Centers of Attention

In his deftly-written profile of the Hershey Bears, the Washington Post's Tarik El-Bashir focused on a few players who might don the red, white, and blue next season: Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Michal Neuvirth, Alexandre Giroux, Chris Bourque, Keith Aucoin and Oskar Osala.

It's pretty much the same group that's been talked about for a while -- and all but Carlson saw some action with the Caps this past season. But the most important members of this group are Bourque and Aucoin -- not because they are the most hyped or talented, but because of the position they play: center.

Other than Nicklas Backstrom, the Caps don't posses an all-star center on their roster. Last season, the second-line center position was rotated among many -- including the departed Sergei Fedorov, the soon-to-depart Michael Nylander and Aucoin.

Brooks Laich is a strong candidate to occupy that spot next season, but with his versalitity, he isn't necessarily the best option. He's also one of the Caps' best at crashing the net -- and that's not an ideal spot for a center.

David Steckel is another gifted center on the roster, especially given his faceoff prowess. But Stecks is probably more suited for the third line.

"I think Stecks is just coming into the prime of his hockey career. Hopefully, the playoffs [gave] him a confidence that he can score," Coach Bruce Boudreau said during the Caps' breakdown day. "It's the same kind of trend that happened in Hershey. He never scored, and then his third year he got 30 goals. I don't anticipate 30 from him next year but I think he's every bit capable of getting 15."

Aucoin, who notched six points in 12 energy-filled games with the Caps this past season, has a one-way contract for 2009-10 and most likely will be on the roster full-time. Bourque, in his limited time with the Caps, hasn't played center yet -- but has thrived at that position in Hershey, notching 52 assists this past season in 69 games.

It can be argued that Bourque's best shot at making the NHL full-time will be as a center. His stats in Hershey clearly indicate that assists come more easily than goals, and his vision of the ice supports that theory.

But for the Caps to take that next step to the Eastern Conference finals or even the Stanley Cup finals, they probably need to sign a second-line center. The rival Pittsburgh Penguins boast one of the best crops at that position (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal) and clearly are going to be obstacles for the Caps for many years.

However, given the salary cap crunch, don't put it past GM George McPhee to try to fit Bourque, Aucoin, Steckel and Laich there and spend the team's money elsewhere.