Capitals: Stanley Cup Contenders?

Alexander Ovechkin

Usually those two words make a pretty solid case for enough being said, but, for the sake of being thorough, here are the bare essentials: Goals, goals, and more goals. Not only can Ovechkin put the puck in the net, but he does it in style. His enthusiasm for the game of hockey seems unmatched in this day and age, and that's a distinction any fan can get behind for the simple reason that Ovechkin is the future of the league, alongside Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby. But while Crosby is the face of the league, Ovechkin is its heart. Rather fittingly, he captured the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player this past season. While he admittedly did it one year after Crosby became the youngest ever to win the award, Ovechkin did it with added flair: He also won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's top goal scorer, the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point-getter, and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the MVP as voted by the players. Crosby won just three of the four, falling short of Rocket Richard honours. Does that mean he's better? How the next few years play out will probably go a long way towards figuring that out.

Nicklas Backstrom

One of the reasons that Ovechkin only made the playoffs for the first time in his third year in the league was because he lacked the backup talent. As great as Ovechkin is, hockey is a team game and he can't do it all by himself. Enter Backstrom... Ovechkin's linemate notched 69 points in 82 games this year, finishing the runner-up of the Calder Memorial Trophy to Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane. While anybody who plays with Ovechkin is bound to put up good numbers, Backstrom brings something more to the table, a killer wrist-shot and play-making skills. Good enough to help set up Ovechkin for more Rocket Richard trophies in the future.

Mike Green

Going in the same draft as Ovechkin clearly is a bad move career-wise, as you're always going to be overshadowed by his goal-scoring prowess. Thankfully, Green plays another position (defense) and so the emphasis is less on the points he puts up and more on the ones he keeps off the board. Green's +/- plus 6 this past season is nothing to scoff at (even if Ovechkin was a plus 28), and Green's power play quarterbacking adds another dimension to his game and to the Capitals. His 18 goals led the league for defensemen, meaning, not only can he tape-to-tape them to the likes of Ovechkin and Backstrom, he can finish as well.

Alexander Semin

The "other" Alexander may have been hampered by injuries this past regular season, but if you caught his follow-up performance in the playoffs, you'll realize he is just as much a threat as Backstrom. Semin is the first of what is now a long line of young talent injected into the Washington lineup. Whereas Backstrom is Ovechkin's partner in crime, Semin is the soul of the second line, first finding success with Michael Nylander as his centre, and then Sergei Fedorov when the latter was acquired at the trade deadline. Semin makes the Capitals a legitimate two-line threat and a legitimate contender for the league championship.

Bruce Boudreau

Boudreau came out of nowhere to win the league's Jack Adams Award as its best coach. Taking a last-place team in the Southeast just prior to the season's halfway mark and turning them into division champions will do that. Boudreau deserves all the credit in the world. He was a journeyman during his professional career, but after a season like the one he orchestrated behind the bench, there's a good chance he'll be staying put for the long term.

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