Caps season opener tonight

It's the start of another season for the Caps as they take on the Canadiens tonight at Verizon Center.  It's been a tumultuous couple of years but I'm pretty excited about this season.  I like the hiring of Barry Trotz as he seems to have full command of the team.  I like the way he speaks as he exudes confidence.  Apparently he is a more old school type of coach and ran a pretty tough camp which I think is good for this team.  I also like the additions made in the offseason.  Here are a couple of thoughts as we get ready for this season:

1. Huge upgrade on the defense.  Obviously, the defense was pathetic last year.  The Caps went out and took two of their rivals best D men in Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik.  Like these pickups.  Orpik is older and not thrilled about the contract he received but he does bring a toughness to the D and that is a good thing.  Niskanen was probably the best D man in FA and we locked him up.  He is solid on D and is also a threat on offense.  That gives us three quality D guys that can play offense in Niskanen, Carlson, and Green.  We also brought in the D coach from Pittsburgh to help this group.  Given the upgrade to the defense and Trotz's commitment to defense, I expect much better play from this group.  Frankly, if we had even an average defense last season, we would have been a playoff team so the upgrades made are huge.

2. Ovi back to LW.  He is more comfortable in that spot and I'm sure he is happy to be back there.  The key is to get Ovi to get back on defense and show the same commitment on that side of the rink as he does on the offensive side. 

3. Holt-BEAST?  Adam Oates is more of a tactician and student of the game.  He wanted to work on finer points and tried to change people to fit his thoughts in hopes of making them better.  Sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not.  In the case of Holtby, he was asked to stay deeper in the net which is different than Holtby's more aggressive approach.  Trotz brought in Mitch Korn who is apparently the goalie guru in the NHL and listening to Holtby yesterday sounds like he is much more comfortable with Korn's teachings as it is getting him back to where he feels more comfortable.  With the upgrades to defense and getting Holtby where he is more comfortable, I think we will see a rejuvenated season from him.

4. Burakovsky and Kuznetsov.  To me, these guys are the key to the season.  Burakovsky is a 19 year old kid from Sweden that has come in and will take over the #2 center position.  Kuznetsov is very skilled but still trying to adapt to the smaller rinks and more physical play of the NHL.  He has put on some muscle during the offseason but still has to adapt to the rigors of the NHL game.  You could see that he had talent last season but shyed away from contact and appeared tentative at times.  I think we know what we'll get out of most of the players but these two young guys are very talented but can they raise their game up to the NHL level.  If they can, I think the Caps have a chance to be something special this season.  They are going to be fun to watch.

5. Mike Green?  Last but not least is Mike Green.  A few years ago, this guy was a Norris Trophy finalist.  He was one of the best skaters and defenders in the league.  Injuries have side tracked his career and he now finds himself in the final year of his contract and fighting to prove he is still a top tier D man in the league.  If he can show some type of resurgence it would be huge for both him and the team.  He's already nursing an injury so he's not starting out on the best foot but we'll see how his season progresses.

As mentioned, I'm excited about this team.  I believe we have the right guy to lead this team and there is renewed excitement from the players with the guys they added and the new coach.  It all starts tonight.  The Caps have typically started slow so hopefully we can buck that trend this season.  Should be fun.

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!