Saturday Caps Clips: Breaking Down is Hard to Do

Your savory breakdown day links:

• Needless to say, the mood at the Caps’ practice facility was a tad more somber than last year. Here’s what everyone had to say:
• The forwards. [Ovechkin, Backstrom, Wilson, Oshie, Eller, Kuznetsov, Vrana, Hagelin, Connolly, Burakovsky, Dowd, Jaskin, DSP]
• The blueliners. [Siegenthaler, Djoos, Carlson, Jensen, Niskanen, Orpik, Kempny, Orlov]
• The goalie. [Holtby]
• The bosses. [Reirden, MacLellan)]
• A lot of big decisions await the GM this summer - with the core locked up for at least one more year, the focus will be on the fringes. [WaPo, NBCSW]
• If Braden Holtby and Nicklas Backstrom have their way, both will be sticking around in DC for the remainder of their respective careers. [NHL]
• This core is still good enough to make another run at a Cup. [NHL]
• There were a lot of banged-up bodies on the Caps’ roster by the end of the season, and now they have time to heal. Silver lining! [NBCSW]
• Among the most banged-up of the players was T.J. Oshie, who talked about the hit that ended the season and his plans to return had the Caps moved on. [NBCSW, WashTimes]
• At 39 years old and with two Cups under his belt, Brooks Orpik has some decisions to make about his future this summer. [WaPo, WashTimes]
• The Caps learned a lot of lessons from their Cup run, and even more from the first-round exit that followed it. [AP]
• They weren’t the only ones - more on the wacky, unpredictable outcomes from the weirdest opening round ever. [PHT]
• Looks like Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, and Orlov have all gotten the call to join Team Russia at this spring’s World Championship. [NBCSW]
• Whatever happened to the game puck from the Caps’ Cup-clinching win in Vegas? Hint: it’s in safe, healthy hands. [WTOP]
• The year in review and a look ahead at the potential for prospect Benton Maass. [NoVa Caps]
• People may have been right to be concerned about Evgeny Kuznetsov’s playoff performance - and yet he doesn’t seem too concerned. [FiCP]