The Washington Capitals have officially opened training camp and there is lots to dig through.
Here is the opening roster for Training Camp:

Forwards:

1. Nicklas Backstrom
2. Daniel Carr
3. Kody Clark
4. Nic Dowd
5. Shane Gersich
6. Carl Hagelin
7. Garnet Hathaway
8. Evgeny Kuznetsov
9. Hendrix Lapierre
10. Brent Leason
11. Philip Maillet
12. T.J. Oshie
13. Alexander Ovechkin
14. Richard Panik
15. Garrett Pilon
16. Brian Pinho
17. Michael Sgarbossa
18. Conor Sheary
19. Joe Snively
20. Riley Suter
21. Jakub Vrana
22. Tom Wilson
23. Lars Eller

Defense:

1. John Carlson
2. Zdeno Chara
3. Brendan Dillon
4. Martin Fehervary
5. Nick Jensen
6. Lucas Johansen
7. Paul LaDue
8. Dmitry Orlov
9. Cameron Schilling
10. Justin Schultz
11. Jonas Siegenthaler
12. Trevor Van Rymsdyk

Goaltenders:

1. Craig Anderson
2. Pheonix Copley
3. Zach Fucale
4. Ilya Samsonov
5. Vitek Vanecek

Rosters as of 01/01/2021 presented by capitalstoday.com

The NHL is allowing training camp rosters of no more than 36 players with unlimited goalies. At this moment, the Capitals are hosting 34 players at camp, not including goalies. I expect Connor McMichael to join training camp after the completion of World Juniors. The NHL has set the following rules for roster construction for the 2020-2021 season:

Each team will play with a 23-man roster under an $81.5 million salary cap. Each team will also be allowed to carry between four and six additional players that will travel and practice with the team as an additional precaution against lineup spots that could be vacated by COVID-19 protocols. Each team will be required to carry a minimum of three goalies between the NHL Roster and Taxi Squad. For the Capitals, they will have to make a decision on whether certain fringe NHL players are better off in Hersey OR traveling and practicing with the NHL roster. This in all likelihood means not as much game action. For guys like Pinho, Fehervary, and Gerisich it is tough to objectively say which path is more ideal for them. I think someone with a little more experience like Gersich would be a good taxi squad addition. With the defense already loaded with talent and roster spots, Fehervary may be better off getting additional experience in the AHL for another season. There are plenty of 1-year deals on defense right now. Fehervary will get his crack at a full time spot int he 2021-2022 season when guys like Chara and Van Rymsdyk are gone. I also do not know the specifics on how frequently the Capitals can change or adjust the composition the taxi squad roster.

Here is what I am projecting the 23-man roster to look like for the Caps when its all said and done:

Offense:

1. Nicklas Backstrom
2. Nic Dowd
3. Carl Hagelin
4. Garnet Hathaway
5. Evgeny Kuznetsov
6. T.J. Oshie
7. Alexander Ovechkin
8. Richard Panik
9. Conor Sheary
10. Jakub Vrana
11. Tom Wilson
12. Lars Eller

Defense:

13. John Carlson
14. Zdeno Chara
15. Brendan Dillon
16. Nick Jensen
17. Paul LaDue
18. Dmitry Orlov
19. Justin Schultz
20. Jonas Siegenthaler
21. Trevor Van Rymsdyk

Goalies
22. Ilya Samsonov
23. Craig Anderson

Taxi Squad:

1. Vitek Vanecek
2. Daniel Sprong
3. Martin Fehervary (probably better off in Hersey)
4. Shane Gersich
5. Brian Pinho

What do you think of the projected lineup? Which guys would you like to see crack the taxi squad and which ones are better off with the Bears for another season?

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