It's about to get busy in D.C.

ARLINGTON, V.A. -- Less than 24 hours after the Washington Capitals season ended on a disappointing note with a 5-4 overtime loss that put the team's issues on full display once more, general manager Brian MacLellan got to work.

His first order of business came behind the bench as he decided to get things underway immediately: Peter Laviolette, whose three-year deal expires on June 30, would no longer be the coach of the Capitals, who failed to make the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

While the mutual decision to part ways doesn't come as a complete surprise, given the team's inconsistency and struggles led to failed expectations, the sudden announcement and choice to waste no time indicates what'll come over the offseason.

Change. And lots of it.

But why so quickly? Tom Wilson put it best on Thursday: the culture is winning, and there's a need to hold onto that standard.

"We know there's better and we're accountable to that; it's a culture of winning here," Wilson said. "We take pride in our organization and we've got to be better, we've got to be in playoffs."

Washington is in a strange spot right now, with the core aging and the future promising yet uncertain at the same time. The team is also coming off one of its first-ever trade deadlines as sellers, and that continued retooling and reworking will surely continue into the summer.

All the while, Alex Ovechkin is chasing down the all-time goals record but has reiterated that his focus and priority is battling for another Stanley Cup. He turns 38 in December and has three more years on his contract, and he also doesn't want to be a part of the rebuild as he goes for 73 more goals to pass Wayne Gretzky.

Meanwhile, Nicklas Backstrom is also still working to get back to form after returning from hip resurfacing surgery, and John Carlson is now back in the picture after missing three months and showed just how valuable he is to the group after the team failed to remain afloat with him out of the picture. T.J. Oshie's ongoing injury struggles also pose questions.

Beyond the core, there are also question marks surrounding Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha.

After a bounce-back campaign in 2021-22 following a disappointing season of career-worst numbers and "disciplinary" issues, Kuznetsov's play dropped off again this season as he failed to play a consistent game. The same can be said for Mantha, who had the chance to capitalize in a fully healthy season but ended up being a healthy scratch and demoted with him unable to finish on his chances or get much going in the way of offense.

With neither performing up to expectations and taking up significant cap space, MacLellan will have to decide on whether to let them go and bring in other top-6 pieces to replace them or to keep them on board and see how they operate under a new bench boss.

That being said, despite questions surrounding what's next, including who the next coach will be, who stays and who goes and what the lineup will look like come October, there is also optimism in the District.

MacLellan will get a chance to add another strong prospect to the pipeline, as the team did land the eighth-best odds to win the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery and will get a top-10 pick in June. He can also take more time to evaluate the team's organizational depth, which features the likes of Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre, Vincent Iorio and more, and see where they factor into the team's roster next season.

Dylan Strome is also on board for five more years after proving to be an excellent pickup. He was the only other 20-goal scorer and 60-point getter on the team behind Ovechkin. Also, Milano fit in well after joining the Capitals late and has three more years in D.C.

In addition to that, Ethen Frank's contract, the breakout of several prospects, Ovechkin's continued durability and Tom Wilson picking up right where he left off provides promise, too.

Right now, the road for Washington will be a bumpy one, as the team will face a major retooling and challenge this offseason. However, less than a day into the offseason, MacLellan has made it clear that he is ready to bite the bullet.