Of course, the Capitals still need to prove that, but coach Spencer Carbery expects his players to be highly motivated.
“I think with the additions, there’s a lot of excitement and optimism around our team and now it’s on us to go out there and deliver,” Carbery said. “Whether the expectations are playoffs or contender, I’ll leave that for people to evaluate.”
The first step will be finding the right fits for the new players among the returning core of Ovechkin, who turns 41 on Sept. 17, fellow forwards Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Aliaksei Protas and Ryan Leonard, defensemen Jakob Chychrun, Martin Fehervary, Matt Royand Rasmus Sandin (likely out until January following ACL surgery), and goalies Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren.
The season-opening lineup also likely will include rookie Ilya Protas, 20, as the third line center and rookie defenseman Cole Hutson, 20, after each impressed during brief stints at the end of last season.
Carbery has spent much of the offseason contemplating possibilities for the line combinations and defense pairs after talking to the new players about what’s worked best for them in the past. The Capitals went through a similar situation two seasons ago when they seamlessly integrated seven offseason additions into their lineup. (Chychrun, Roy, Dubois and Thompson remain from those seven.)
“I absolutely think we’re leaning on those experiences,” Carbery said. “I also really push our leaders to do the same thing that they did two years ago of making Jakob Chychrun feel completely like he can just be himself and play his game and isn’t tentative or nervous or tiptoeing around whether it’s in our locker room, in practices, in games.
“I feel like our leadership group does an amazing job of this, starting with ‘O,’ making guys feel like they can just be themselves and play their game immediately upon arriving into the Washington Capitals locker room.”