1) Nylander needs to seriously kick some arse next year to justify that salary. Especially considering the team improved without him. I know he was playing hurt, but another sub-par season and this becomes an $11m toilet flush.

2) “Playoffs” Semin needs to be present for 82 games. Nagging injuries and inconsistent performance can’t be included for $4.5 mil + per.

3) Love Mike Green. But I don’t think he has yet earned crazy money. He’s young, had one very nice season, and still has some deficiencies on the defensive end. I would like to see more before giving him a mega-deal. I need more Nicklas Lidstrom and less Sandis Ozolinsh.

4) Plan on Alzner blowing us away at camp and being on this team as a top 4 defenseman.

5) The sooner Pothier is off our books, the better.

Avoiding salary cap hell means a few stars get paid, and cheap role players have to overperform. It’s as simple as that - witness Tampa Bay.

Looking down into the stable of prospects, doesn’t it seem likely that guys like Gordon, Bradley, Jurcina, Eminger will soon be replaced by their young doppelgangers?

But the Capitals’ impending salary/cap juggling is nothing compared to teams like the Rangers, Penguins, and others brushing up against (and occasionally exceeding) the cap. New territory for the Caps, sure — yet hardly impassable territory.

As for the others, I’m beginning to think it less and less likely that Alzner will make the team (unless he blows us away at camp), just because we don’t really have the space. I look for Eminger to be given a real shot next year, and Lepisto as well (to replace Pothier). The only way I really see Alzner getting serious time is if Jurcina is moved.

Varlamov and Neuvirth probably won’t play for the Caps at all next season, so no worries there about thier cap hits; Machesney could factor in, but he’s cheaper than the other two. Laing may already be signed (nhlscap disagrees with nhlnumbers here, and nhlscap has always been the more reliable). Gordon should be qualified, and probably nothing more (same for Eminger, and perhaps Fehr I imagine). Mo shouldn’t be too expensive, and I don’t expect Cooke back at all (no roster space, Brads is cheaper). Green and Huet (and, to a lesser extent, Laich) are the x-factors here, and could give us trouble.

It’ll be interesting to see how GMGM manages things this offseason, but it looks like we’ll be ok, we just probably won’t be able to dip into free agency, at least not with anyone big.