The 2017 off-season was anything but kind to the Washington Capitals. With their cap constraints and the expansion draft, a ton of talent was purged from their roster.
Up front, Washington’s offense took a huge hit. They were forced to trade Marcus Johansson (58 points) for draft picks and let Justin Williams (48 points) walk for nothing in free agency.
One of the league’s best defense cores was also made markedly worse. Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner moved on to greener pastures (literally) and everyone’s favorite breakout pick, Nate Schmidt, was plucked by Vegas in the expansion draft.