second period, Schmidt and his stick were victimized again, trying to swipe the puck away from Oskar Sundqvist as he was feeding the puck across to Conor Sheary.  Schmidt missed, the pass was completed, and Sheary gave the Pens a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the period.  Washington mounted a furious comeback to tie the game, but the Penguins won in overtime on a goal by Sidney Crosby.  Schmidt’s score sheet was forgettable – no shot attempts, a giveaway, and a blocked shot in just 9:36 of ice time, his lowest number of the season.

Postseason: 10 games, 0-1-1, minus-3, 51.9 percent Corsi-for at 5-on-5, minus-1.2 CF%/Relative at 5-on-5

Like too many Capitals, Schmidt went silent in the offensive end in the postseason, posting a single assist in ten games, than coming in the “meltdown” game against the Flyers when the Caps scored five power play goals (Schmidt’s assist came on the last of those five man-advantage goals).  He managed only seven shots on goal in those ten games, and the outcomes when he was on the ice were not what was hoped for, his on-ice PDO being only 95.5 at 5-on-5.  Ice time was hard to come by as well.  A player who skated fewer than 15 minutes in only 12 of 72 regular season games, he skated more than 15 minutes only twice in ten postseason games, neither of them in the second round against the Penguins.

In the end…

Although one looks at Schmidt and sees a young defenseman still on the upward arc of his development (we hope), he finished the season with 140 games in a Capitals sweater.  Odd as it might seem, that places him in 39^th place in team history in games played by a defenseman.  He is one of just 22 defensemen in Caps history to play in at least 140 games for the club before his 24^th birthday.  But one thing that lingers after the season just completed is the degree to which his numbers faded down the stretch.  

 It is here that we point out that the 82 regular season and playoff games Schmidt played this season was the most he played in a season since he dressed for 70 games with the Fargo Force in the USHL in 2009-2010.  As much as skill, the ability to endure the rigors of a long hockey season is part of development, and this is something (based on his results this season) that stands out as something Schmidt needs to demonstrate an ability to do.  When he does, perhaps that smile will conceal a toughness that is almost frightening.

Grade: B-

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America