Stanley Cup champions usually don’t have a lot of holes to fill the following offseason.
The Washington Capitals have focused on retaining, not adding, during free agency this summer. The only new player fans should expect on the NHL roster is center Nic Dowd, a candidate to replace Jay Beagle on the fourth line. It was much more pressing to keep their core.
The Capitals re-signed unrestricted free agents John Carlson, Michal Kempny and Devante Smith-Pelly — then, on Friday, announced a six-year contract for restricted free agent Tom Wilson.