Nicklas Backstrom's NHL career could be over due to injury and the Caps have limited options to replace him

The Washington Capitals may have found themselves in a tight spot with alternate captain Nicklas Backstrom, who may be forced to retire following his hip resurfacing surgery. This could very well be the end of an era for Washington. It is worth noting that both Ryan Kesler and Ed Jovanovski were forced into retirement after undergoing similar procedures.

Per Frank Seravalli it will be a "long road ahead for Backstrom", which has plenty of hockey fans asking; what's next for The Capitals? How do you replace your franchise center and your franchise's second all-time point leader (1011 points) during free agency?

The Capitals unfortunately have a very weak prospect pool due to always being a playoff contender and winning a Stanley Cup. Their pool is highlighted by forward Hendrix Lapierre. Lapierre, 20, is currently playing for Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the QMJHL. With 100 assists in 119 career games in "The Q", Lapierre is showing strides of a gifted playmaker and a solid power forward.

If Backstrom retires, we're very likely going to see Lapierre in the NHL on a full-time basis next season. Will he be their new first line center? Probably not. Although he certainly has the skill to be a top 6 option down the line. What we're more likely to see happen is Evgeny Kuznetsov move up and someone else will be brought in to replace him as the club's 2nd line C. Aside from that option, the Caps really only have 3 options to replace Backstrom on the UFA market on July 13th; Patrice Bergeron, Evgeni Malkin and Claude Giroux. The problem there is that none of them are even guaranteed to make it to market. The Caps may be forced to enter the trade market this summer or accept the fact that a rebuild may be the best option.

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