The Capitals are a team that needs answers -- and fast. Spencer Carbery provides them.
WASHINGTON -- With a grand introduction, the Washington Capitals made it clear that the Spencer Carbery hiring is signalling the start of a new era of hockey in the District. There were multiple candidates for the Capitals' head coaching job, but Carbery was always the No. 1 choice -- and the right one for this hockey team.
Especially right now.
Washington is coming off its worst season in nine years, one that saw the club finish third-to-last in the Metropolitan Division and miss out on the playoffs. While there were a number of injuries and key players in and out of the lineup down the stretch, the Capitals couldn't find consistency or sustained success.
Not only that, but it didn't appear that every player was on board at key times. The likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha failed to step up and live up to expectations as top-6 players or secondary scorers. In addition, the team's prospects didn't get a chance to show much in small sample sizes.
Combine that with a sell-off at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, and the team was left staring down the barrel of a long offseason and several changes ahead, along with numerous questions surrounding the future, the aging core and rising stars in the organization as Peter Laviolette and the team parted ways.
Enter Carbery.
The 41-year-old is a first-time NHL head coach following two impressive years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and having a new, young voice at the helm -- and one eager to keep this team a contender -- is vital for this team.
And of course, having a game plan in mind is beneficial for the group as it looks to get back on track as quickly as possible.
“The two words I think I’ll use a lot early on are pace and being connected. And a lot of people equate pace with speed, and for me, pace is a little bit different than just straight players that can skate fast and play quick," Carbery explained. "For me is you can show that with the puck and without. our puck pressure, our neutral zone, our d-zone puck pressure, our forecheck and then with the puck. What we will talk constantly about our pace and playing at a higher pace and getting up the ice with and without the puck and putting pressure when we don’t have it. Let's get it back, getting on the attack pace-wise."
"And then the other part of that, the connected term that I used, I think it’s important that we have guys on the ice that are on the same page. And we’ve got to be really connected as we move up the ice. We’ll get into all the X’s and O’s, but the connected term is something that I’ll use a lot with our group of making sure that five guys are on the same page with how the puck is going to transport from our end to the other end or vice versa."
Carbery is a very hands-on coach, one that loves to be heavily involved and pays close attention to all aspects of the team. He will jump into drills, make his voice heard and work to push players to their full potential, and having that presence can help reestablish the buy-in and winning culture for Washington.
Not only that, but Carbery is familiar with the organization, having been on the ice and behind the bench for the ECHL-affiliate South Carolina Stingrays before becoming the head coach of the AHL's Hershey Bears.
Carbery has watched Ovechkin and company for years while also being present at the Capitals training camps, and as the head coach for Hershey, he helped with the development of key names like Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, Beck Malenstyn, Martin Fehervary, Joe Snively and more.
His ability to work with the veterans and prospects will bode well for the team, especially as the club works to revamp the top-6, add youth and speed and give their prospects more opportunity while looking to avoid a full-blown rebuild.
“I think that there’s a mix, right? And I think my job coming in here, we have a highly motivated group of veteran players, leadership group, and we also have a group of players that it’s my job to bring along into that group," Carbery said, adding, "You have young players that are hungry to prove that they’re capable National Hockey League players and then you’ve got a group of veteran players that feel like they got a bit of a chip on their shoulder and they’re ready to prove something, that we’re still a very strong team in the National Hockey League... that's what I’m trying to bring together."
Not only that, but he can help the Capitals in a key area: the power play. Washington's man advantage has become somewhat predictable -- though Ovechkin's shot from the office still catches goalies by surprise -- and the consistency and percentage have plummeted over time. Carbery transformed the Maple Leafs' power play into the best in the NHL, and he's ready to give the PP in D.C. a new look that should help the team find the boost in scoring it desperately needs.
“That’ll be a major focus of mine... we will have to ensure that we’re paying close attention to it and we make quality decisions in terms of our staff and what the direction and what we’re trying to accomplish as a group as it relates to that," Carbery said.
In the end, Carbery's voice will carry, and his press conference made it clear that he is eager to get to work. That ambition, can-do attitude and investment will be contagious, and it will also be vital for a team in transition. For the first time in years, big change seems imminent -- and most importantly, promising.
"I'm beyond excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work for this organization, this community, this fan base and our players," Carbery said. "I'm going to put everything I've got into this organization... I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make this team a group on the ice that we can be proud of."