2007/08 appraisal : The Capitals ranked 8th in the NHL in goals per game (2.90) and 18th in Goals against (2.77). The team scored 11 more
goals than it allowed which put them 11th in the league in goal differential .
The good for 08/09: The team is plenty young enough where many of their top producers should continue to get better . I'd expect that
Alexander Semin should get back closer to the point a game type player he was two years ago .Also this team started very slowly last season
and the poor start got head coach Glen Hanlon fired . Look for at the very least a more balanced start to this season .
The concerns for 08/09: The Caps let starting netminder Cristobal Huet leave via free agency and he landed in Chicago .Also Olaf Kolzig, a longtime face of the franchise left signing a one year deal in Tampa Bay . Replacing both men is Jose Theodore, the 31 year old fomer Montreal Canadien, and Colorado Avalanche stopper. Prior to last season, Theodore's last year where had a sub 3 goals against average, or a .900 save percentage was 2003/04 . He's also only started in excess of 60 games once in the last 5 seasons (excluding lockout obviously).
Best Fantasy option: Obviously Alexander Ovechkin is the franchise fantasy option but in order to get him you'll need a top 3 pick in your selection process . The guy that intrigues me more is center Nicklas Backstrom who does not turn 21 until the season is a month old, and is coming off a 69 point rookie season . It was obvious in watching him last season that he was going to be a "pass first" kind of player . However once the playoffs started, Backstrom seemed to be more willing to fire at will and finished with 19 shots in 7 games and scored a goal in 4 of those 7 contests . If that trend carries over, he's going to produce probably quite a few more points than he did one season ago .
Later round fantasy options - Defenceman Sami Lepisto is a guy that you should be able to get several rounds after fellow blueliner Mike Green goes off the board . Lepisto is a 2004 draftee who is nearing 25 years of age, and is ready to bring his offensive skills to the NHL . In his first season in the AHL in 07/08, he put up 45 points (41 of them assists) in 55 games . The only thing that could keep him off the opening night roster is the fact that he still definitely needs to get stronger as he only weighs about 175 pounds and will have some trouble with physical battles in the corners and directly in front of his net.