The Capitals have some burning questions to answer with training camp winding down.
The Washington Capitals are gearing up for their 50th anniversary season, and with four days to go until the team's opening night roster is due, there are quite a few questions surrounding the team and training camp up to this point.
We reopened the Capitals mailbag to answer those burning questions.
Editor's Note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.
Who will make the team up front as the extra forward? There's Vrana, Cristall, Miroshnichenko & Sgarbossa also sticking around. — @adultsontour
This has been the elephant in the room throughout camp, and with every line except the third basically set in stone, the forward race is getting even more interesting down this final stretch.
Sonny Milano, Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas were supposed to make up that third line combination, but Spencer Carberry was vocal in calling Milano's showing so far "just okay" while also not guaranteeing him a permanent spot in the lineup as the race goes on.
All the while, Jakub Vrana's turned up the volume in these past few preseason games, as has Andrew Cristall and Ivan Miroshnichenko. Cristall, who can either make the NHL or go back to juniors as he's still too young for the AHL, is perhaps the frontrunner of these three. He has points in each of his preseason outings and has taken his game to a new level to make it difficult for D.C. to return him to juniors.
Of course, Vrana has years of experience and would be a good extra forward to have in the mix, and Miroshnichenko's stood out with his speed and offensive prowess over the course of the preseason.
As for Sgarbossa, he provides stability down the middle as a center option, but I don't see him winning a spot over the likes of one of those three players listed above, and I think he starts back in Hershey.
Personally, I think Cristall gets the nine-game look at the highest level, and from there, the Capitals can decide to either let him stay and burn a year of his entry-level deal or send him back to juniors for another year of development with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets.
I do think taking a chance on Vrana is worthwhile, though; he wouldn't cost a lot, and there's cap space to use. As for Miroshnichenko, I think he'd benefit from more playing time on the top-6 down in Hershey than he would as an extra in D.C.
Still, with Milano unable to win a full-time role and one preseason game left to go, all the cards are still on the table. It'll be fun to watch for sure.
Will Ivan Miroshnichenko have a full-time NHL job by the All-Star break? - @jacob_fienberg
I think if Cristall eventually returns to juniors and Miroshnichenko ultimately fails to make the opening night roster but maintains this level of play, he'll be back up in the NHL sooner rather than later.
Plus, injuries always happen, and he's certainly the first call-up at wing, so he'll certainly see minutes with Washington this season regardless.
How will the defensive pairs shake out as McIlrath makes a case for himself? Is Alexeyev getting frustrated with his role as an extra? - @poufisufi & @cpsfn93
I think that the defensive pairs will look as follows to begin the 2024-25 campaign:
Jakob Chychrun-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Looking at the extra roles, the coaching staff is very high on Dylan McIlrath, whose physicality, along with his personality and leadership qualities, truly benefits the locker room. He's a guy who'll speak up, stick up for his teammates and work hard every day, and he's truly in the running to win that extra spot this camp.
There's also Alex Alexeyev, who has been on the fringe for the past bit now, and Ethan Bear, who is returning after a rough end to last season that saw him enter the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
I think through camp we've seen bright spots from Alexeyev and Bear, but at the same time, both still have to show more if they want to remain in the mix. Alexeyev is a work horse and I don't think he's getting frustrated, per se, but he's got to wonder what it'll take to win a full-time job in the NHL at this point.
There's also no guaranteeing that Bear would clear waivers (he was highly sought after in free agency last year and is a right-handed defenseman who can skate and move the puck), so D.C. may not necessarily want to risk losing the pending UFA.
At the end of the day, it all depends on how many extra forwards and extra defensemen the team wants to take, but it's getting harder down the stretch to imagine an opening night roster without McIlrath, who captained Hershey to back-to-back Calder Cups these last two seasons.
Will Ovechkin continue to stay on the ice on the power play for the full two minutes? — @rdiehljr
Spencer Carbery addressed this earlier in camp. He said that Ovechkin is still a weapon and scoring threat whenever he's on the ice, and basically explained that yes, the plan remains for him to remain on the ice for the full two minutes as he'll get time on both units and remains one of the best options to score.
This is especially true when looking back at the team's numbers last season and seeing how many second-half power-play goals D.C. scored; the numbers are in No. 8's favor as he chases down Wayne Gretzky.
New to hockey, how do teams decide where to reassign players? - @skyhawks25
Players will be assigned based on their rights, current clubs and plans for the upcoming season. For instance, if a player is under contract with Washington but is under the age of 20 and is playing for a CHL team, they're not yet eligible to play in the AHL and therefore, are assigned to their respective juniors club.
If the players play overseas, then D.C. will "loan" them to their overseas club for the upcoming season.
Then, if players are under NHL or AHL contract and are 20 or older, they can be assigned to Hershey.
