from Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington,

What follows is a sampling of how the Caps responded when asked what they consider reasonable expectations for them entering this season, their second under head coach Adam Oates and their 38th attempt to win a Stanley Cup:

Mike Green: “We’ve been there every year. We’ve been a team that competes. Making it to the playoffs is hard. It’s not easy to do in this league. We’ve proven ourselves in that aspect, that we’re a good team. But we haven’t proven that we’re a great team and the only way to do that is by winning the Stanley Cup.”

Joel Ward: “Obviously, the goal is to finish at the top of the division. That’s what we want to do. We know it’s going to be tough, but I think the way we played down the stretch last year was pretty good.”

George McPhee: “You come to camp every year hoping it’s the greatest year you’ll ever have. The objective is always to make the playoffs and put yourself in a position to have that great year, to compete for the Cup. We like our team. We have two young goaltenders with tremendous upside. It’s a veteran team now, but a young veteran team. They’re still on the front nine.”

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