The Caps will have to make some decisions in the offseason.

There's no question they've got the talent to cause all kinds of trouble in the playoffs, but they haven't been able to get very far in postseason play. So do they break up the roster they've got or try to figure where the holes are and fix them? Many people are still trying to figure why the season ended the way it did.

"I don't know what happened this year," said center Nicklas Backstrom in an interview on the team's website.

It's going to be a tough situation. Rumors are circling already that the Caps are going to consider trading players like defenseman Mike Green and right wing Alexander Semin. Dennis Wideman could replace Green, and a player in a trade could fill in for Semin.

But the Caps also need a leader. As good as left wing Alex Ovechkin is, he doesn't yet appear to be a leader. Center Jason Arnott proved to be a good leader when the Caps got him in a late season deal, but he's older and won't be around long -- if at all.

This team needs a tough, rugged player who can pick it up and put it on his back. That's a big hole for any young team that's trying to get better and go to the next level, and the Caps need to fill it.

Don't be surprised if the Caps do move one of their big-name player, such as Green or Semin. In addition, their third and fourth lines have players who didn't help a whole lot offensively in the playoffs. So the Caps want to get more punch there, too.

They'll also have to decide what to do about their goalie situation. Michal Neuvirth played well in the first round against the Rangers but struggled at times in the Lightning series. Semyon Varlamov is an outstanding goalie, and Braden Holtby might be better than both of them and showed some talent during his brief looks this season. One of them could be traded.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
The Caps really turned it on in the final few weeks. They won 16 of their final 20 regular-season games to pull out the Southeast Division title once again and earn the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed. The Caps were getting timely goals and consistent defense. That's why there was some hope heading into postseason play that the Caps were going to do some damage. It just didn't happen that way.

TURNING POINT
The embarrassing 7-0 loss to the Rangers in New York on Dec. 12 is what pushed management into changing the team's style of play. The Caps made themselves a defense-first team that concentrated on clearing the puck and getting it through the neutral zone. Other teams were packing it back into their zone and trying to slow down the Caps' offense -- which was working. So the Caps had to give up their fast-paced game and play consistent defense to match strong offensive teams. It took a few weeks for everything to come into place, but the Caps eventually became as good on defense this season as they were on offense last year.

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