The Capitals have heard the outside expectations of another Stanley Cup run after a bevy of offseason acquisitions via trade and free agency. Their expectations are smaller, starting with a successful training camp that began on Thursday morning.
Captain Alex Ovechkin exemplified that focus. The NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer wouldn’t speculate about whether the upcoming campaign — his 22nd — would be his last.
“I’m focused on training camp, I have to make the team,” Ovechkin joked on Thursday, his 41st birthday. “We have lots of skilled guys, so I have to work hard out there and hope coach is going to put me in.”
The Capitals were widely crowned the champions of the offseason after bringing back Ovechkin on a one-year deal, signing center Boone Jenner, trading for forward Jordan Kyrou and acquiring Alex Tuch via a sign-and-trade with the Buffalo Sabres.
Washington’s lineup now features 11 different skaters who have recorded 20-goal seasons throughout their careers. The blue line even got a boost with the addition of 6-foot-7-inch defenseman Vincent Desharnais, who provides an added physical presence for Washington’s netminders.
The new additions join a squad that already featured established stars in Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
The analysis from the broader hockey world is clear. The Capitals are built to contend for a title this year, which could be Ovechkin’s final NHL season.
It’s widely regarded as one of the deepest rosters that Ovechkin has played with since he first joined the Capitals for the 2005-06 season.
Longtime Capitals, such as Ovechkin and Wilson, watched from their summer break with excitement as one star after another joined the organization.
“When your organization goes out and gets some of the best players available, it creates an excitement for you. I know all the current players look at themselves in the mirror and say, ’I need to be better, I want to be my best,’” Wilson said. “Because we’re going all in here.”
Even Ryan Leonard — who signed an eight-year, $84 million contract extension on Tuesday — was impressed by the moves following his rookie season.
“It’s really exciting,” Leonard said. “All the front office wants to win and so do we.”
Capitals general manager Chris Patrick looked on his roster with a sense of pride as they took the ice for the first organized practice on Thursday.
“In every position, I like the guy we have there. It feels like we have good depth in important areas,” he said. “It’s going to be about putting it together as fast as we can and trying to get off to a good start.”
But the moves have brought expectations. Washington missed the postseason last year, despite fielding a promising squad.
Anything short of a playoff appearance would be a disappointment for this year’s revamped Capitals.
“Everyone’s mindset was, ’We’re coming back.’ Expectations are high for us, but we’re all pros,” goalie Logan Thompson said. “We all want to win. That’s why we play this game.”
The elevated expectations — and a shortened training camp, courtesy of the new collective bargaining agreement — have required the Capitals to hit the ground running.
That meant Ovechkin skipped the traditional birthday cake. “I’m on a diet,” he said.
“There’s no more old-school, drink beers during the summer and show up out of shape,” Wilson said. “You’ve got to show up in shape.”
It was one of the first conversations that coach Spencer Carbery had when he met with players on Thursday morning.
“We integrate our new players in. OK, here’s what we’re going to play. Here’s our structure. Here’s our expectations. Here’s our accountability level,” the fourth-year coach said. “We just build from there.”
General manager Patrick has tried to build a squad competitive enough to make noise in the postseason this year without leveraging the franchise’s future.
Tuch, Jenner and Kyrou were the splashy names that helped entice Ovechkin to return for one more season. But youngsters such as Leonard, Justin Sourdif — who also signed an eight-year extension this week — defenseman Cole Hutson and forward Ilya Protas have the squad ready to compete for the foreseeable future.
“I’m hungry to go and see what this team can do. There’s some hype. There’s some expectation there,” Wilson said. “We’re going to try and really make some noise and be a team that other teams don’t want to be in our way.”
The four-game preseason slate begins in Boston against the Bruins on Sunday night.
The Capitals’ quest for a postseason run opens with a challenge, a date with the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 2.
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