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Fantasy Breakdowns: 31 days/31 teams – Washington Capitals |
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Yesterday’s article was all about the Winnipeg Jets and a breakdown of their top fantasy players. Today we will be looking at the two-time defending Presidents’ Trophy winners the Washington Capitals. There surely is a boat load of quality fantasy talent on the Caps, take a look…
Top 5 fantasy forwards:
Alexander Ovechkin
Nicklas Backstrom
Evgeny Kuznetsov
TJ Oshie
Andre Burakovsky
Top 3 fantasy defense:
John Carlson
Matt Niskanen
Dmitri Orlov
Goaltending:
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Sleeper:
Jakub Vrana
The Capitals tossed a lot of money around this offseason signing both TJ Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Oshie cashed in on an 8 year deal at 5.75 million and Kuznetsov got 8 years at 7.8 million. That’s quite a bit of cake, but money well spent if it means the Capitals can finally get out of the second round of the playoffs before all faith is lost by the Capitals management team and their fans.
Ovechkin is obviously a sure shot as their most beastly fantasy player with that goal production alone. Last year Ovehckin only scored 33 goals, which was quite low compared to the three seasons before that where he cashed in 50+ in each of them. Will Ovi get back to his 50+ goals? If he does, he will be right near the top of the fantasy charts in value, but he certainly took a dip last season with 69 points. He’s almost scored that many goals before (career high 65).
Backstrom’s value is actually closer to Ovechkin’s than most people realize. He had 86 points last season and is ever so dangerous on the power play with his excellent vision. Backstrom should be good for 75-85 points again this season and tends to fall down the rankings for some reason (more of an assist guy than goal scorer, but certainly can bury the puck if the opportunity presents itself).
Last season was somewhat of a disappointment for Kuznetsov as well, he only got 59 points after bursting out with 77 the season before. So which Kuznetsov will we see this season? I’d magine somewhere in the middle around 65-70 points but should get around 25 goals or so with the will to succeed with his beefy new contract. Oshie should hover around the 60 point barrier, but could easily get 30+ goals playing on the top line and first power play.
Carlson is the Capitals best offensive defenseman without question, he’s great on the powerplay and he’s solid at both ends of the ice. Last couple of seasons Carlson has missed a few games, but is the type of fantasy defender who should put up 40 points with easy and 50 wouldn’t be difficult for him to reach (again) with the firepower the Capitals have up front. I expect a big season out of John Carlson.
Niskanen is a step above Orlov in fantasy worth but Orlov certainly holds his own in the non-point categories so if your pool includes hit’s, blocks and penalty minutes you will have them ranked more evenly. Niskanen should be around the 40 point mark and Orlov the 35 point mark if all goes well. I’d draft Niskanen before Orlov though if you had to pick one.
Obviously when it comes to goaltending we all know that Holtby is the man, expect around 15-20 starts out of Grubauer but with good numbers. Holtby will undoubtedly be in the .920+ save % range with a low 2.0 GAA. He’s really turned into a stud goalie after winning the starting role four seasons ago.
Vrana is my sleeper pick for the Capitals. He’s a young Czech left winger who should slot into the second line if all goes well and will reap the benefits of playing with Kuznetsov and Burakovsky. 40’ish points would be an excellent season for the youngster and could certainly be possible if he plays in the top six and on the second power play as projected.
Thanks for reading, have a great day.
Blogger •Fantasy Hockey Expert • 
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