In the Jack Adams Award voting for NHL Coach of the Year, Spencer Carbery comes in seventh place.
Carbery received four votes for first place, one vote for second place, and eleven votes for third place, placing him seventh overall. Rick Tocchet, the bench boss of the Vancouver Canucks, finally took home the trophy after inspiring his club to a spectacular comeback season and postseason berth.
Carbery, 42, led the Capitals to an improbable playoff berth on the final day of their season despite having the worst goal differential, minus-37, of any team to qualify in the salary cap era.
In what appeared to be a transition season for the team, Carbery and the Capitals dealt with a seemingly endless amount of adversity during the season including:
As they implemented Carbery’s new strategy, the Capitals started the season 1-3-1 and were outscored 19-7 (minus-12 goal differential).
On November 1, Nicklas Backstrom left the team and effectively retired.
The 38-year-old Alex Ovechkin’s season took a turn for the better after he only managed eight goals in his first 43 games.
The Capitals failed to score on the power play for a full month, while TJ Oshie missed 30 games because of nagging back problems and other injuries.
Before enrolling in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance programme, Evgeny Kuznetsov struggled, and before the deadline, he was traded.
When it came time for trades, the Capitals were sellers.
It was Darcy Kuemper’s poorest season ever.
After being carried off the ice in a stretcher, Nick Jensen was unable to finish the season. Ethan Bear joined the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance programme.
Tom Wilson received a six-game suspension.