The Washington Capitals have done it right, much like the Boston Bruins, announcing both their training camp and rookie camp rosters at the same time. Then, I can get it all done in one post.I don't think there is much doubt that the Capitals are going to be a popular team to pick from at the draft this year and no one really has to tell you the obvious reasons, right? The Capitals are going to score some goals this year and the expectations are high for some new faces to jump up and make a difference. It will be our job as poolies to work around some of the duds, but I think we're all capable of that, right?
Looking at the roster I've been carrying all Summer (at the top of the table), it should be safe to assume that the goaltending pair should be intact through camp, a seventh defenseman is needed and about three forwards can move into spots.
| Forwards | Defense | Goalies |
| Alex Ovechkin | Mike Green | Semyon Varlamov |
| Nicklas Backstrom | Tom Poti | Michal Neuvirth |
| Alex Semin | Jeff Schultz | |
| Brooks Laich | John Erskine | |
| Mike Knuble | John Carlson | |
| Tomas Fleischmann | Karl Alzner | |
| Eric Fehr | ||
| Jason Chimera | ||
| Matt Bradley | ||
| David Steckel | ||
| Boyd Gordon | Tyler Sloan | Dany Sabourin |
| Mathieu Perreault | Sean Collins | Todd Ford |
| Keith Aucoin | Brian Fahey | Braden Holtby |
| Jay Beagle | Patrick McNeill | |
| D.J. King | Grant McNeill | |
| Brian Willsie | Lawrence Nycholat | |
| Andrew Gordon | Patrick Wellar | |
| Kyle Greentree | ||
| Andrew Jourdey | ||
| Steve Pinizzotto | ||
| Francois Bouchard | ||
| Boyd Kane | ||
| Joel Rechlicz | ||
| Ashton Rome | ||
| Cody Eakin | Dustin Stevenson | Brandon Anderson |
| Anton Gustafsson | Samuel Carrier | Jared DeMichiel |
| Jake Hauswirth | Patrick Cullity | Philipp Grubauer |
| Marcus Johansson | Joe Finley | |
| Dimitry Kugryshev | Brett Flemming | |
| Trevor de Bruess | Josh Godfrey | |
| David Kastrozza | Johann Kroll | |
| Stanislav Galiev | ||
| Nikita Kashirsky | ||
| Felix Lefrancois | ||
| Garrett Mitchell | ||
| Anthony Pisano |
Next, we'd look at how much cap space they have to move players into these spots and the answer is... plenty. The top side of the table only has a cap value of $52.9 million for the 10 forwards, six defense and two goalies. That leaves about $6.5 million for the four players I figure they need. Sure, they might not carry them all for the entire year, but that's where the room to maneuver comes in handy. I would be looking for Washington to snuggle right up to the ceiling this season.
Out of the rookie camp, a few players jump off the page as guys that we should be carefully considering. Anton Gustafsson and Marcus Johansson up front and Josh Godfrey in the back. Those three should have a pass into the big camp and likely put on a good show against the rookies from Philadelphia in one exhibition match. From the training camp bubble, I would be looking at Mathieu Perreault, as he's been getting all sorts of good buzz for the past year as a possible player to slide into a top six role quietly. I have my eye on a number of Capitals this year and I think that is for good reason.
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