KEY ADDITIONS				KEY LOSSES
Name Ulf Dahlen Craig Billington Joe Sacco Jeff Nelson Jamie Huscroft	Pos. F G F F D	From N/A Avalanche Islanders Predators Coyotes		Name Benoit Gratton	Pos. F	To Flames

Outlook
Which Washington Capitals team will show up this season?

		The Capitals need to get back and stay away from injuries, which killed them last year. If they can play without so many injuries and compete all year long, they are a playoff team. They also need goalie Olaf Kolzig to return to the form he flashed in '97. Without him, it doesn't matter how healthy they are. I don't think they are Stanley Cup finalists like two years ago. I can't believe they will end up with as many injuries as they had last year, so they should be competitive and win the Southeast Division.

Is it going to be the one that finished 10 games over .500 in 1997-98 en route to the Cup finals, or is it going to be the one which finished 14 games below .500 last season, missing the playoffs entirely?

Chances are, this version of the Caps will be somewhere in between.

The Capitals suffered through a myriad of injuries last season. Not a single player took part in all 82 games, and the total man games lost totaled 511. If the Caps can stay healthy this season, they could make a return to the postseason.

Washington needs bounce-back seasons from forwards Peter Bondra and Adam Oates, along with goaltender Olaf Kolzig. There is more of a focus on youth, so forwards like Steve Konowalchuk, James Black, Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik and Jaroslav Svejkovsky need to generate more offense.

The Capitals scored 200 goals last season, their lowest total in a non-lockout season since 1977-78. The addition of veteran Ulf Dahlen should help Bondra and Oates on the Capitals' first line. A name to look for is unknown forward Glen Metropolit.

Injuries were not limited to the forwards. Of the four key defensemen on the Capitals, Calle Johansson played the most (67 games). One player who needs to step up on the blue line is Dmitri Mironov.

Kolzig will once again see the bulk of the action between the pipes, but newcomer Craig Billington will be solid behind him.

The Capitals have not missed the postseason in consecutive seasons since entering the NHL in 1974-75 when they went eight seasons before making the playoffs. Fortunately, the Southeast Division is up for grabs this season - and may be the worst division in hockey - but a lot will have to come together in order for Washington to return to contender status.

'98-99 SOUTHEAST STANDINGS
TEAM	W	L	T	Pts.
Carolina	34	30	18	86
Florida	30	34	18	78
Washington	31	45	6	68
Tampa Bay	19	54	9	47

The bottom line
Better or not: Better
By how much: 4-5 more wins
Most improved: Jaroslav Svejkovsky
Most valuable: Peter Bondra
Biggest disappointment: James Black

Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher for ESPN.