Tomorrow the Washington Capitals will be jetting home from their annual trip to the west coast — 18 months to the day since winning the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. It might not seem that long ago, but in the world of personnel management, it is a lifetime.
Last season, much was made of the Caps retaining much of that Stanley Cup roster, the only notable departures from the champs being center Jay Beagle and backup goalie Philipp Grubauer. But an odd constant in hockey is that things always change, and roster turnover is a fact of life in a salary cap-strapped league.