As we continue to wind down from the 2007-08 season, Caps Blue Line will take a look at the state of the team, by position, looking forward to 2008-09. Please note that depth charts are based on my opinion, not where the players actually stand in the organization.

Top Performer: Mike Green. Green’s 18 goals, 38 assists and 56 points were all best among Capitals’ defensemen and good enough for first among all NHL defensemen in goals and seventh in points. In addition to his offensive prowess, Green was a +6 for the season and led Washington defensemen with 53 takeaways.

Underachiever: Milan Jurcina. After the way he finished last season, there was hope Jurcina could become an imposing stay-at-home presence. However his nconsistency and penchant for poor decision making made for a frustrating season, and even resulted in the towering blueliner being a healthy scratch on several occasions.

Underrated: Tom Poti. Poti’s offensive output wasn’t what the Capitals and their fans had hoped for in 2007-08 (2 goals, 29 points in 71 games), but the veteran was the team’s most consistent defenseman in the defensive zone, was second in +/- among defenseman (behind also-underrated Jeff Schultz), was second among defensemen in takeaways and led the team in blocked shots.

One to watch: Karl Alzner. Alzner was the Western Hockey League’s MVP in 2007-08 and captained both his WHL team (Calgary) and the Canadian Junior team. The consensus seems to be that Alzner’s future in the NHL is very bright - the only question is how good he’ll be in 2008-09; the answer has huge ramifications for the quality of the Capitals’ defense corps.

Under Contract for 2008-09: Karl Alzner, John Erskine, Milan Jurcina, Sami Lepisto, Brian Pothier, Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz.
Restricted Free Agents: Steve Eminger, Mike Green, Shaone Morrisonn.
Unrestricted Free Agents: none.

Depth Chart
(1) Mike Green
(2) Tom Poti
(3) Shaone Morrisonn
(4) Jeff Schultz
(5) Brian Pothier
(6) Steve Eminger
(7) Karl Alzner
(8) Milan Jurcina
(9) Sami Lepisto
(10) John Erskine
(11) Josh Godfrey
(12) Joe Finley

The Good: Mike Green’s season pretty much speaks for itself. Shaone Morrisonn has developed into a solid defensive defenseman (and clicks very well with the freewheeling Green), Tom Poti is consistent and contributes at both ends. With Karl Alzner, Viktor Dovgan, Sami Lepisto and Joe Finley in the pipeline and Steve Eminger, Jeff Schultz and Milan Jurcina all under 25, the is a lot of untapped potential. Each Capital defender who played more than 20 games in 2007-08 finished with a positive plus-minus rating.

The Bad: The group lacks a true shutdown defenseman. It’s a role Poti and Morrisonn can play fairly well, but neither is good enough go up against the league’s best forwards, a problem that can become especially significant in the goal-scoring talent-laden Southeast Division. The defense’s biggest bodies have significant questions to answer about their play in general, specifically John Erskine’s skating and stick handling, Milan Jurcina’s decision making and Jeff Schultz’s toughness, preventing them from using their frames as effectively as they otherwise could. The combination of so many players still in development and a career-threatening injury to Brian Pothier means the depth chart is very unsettled.

2008-09 Outlook: Despite all the questions that loom for George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau about the Capitals’ defensive unit, the outlook for next season is good. On one hand only four players who are expected to be back next year have proven themselves as legitimate top six defenders: Mike Green, Tom Poti, Shaone Morrisonn and Jeff Schultz. On the other hand, Steve Eminger played well in the playoffs, Sami Lepisto had four goals, 41 assists and a +29 rating in 55 games in the AHL this year, Karl Alzner looks more like a can’t-miss prospect every day and Milan Jurcina and John Erskine already have significant NHL experience. The Capitals are only going to need to fill three roster spots (assuming Brian Pothier does not return and barring any free agent signings) and they seem to have the depth to do so already - even if it’s not entirely clear what the pecking order is going to be on opening night.
If the Capitals do need to make an addition at defense, it would be, as often talked about by Caps’ fans, a big, physical, stay-at-home defender who could intimidate opposing forwards and match up with just about anyone in the league; someone along the lines of Mike Komisarek, Robyn Regehr or former Capital Brendan Witt. Although it would be nice for the Caps to have this kind of presence along their blue line, it’s not essential, as the continued development of defensive prospects means that the Capitals defense should be better than the unit that allowed fewer than two goals a game after the trading deadline in 2007. This, along with the high price of physical defenseman who can keep up with the pace in the post-lockout NHL, means the Capitals would likely be wise to go into the season with the players they have now and try to add toughness on the blue line via a late season trade if it becomes an issue.