Just to settle this already. Let's hear what you chose and why

Very talented offense, however their defense isn't spectacular, and their goaltending is disaster waiting to happen.

As the Pony said, very talented offense, defense has room to improve, but young guys like Robert Hagg and Sam Morin are ready, they just need to get playing time. Travis Sanheim might make it, but that depends on camp.

Goaltending will based on how well the defense plays. If the defense is trash, Elliot/Neuvirth might be able to stop 27/30 shots.

Its very close to a toss up if they make the playoffs, somewhat based on the fact that they play in the toughest division and that we need to figure out it Murphy's Law had any affect on last season's performances.

I think they will most likely miss this season, but have a solid group of young guys that will get them back in 3-5 years.

Forwards: Okay. Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds are good enough to lead the way, and they're good down the middle with Giroux/Couts/Patrick/Fillpula. Weal is a dark horse, and could turn out to be solid. Also have young guys like Konecny and that other guy that I forget his name on wings . But especially after Schenn is gone, IMO the bottom three lines aren't really that great. Not that they're really bad. But the other teams in the East can easily beat that out

Defense: not really good...we hear Provorov this, Provorov that. Sure he's good, but he's not gonna carry the entire D. The whole gang has gotta step up if they want to even have a chance.

Goalies: Neuvirth isn't a starter in my mind or close to it. I'm concerned about Elliott too. He had a bad year in a Calgary team that was pretty good, that had a good backup as support. How would he do, in a worse team, in a tougher conference, with a much worse D, with a backup goalie I don't find to be much if any better? A little scary

Considering that they play in the East as well, I think it's pretty safe to say that they won't be making the playoffs this year or for the next several. However, once Provorov, Patrick, and the rest of the gang continue to find their groove, then talk about playoffs. But that won't be in the next several years

2-4 years until all the kids are up. I'm talking Sanheim/Myers/Gubstov/Hart/Sandstrom/Morin/Hagg/Frost/Ratclffe

Once they are up, look out

Yah until their d/g studs graduate their back end will hold them back big time, no matter how good their offense is (trust me, I'm a jets fan) but that back en could easily become Smashville-esque if it all goes right.

Pass the virtual locks of Tampa (unless a major injury happens), Pittsburgh, and Rangers (somehow always good enough to make playoffs), its wide open. Washington, Montreal, Boston and maybe even Columbus all have decent or high chances of missing the playoffs.
As of now, i have.
Tampa
Toronto
Ottawa in the Atlantic
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Rangers in the Metro
And Carolina and Washington/Philly in the WC

How do you have the Caps so low? They have one of the best goalie tandem in the league, one of the best 1-2 punches in the league at center, and the offense is still lethal even without Williams and Johansson. Them being at the same level as the Flyers makes no sense. The Caps are better in every asset of the game for this season. Literally every single one.

I do have to agree with krak here. While the Caps lost some pretty important pieces in Schmidt, MJo, Williams and Alzner, their core is still strong. Ovi, Backstorm, and Oshie qualify as elite. Kuznetsov gives them a great 1-2 punch. After losing Williams and MJo though, their bottom 9 wingers aren't that different from Philly. D is stil better than them though. Orlov and Carlson are top pairing dmen, and Niskanen is also solid. They also have some young guys they can insert in there. MacDonald and Orpik even each other out haha. And the Caps goaltending is superior to the Flyers. Holtby is a top 5 goalie, and Grubauer could be a 1A on some teams even. To sum it up

Top Liners: WSH > PHI
Centers: WSH > PHI
Bottom 9 Wingers: WSH = PHI
Defence: WSH > PHI
Goaltending: WSH >>> PHI

agreed

They have a good prospect group and in 5 years from now they should be pretty good ... but not this year.

How good? I want to vote? Anyway, won't make playoffs this year, but they do have some good prospects