{"id":556299,"date":"2026-04-19T21:24:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556299\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T21:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:24:25","slug":"despite-missing-the-playoffs-tom-wilson-thinks-the-capitals-are-close-to-being-a-contending-team-were-probably-one-piece-away-from-making-some-serious-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556299\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite missing the playoffs, Tom Wilson thinks the Capitals are close to being a contending team: \u2018We\u2019re probably one piece away from making some serious noise\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARLINGTON, VA \u2014 Washington Capitals<\/a> players were still processing the end of their season when they returned to the rink for Breakdown Day on Thursday.<\/p>\n

When Washington last missed the playoffs in 2023, it fell 12 points short of a wild-card spot and was out of the running more than a week before its last game. Meanwhile, this year\u2019s Caps were in the hunt until the end, only eliminated the night before their regular-season finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Capitals ultimately fell just three points short of the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> for third in the Metropolitan Division, a margin of error that left them ruminating on moments that could have ended differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of things keep me up at night,\u201d quipped head coach Spencer Carbery.<\/p>\n

Not only did the Capitals come within arm\u2019s reach of a playoff spot, but elimination came amid one of their best stretches of play: despite losing veterans John Carlson<\/a> and Nic Dowd<\/a>, Washington put up a record of 12-5-2 after the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Tom Wilson<\/a> said getting so close to the postseason only increased the frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won that last game and there was a feeling, \u2018Hey, we should kind of be in the playoffs,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we won so many big games down the final stretch. I think it\u2019s more frustrating that you\u2019re not in.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while the Capitals\u2019 near-miss was cold comfort this season, Wilson believes it bodes well for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, I honestly feel like we\u2019re so close to being a legit contender,\u201d he said. \u201cIt might sound crazy \u2014 we\u2019re sitting here, not in the playoffs \u2014 but I feel like we\u2019re probably one piece away from making some serious noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s argument that the Capitals are one big piece away from contending came shortly after Alex Ovechkin<\/a> told reporters that the Capitals\u2019 playoff chances would play a big role<\/a> in whether he decides to return for another season.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, if I want to come back, it has to be a decision on, first of all, we\u2019re going to make the playoffs and we have to fight for a Cup,\u201d Ovechkin said. \u201cThat\u2019s probably the biggest thing. Otherwise, if you take different scenarios, like family-wise, health-wise, but team-wise, this is the most important thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ovechkin noted that the Washington sold off at the deadline, a decision that may have been the difference between making the playoffs and the team\u2019s eventual disappointment. The Capitals have sold off at least partially in three of the last four seasons, though they were still able to squeak into the playoffs in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in position like we\u2019re selling,\u201d Ovechkin said. \u201cWe\u2019re not adding big pieces to help us go all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the Capitals signaling their desire<\/a> to acquire major pieces in recent years, they\u2019ve yet to do so, missing out on players like Nikolaj Ehlers<\/a>,\u00a0Artemi Panarin<\/a>, and Quinn Hughes<\/a> since last offseason.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether Ovechkin returns for another season, the Caps have promising pieces already in the organization. Rookies Ryan Leonard<\/a> (20g, 25a) and Justin Sourdif<\/a> (15g, 20a) played major roles this season, and 19-year-olds Cole Hutson<\/a> (3g, 7a in 14 games) and Ilya Protas<\/a> (1g, 3a in four games) dazzled in their short appearances on the team.<\/p>\n

Logan Thompson<\/a> had a career year as one of the NHL\u2019s top goalies. He registered a league-leading 28.3 goals saved above expected<\/a>, and was top-five in both save percentage (.912) and goals-against average (2.53) among goalies with at least 20 games played.<\/p>\n

Five Capitals players (Ovechkin, Wilson, Jakob Chychrun<\/a>, Dylan Strome<\/a>, and Aliaksei Protas<\/a>) had 50+ points on the season, with Chychrun leading NHL defensemen in goals (26). Meanwhile, losing Pierre-Luc Dubois<\/a> to an abdominal injury proved a major blow to the Capitals: they went 22-18-7 while he was recovering, compared to 15-7-2 following his return.<\/p>\n

All of those factors bolstered Wilson\u2019s confidence in Washington\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got one of the best goalies in the league,\u201d he said. \u201cOur D are really solid. Our forwards are fairly deep. Maybe we could add [a] forward up front. But if Dubie\u2019s healthy all year, I think we\u2019re in. I think if you add another piece, I think a lot of the other teams are thinking like, \u2018That\u2019s going to be a tough team to beat.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think the organization\u2019s in a good spot. The young guys come up and play really well, show that there\u2019s a youthful energy and potential in the organization. You have a core that was brought in over the last four or five years [of] serious NHL players that can help drive a team\u2019s culture. If you put two of those together, it complements each other well, And I think management\u2019s been doing a good job from that perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ARLINGTON, VA \u2014 Washington Capitals players were still processing the end of their season when they returned to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5114],"tags":[191,5,4,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-556299","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-capitals","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-washington","12":"tag-washington-capitals","13":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116433483412052331","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}