The concept of “success,” like a well-built skyscraper or particularly classy portrait, is a matter of framing.
The Capitals attained a staggering level of success last season...in a certain manner of speaking. They won the franchise’s first ever back-to-back Presidents Trophies, posted 118 points, and emerged victorious atop the smoldering wreckage of the toughest division in the NHL.
Of course, then they lost in the second-round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a fashion not-soon-to-be forgotten (if freaking ever).
With so much of the juicy, meaty core of the Capitals’ roster departing the team en masse like the sea receding before a tidal wave, which players will be the most difficult to replace, and which roles will be simply re-cast before October’s season premier?