It's Stanley Cup or Bust for Capitals After Shattenkirk Trade

This is it for the Washington Capitals. There will be no rationalizing from fans that a great regular season followed by a playoff exit short of a Stanley Cup is still a "good season." When general manager Brian MacLellan finished the trade call to get Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Blues on Monday, his team became an all or nothing situation.

That's what all teams say, though. If the Edmonton Oilers get bounced by the Anaheim Ducks in six games, Connor McDavid will say something like, "Getting to the playoffs is great, but we're all disappointed we didn't reach our ultimate goal." You can make the wanking motion after McDavid says it but it will carry weight if a graying Alex Ovechkin says it after another second-round loss in May.

Unlike last season when the inevitable 2016 Presidents' Trophy winners added depth players Daniel Winnik and Mike Weber at the deadline, the probable 2017 Presidents' Trophy winners added the best rental on the market to fortify the one area that needed fortification. The Capitals may have the best trio of right-handed defensemen—Shattenkirk, John Carlson, and Matt Niskanen—the NHL has seen in a very long time, which is what is required to win 16 playoff games this year.

The best offensive team in the league added one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. Shattenkirk will make their power play deeper, either by forcing Carlson down to the second unit or by assuming the second-unit role himself. He makes the defense deeper and better at 5-on-5, too, by allowing Barry Trotz to scratch his worst left-handed defenseman (cough Brooks Orpik cough) against the league's faster teams.

MacLellan said this morning while talking with the media that adding a top-flight player presents a challenge for Trotz, because Shattenkirk will get big ice time, which means less ice time for mainstays. Trotz will have to work to keep players happy and manage egos.

Let's address this for a second—if that's a real problem on a team that has crapped its pants just about yearly for a decade, move the team to Seattle and open a coffee shop. Don't even play hockey anymore. Make Nicklas Backstrom a barista. This team has taken more second-round dumps than a man who attends boxing matches with irritable bowel syndrome, and keeping those dump takers from getting upset because they brought in the most effective form of Imodium on the market could be an issue? That can't be an issue, can it?

The only issue now for the Capitals is handling the expectations of winning a Stanley Cup, which, well, yeah. They haven't ever handled them well in the Ovechkin era. That whole "never getting out of the second round" thing speaks to that. But more than what Shattenkirk brings offensively, the most important thing he brings is the best opportunity for the Capitals to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs.

There was no consistent weak link for the Capitals against the Penguins in the second round last year but the problem the Penguins present is in forward depth. You can't hide your worst defense pairing in a seven-game series with the Penguins. Ask San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer about Roman Polak and Brenden Dillonin the Stanley Cup Final last year. Adding Shattenkirk neutralizes that forward depth against the Penguins and would do so if the Capitals encountered the New York Rangers or Minnesota Wild or any other team with three very good lines.

The Capitals are now the clear favorites to win the Cup. They have no holes. They finally Shat themselves in a positive way.