With Capitals Youth Movement In Full Swing, GM MacLellan Expects Several Players To Take Next Step As He Targets More Names In Offseason

ARLINGTON, V.A. — For the Washington Capitals, the time for a new youth movement is now.

Washington saw its rising stars take the reins with Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha and Joel Edmundson parting ways with the team this season, as Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre and more helped fill multiple voids down the lineup.

There's still some work to be done, as general manager Brian MacLellan addressed the need to add more scoring, but going forward, a lot of that is expected to come from within, with the team turning to its rising prospects to take another step forward.

"I think some (of the goals come) internally, I hope," MacLellan said. "I think (Hendrix Lapierre) takes the next step. I hope (Aliaksei Protas) starts going more. (Connor) McMichael, I mean, he improved this year... internally, we need to improve some of our young guys."

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Washington's offense managed 2.53 goals per game, the fifth-least in the NHL in the regular season, and special teams were also inconsistent. Not only that, but the Capitals need to get faster and play with more physicality and jump, especially with Alex Ovechkin entering the final years of his career and T.J. Oshie's future in question.

McMichael and Lapierre are expected to play key roles down the middle going forward, and Ivan Miroshnichenko and more names will be relied upon to make the full-time jump and add more scoring, too.

For MacLellan, that improvement comes with time and practice.

"I think it's just growth. I think it's playing at a high level," MacLellan said. "Physically maturing, adding to your game, you know, finding ways to score goals, finding ways to operate in a tight game," MacLellan said, adding, "I think (the playoffs were) a great learning (experience) for them to see, 'Hey, this is a strong game. This is a man's game. I need to get stronger or I need to get quicker.' They can feel it out there, the level that game was at and they feel where they're at."

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When it comes to what kind of growth he wants to see, MacLellan pointed to Alex Alexeyev's improvement this season as he took on bigger minutes amid injuries to Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen.

"I liked what Alexeyev did at the end. I thought he played physical, I thought he was real competitive, he moved the puck well," MacLellan noted. "I think he took it to another level right at the end of the year, playoffs especially."

Almost certainly, D.C. will make some changes this offseason and expects to have more flexibility to work with and add some firepower as the team looks to retool on the fly.

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That said, though, the youth elevating its game to an even higher level will be just as important as adding new names to the mix.

"It's up to them individually," MacLellan said. "We'll help them out, but they'll improve in all the areas."