Depth Chart

(1) Mike Green
(2) Tom Poti
(3) Shaone Morrisonn
(4) Jeff Schultz
(5) Brian Pothier
(6) Milan Jurcina
(7) John Erskine
(8) Karl Alzner
(9) Sami Lepisto

Players to Watch

Ready to Break Out
Jeff Schultz. In my humble opinion, Schultz is the most underrated player on the Capitals due in part to his understated of play and in part to the fact that for his size (6’6’’, 221 pounds) Schultz doesn’t play a particularly physical game. He might not be a big hitter, but Schultz is a very solid stay-at-home defenseman who rarely makes mistakes. If Schultz has another good year of development, he could be number three on the Capitals’ depth chart by the end of the season.

It’s “Do or Die” time for…
Milan Jurcina. Like Schultz, Jurcina is a stay-at-home defenseman. The Capitals have, both on their roster and in their system, plenty of guys who can create offense from the blueline in Mike Green, Tom Poti, Karl Alzner, Josh Godfrey, Sami Lepisto, and Brian Pothier (if healthy). Given this, a defenseman with limited offensive upside like Jurcina has to be able to disrupt the opposition’s offense and play mistake-free hockey. When Jurcina is playing well he does both; when he plays poorly he does neither and gives up far too many quality scoring chances, and unfortunately for Jurcina he has far too many games where he plays poorly. If Jurcina can’t become a more consistent player, the Capitals are likely to see him as too much of a liability and cut their ties.

Burning Questions

(1) Will Brian Pothier play?
Pothier’s 2007-08 season came to an end on January 3rd when he suffered a severe concussion on a hit from Boston’s Milan Lucic. Six months later the injury was still serious enough that Pothier wound up in bed for more than a week after attempting to jog “a couple of blocks”. Pothier’s not going to be ready to take the ice before the season starts but if does come back his return would have significant repercussions for the Capitals, affecting the team not only on the ice but also in terms of who may stay and who may be demoted to Hershey, salary cap complexities, and perhaps necessitating a trade of either Milan Jurcina or John Erskine. If Pothier can’t play, there’s a good chance Sami Lepisto will be given an opportunity to take his place as an adequate defender who can provide offensive support.

(2) How good is Karl Alzner?
Alzner seems to be increasingly shaping up as a blue-ship prospect who will one day be a true number one defenseman in the NHL. The question is: how good is he right now? If Alzner’s ready to play at the NHL level on October 10th (meaning he has passed John Erskine on the depth chart), Washington’s defense will be faster, more skilled, and better offensively than they were last season.

(3) Can Mike Green replicate his offensive output from 2007-08?
There was no bigger surprise for the Capitals last season than Mike Green, who scored eighteen goals and fifty-six points after coming into the season with three goals and fifteen points in ninety NHL games. Green’s offensive explosion was the result of a number of factors: a high number of shooting opportunities, Bruce Boudreau’s system, a high shooting percentage, and the solid play of defensive partner Shaone Morrisonn. Green clearly has a ton of talent but it’s somewhat unlikely that everything will go right for him again in 2008-09, so it will be difficult for him to match his scoring totals from last season.