As Washington Capitals Coach Barry Trotz put it, the team’s signing of defenseman Taylor Chorney was probably “a footnote” for most. Before this season, the 28-year-old defenseman had spent most of his career in the American Hockey League, and the role he seemed destined for with Washington was as the team’s extra blue liner. Essentially, if he was playing, something had gone wrong.
Something did go wrong: Lower-body injuries to the Capitals’ top defense pair of Brooks Orpik and John Carlson vaulted Chorney into the lineup for 32 straight games. But despite Orpik and Carlson being out, the Capitals have continued to win, in part because of the reliability of Chorney.