3 Goalie Options for the Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals were dealt a blow to their crease on Thursday as Henrik Lundqvist announced he will not be playing the 2020-21 NHL season due to a heart condition. While the Capitals, like the rest of us, wish 'Hank' nothing but the best, the Capitals have to move on to find someone to work alongside youngster, Ilya Samsonov.

The upcoming condensed schedule will mean a flurry of back-to-back games and it's going to be vital for teams to have a minimum of two capable goaltenders.

Here's three to consider for the Washington Capitals:

Craig Anderson

The 39-year-old would head to Washington on the cheap and still has the talent to contribute. Last season in Ottawa, Anderson appeared in 34 games and managed a .902 save percentage on a really bad Senators team. Samsonov could use a veteran mentor, and Anderson certainly fits the bill. While he's certainly not a #1 goalie anymore, Anderson could be a solid backup next season.

Ryan Miller

No word yet if Ryan Miller is heading for retirement, but if the 40-year-old wants to play another season to chase the Stanley Cup, suiting up in Washington may be his best bet. Last season with the Anaheim Ducks, Miller appeared in 23 games and had similar numbers to Anderson, posting a .907 save %. Miller is familiar to Washington from his days as a Buffalo Sabre, and considering the Capitals won't have much cap space to work with, bringing in Miller at $750,000 could work.

Jimmy Howard

As you can see by the names involved, at this point the Capitals are running out of options. So much so they need to consider Howard and his 2-23 record from last season. Howard is long overdue for a change of scenery and at his age, perhaps there's still one coming. Last season was a horrible one for Howard, no doubt, but looking back to the previous three seasons, Howard's save %'s were .909, .910, and .927. On a very strong Capitals team, Howard could easily hit the reset button.