"I imagine the team is still going to be really good," Alzner said. "There's still a great coaching staff there. I expect them to still be competitive. I expect them to be a step below the Montreal Canadiens. That's good. Leave them right there."
Alzner seemed to be joking with that last part, but that probably hit home for MacLellan when he watched Shattenkirk (four years, $26.6 million) and Alzner (reportedly five years, $23.125 million) sign two of the richest contracts handed out.
Williams, who turns 36 on Oct. 4, cashed in with a two-year, $9 million contract for a salary-cap charge of $4.5 million per season that is actually $1.25 million more than he cost the Capitals each of the past two seasons.
The Capitals didn't have that kind of cap space to spend. Their moves Saturday were to announce the expected re-signing for right wing Brett Connolly to a two-year, $3 million contract and the signing of unrestricted free agent right wing Anthony Peluso to a one-year, two-way contract ($650,000/$250,000).
Peluso, who played 22 games with Manitoba in the American Hockey League before having season-ending surgery for an upper-body injury, might be a candidate to be on the opening night roster simply because he makes the NHL minimum. As it is, the Capitals might need to move a player or two for less-expensive alternatives to fill out their roster after they sign Kuznetsov, Burakovsky and Grubauer, with each expected to receive a significant raise.
Grubauer, a solid backup goaltender with the potential to be a starter, would have some value on the trade market, but most teams have already filled their goaltending needs. So MacLellan might have to get creative to fill the significant vacancies on the defense created by the departures of Shattenkirk and Alzner, along with Nate Schmidt, who was picked by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL Expansion Draft.
The Capitals' initial plan is to hope one or more of their young defensemen are ready for the NHL. The candidates include 22-year-old rookies Madison Bowey, Christian Djoos and Tyler Lewington, and 2016 first-round draft pick (No. 28) Lucas Johansen.
But there are growing pains that usually accompany breaking in a young defenseman. Throw in the uncertainty of coach Barry Trotz entering the final season of his contract, and the road ahead appears far from smooth.
Before the start of the 2015-16 season, MacLellan said the Capitals had a two-year window to win the Stanley Cup with the group of players they had. Knowing that, they went all-in by acquiring Shattenkirk as a rental in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 27, but the Capitals came up short again in the playoffs, losing 2-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round.
Now it appears the window MacLellan was referring to has closed. The Capitals were in a similar transition period three years ago before he took over as GM, but with Trotz's help, he quickly turned them back into Stanley Cup contenders.
MacLellan will need to find a way make this transition period a short one and give the Capitals another shot at their first Stanley Cup championship.
