To respond to Mick's and Rich's posts ......
I saw an article that mentioned that Descharnais was a good skater, but that may have been a Caps article gilding the lily.
He apparently plays a physical game, so he is what is wanted that way. BUT the article said that his 18 minutes and change average TOI last season was the most average minutes he has played, so he wasn't playing absolutely top pairing minutes, to be sure. The article also suggested that the Caps might see him as a natural partner/protector for Hutson, which makes some sense. His average TOI per game on the PK last year was among the top defensemen in the league, so he is I guess seen as a mainstay in that department.
As for Jenner, his help will be in the clubhouse as well as on the ice, and specifically for face-offs - he has consistently been over 50% for the last decade. THAT will be a help. He feels like a bridge to if/when Suvanto is ready.
Regardless of what you think of the quality of the Caps' acquisitions over the past few days, they clearly aimed to address the weak points in the team's performance last year. None of this "hoping for regression to the mean," or anything like that. Here's our weaknesses, and these guys (for other clubs) were good in those areas, so let's get them. Maybe a couple of the guys were older than one might like, but you have to balance capability and availability for acquisition against optimum age when choosing who to acquire.
