The Washington Capitals at the 30 game mark, more or less

Its been a rough past 10 games for a team that was arguably playing better than the talent level indicated. The team is essentially a 1 line effort with the other forwards chipping in on occasion but without any real consistency. All due respect to the top dogs, but the rest of the offense is simply awol and that is not acceptable. The fans knw it, management knows it and most importantly the locker room knows it.

Rumors out of DC seem to point to coach Peter LaViolette being on the hot seat. Could his days in with the Capitals be running out ? There certainly appears to be a lack of synergy on the team and team morale continues to sink to new lows and the losses pile up. Laviolette is not known for being the best coach for developing younger players, then again he does have a very strong track record in the NHL and it would be unwise to simply part ways with such an experienced coach for the sake of “change”.

When asked for comment GM Donpaulo indicated that this is a lemonade situation and that right now the taste is really quite sour. “We have a plan and are sticking to it” he said. “The core of this team is set and we have acquired a number of future assets we feel will put the team on the right path to a winning season. That winning season won't be this or next year. We ask our fans to be patient with the process and we look forward to icing a better team next season. We expect some significant improvement from players such as Jason Dickinson, Kevin Labanc and Josh Brown. We also see better play from some of the younger players on our roster such as Connor McMichael, Gustav Lindstrom, Daniil Miromanov, Johnathan Kovacevic and David Gustafsson,” he exclaimed.

When asked for comment the GM continued, “We need to remain patient as this league has 32 teams and there will not be enough defensemen to cover play for some teams next season. We have extra and will likely be scratching players who take a regular shift for some other teams. Its a good problem to have, but it doesn't solve the losing this season.” Clearly there will be teams in need of defenders next season and the price to acquire them from Washington is only going to increase the closer we get to the draft. Once the 2023 lottery and picks have been settled the team is going to look forward to the first round picks for the 24 draft. Younger players moving up the depth chart is a winning approach to long term success.

“We will be making money and should be able to bring in some outside help going forward,” said the GM. “Obviously the injury situation with Robin Lehner and the emergence of Logan Thompson in Vegas of the NHL spins the story into more than a recovery one, but rather if Robin has a future there or will he move on to another franchise once he hopefully recovers from hip and shoulder surgeries. While Lehner does have a NTC he might waive it in order to go somewhere he can be the main goaltender. “This isn't his first rodeo,” a reporter was heard saying. “Ottawa, Buffalo, Islanders, Blackhawks and now the Knights. Clearly he has the talent. Will he have the health is the question.” Washington certainly hope so.

The news from the front office is that the low ball trade offers have been mostly rejected although there is a franchise or two that haven't responded to them. They don't expect to make much headway for the balance of the season and will try and focus on improving play as well as creating a team first, next man up approach.

“If we can establish an effective 2nd line things should improve very much for the team in the future”.