They may not be chokers or losers, but
whatever you want to call them, the Washington Capitals disappointed their fans
once again during the 2016/17 NHL playoffs. They were eliminated at home in the
seventh and final game of their second round playoff series 2-0 by the
Pittsburgh Penguins on May 10th. The loss came exactly a year to the
day since last year’s playoff letdown, which also came at the hands of the
Penguins.
This is the third time the Capitals have
won the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team and have been
eliminated from the playoffs before the third round. That in itself shouldn’t
come as much of a surprise though since the top regular-season team has only won
the Stanley Cup twice since 2004/05. That represents just a 16.7 per cent
success rate for the league’s President’s Trophy winners over the past 12
seasons, including this campaign.
At least Washington made it out of the
first round this season as four of the past 11 President’s Trophy winners were
eliminated in the first round. The Capitals had their hands full in the opening
round though as it took them six games, with five of them going into overtime,
to eliminate the Eastern Conference’s eighth-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs. A few
of Washington’s key players were playing through injuries, including captain
Alex Ovechkin Karl Alzner and Marcus Johansson. Fans didn’t really want to hear
about the injuries though since all teams have to who play through pain in the
postseason.
The fact is Washington has now failed to
reach the Conference Finals in their last 12 playoff appearances. Their only
conference title came in 1997/98 while Ovechkin joined the club in 2005/06. Some
fans are blaming the five-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner for the team’s lack
of playoff success and point to the fact that the Russian star has missed the
playoffs or been knocked out in the first round in six of his 12 seasons. The
team made it as far as the second round in the other six years.
But it’s hard to pin the blame solely on
the 31-year-old Ovechkin since the future Hall of Famer has scored 90 points in
97 career playoff games. Yes, injuries may have been a factor this season and
there’s no doubt goaltender Braden Holtby struggled with a 90.9 save percentage
and 2.47 goals-against average in this postseason. Holtby posted a 94.2 save
percentage and a 1.72 goals-against average, but ultimately suffered the same
fate.
Some critics of the Capitals will be
calling for a complete rebuild which means firing coach Barry Trotz and trading
Ovechkin. However, that will partially come down to Ovechkin since he has a
modified no-trade clause in his contract. In all probability, the only way fans
will see him leave town is if he feels his career needs a boost and he feels a
new start somewhere else will benefit him. Ovechkin has the option of listing
10 teams he won’t accept a trade to which means there are 20 clubs the Capitals
could work out a deal with.
It’s always possible that Ovechkin may be
dealt, but he’s the centerpiece of the franchise and let’s not forget that NHL
hockey is first and foremost a business. Since he’s still under contract for
another four years and the Capitals posted the best record in the league over
the 82-game regular season, it’s a good bet that Ovechkin hangs around for at
least one more year.
Labels: Ian Palmer