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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On July 1, as NHL teams prepared for what would ultimately be a record free-agent spending spree, Matt Niskanen was arguably the most sought after player in the league.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Last season, the 27-year-old defenseman thrived on the added responsibility that came his way after the Penguins\u2019 blue line was ravaged by injuries, setting personal bests in goals (10), assists (36) and ice time (21:17). \u201C[He] was exceptional in terms of not only point-getting and power-play and offensive production, but [also] counting on him to be steady defensively,\u201D says former Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. \u201CHe\u2019s a player you can use in all situations.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Niskanen\u2019s career season made him too expensive for the Penguins to keep and enticed several potential suitors to clamor for his services. After sifting through countless offers with his agent, Neil Sheehy, Niskanen agreed to a seven-year, $40.25 million contract with the Capitals. Of the unprecedented half a billion dollars offered to nearly 100 players on the opening day of free agency, no deal was more lucrative.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Exorbitant defense spending isn\u2019t unusual in the nation\u2019s capital, and Washington spent a whopping $67.75 million to shore up its blueline. The same day that the club signed Niskanen, it also reached an agreement with Brooks Orpik, his former Penguins teammate, for five years and $27.5 million. \"We feel we've addressed areas that we felt we needed to address,\u201D general manager Brian MacLellan says. \u201CWe needed to shore up our defense, give us some depth, give us some leadership, give us some experience. I think we've accomplished that.\"\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was money that Washington had to pay. The Capitals\u2019 defense was horrible last season, when it often resembled a minor-league unit in both makeup and performance. Of the league-leading 14 defensemen who dressed for Washington in 2013\u201314, half entered the season with fewer than 30 games of NHL experience. Only nine teams surrendered more goals per game than the Capitals (2.79), and just three allowed more shots per game (33.5).\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The blueline wasn\u2019t the only part of the club that underwent a makeover. MacLellan is new to his job, too. The assistant to longtime GM George McPhee, he was promoted last spring when the organization fired McPhee and coach Adam Oates after Washington\u2014plagued not only by lackadaisical and uninspiring defensive play, but also by anemic even-strength offense and poor puck possession\u2014missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The firings were the result of a two-week organizational investigation that determined, among other things, that McPhee had routinely failed to address defensive shortcomings during his 17 years as GM.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The same day that the Capitals promoted MacLellan, they also hired former Predators coach Barry Trotz to replace Oates behind the bench. In 15 years as the coach in Nashville, Trotz\u2019s name became synonymous with structure, discipline and sound defense. He may be Washington\u2019s fourth coach in less than three years, but he is nevertheless expected to return the team to ranks of Stanley Cup contenders.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Aware that the game has become more specialized, Trotz wanted a former defenseman to oversee his blue line, and he ultimately turned to the man who helped Niskanen raise his game with the Penguins: Todd Reirden, a veteran of 183 NHL games over five seasons, who had been a Pittsburgh assistant since 2010. Reirden was one of several Penguins coaches in limbo last spring following Pittsburgh\u2019s unceremonious exit from the postseason, when the team dismissed GM Ray Shero in May.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reirden is meticulous in his preparation and forthright in his instruction. He creates ever-changing plans for each of his players, and he prides himself on both developing younger players and refining the skills of older ones. \u201CI think the thing that guys in Pittsburgh respected the most about him was that he was completely fair to every individual,\u201D Orpik says. \u201CHe lets you know exactly where you stand and he\u2019s really, really helpful in trying to help you with the things you need to get better. He gives every guy just as much attention and time.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Trotz had been thinking about hiring somebody else to coach his defense, but he changed his mind after he phoned Reirden from British Columbia and the two men spoke at length, exchanging defensive philosophies. \u201CThe passion and the detail and the amount of rapport that we ended up having on that first phone conversation, it was really good,\u201D Trotz says. \u201CI can\u2019t remember the timeframe of how long we talked, but it was pretty lengthy for a long-distance phone call. When I got off the phone, it was funny\u2014my wife can concur with this\u2014 when I got off the phone, I said to her, \u2018I know this is the right guy to hire. I need to hire this guy.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Capitals hired Reirden on the same day that Pittsburgh fired him, on June 25\u2014his 43rd birthday\u2014just hours after the Penguins replaced coach Dan Bylsma with Mike Johnston. With Reirden on board, Trotz told MacLellan, \u201CI know this is the guy. I know he\u2019ll fit in perfectly. He\u2019s exactly what we need.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The reclamation project&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Matt Niskanen arrived in Pittsburgh defeated.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Stars\u2019 first-round pick in 2005, he had begun his career with promising rookie and sophomore seasons, playing himself into Calder Trophy consideration in \u201907\u201308, and leading the team\u2019s defensemen with 35 points the following year.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Yet Niskanen struggled to meet the heightened expectations generated by the strong start to his career\u2014he was \u201315 and had only 15 points in 74 games in 2009\u201310. So when Dallas traded him and sniper James Neal to the Penguins for defenseman Alex Goligoski on Feb. 21, 2011, Niskanen was viewed as a throw-in. \u201CMy confidence was shot,\u201D he says. \u201CI was not an effective player.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Niskanen\u2019s uncertainty was immediately apparent to Reirden, who was then in his first season as a Pittsburgh assistant following his offseason promotion from the team\u2019s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton AHL affiliate. \u201C[He] had a tough time looking me in the eye,\u201D Reirden says, recalling his first meeting with Niskanen. \u201CJust in terms of how he carried himself, his self-esteem you could see was hurt.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The two began to formulate a plan for how Niskanen could return to being a productive player. \u201CThe importance of when you go on the ice of having a plan on the ice and making sure that everyone understands what that plan is and having everybody accountable to that plan is something that I\u2019ve always thought was important for defensemen,\u201D Reirden says. \u201CI think it\u2019s something that\u2019s allowed players sometimes that weren\u2019t as skilled to look a lot more comfortable and confident than sometimes they actually were.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reirden\u2019s plan began with highlighting Niskanen\u2019s strengths\u2014especially his skating ability and his offensive instincts\u2014and restoring his confidence by giving him sheltered minutes against easier competition. \u201CHe told me, \u2018You\u2019ve got to put in the work, but this is what I\u2019m going to do to help you get back to where you should be,\u2019\u201D says Niskanen. \u201CHe was in my corner from the first day that I walked through the doors.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Under Reirden\u2019s tutelage, Niskanen blossomed into one of the NHL\u2019s premiere all-around defensemen. He received postseason All-Star consideration for the first time in his career, and he finished 11th in the voting for the Norris Trophy. \u201CTodd Reirden is exceptional at mapping out a foundation for a player\u2014how you need to play, how you can play and improve your play,\u201D Bylsma says. \u201CMatt is evidence of that.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Going mobile&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Capitals\u2019 scouting staff had already identified Niskanen and Orpik as players to target before Reirden joined the organization less than a week before the beginning of the free-agent signing period, but it\u2019s no coincidence that he has been reunited with his two former players.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Niskanen gives Washington with a third righthanded defenseman\u2014along with Mike Green and John Carlson\u2014who is capable of providing explosive offense. In Orpik, the Capitals hope that they now have what MacLellan has called their \u201Cgreatest need\u201D: a blueliner who can punish opponents who try to camp out in front of the crease.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Washington now has a mobile and highly skilled corps of defensemen who can join the attack and get pucks onto the sticks of the team\u2019s dynamic forwards, led by three-time Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin. Under Trotz last season, the Predators led the league with 52 goals scored by defensemen. He has hopes of replicating that type of offensive production this year in the nation\u2019s capital.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Ovechkin at career crossroads&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CPlaying fast is being able to execute out of the zone,\u201D Trotz says. \u201CIf we can execute high on our breakouts, that\u2019ll really lend well to playing a quick transition game. With the level of skill that our forwards have and the level of skill of some of the defense getting up in the play, we should be more productive.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Trotz says that his potential defense pairings will be Orpik and Carlson, Alzner and Niskanen and Green and youngster Dmitry Orlov. The coach cautions, however, that it is likely to be a fluid situation, with the defensemen interchanging as circumstances dictate.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At the very least, with Trotz and Reirden setting the tone, there is finally some much needed stability on the blue line.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWhat is exciting is that we have the depth now,\u201D Niskanen says. \u201C[It\u2019s] a pretty good group. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to have one guy that\u2019s going to play 27 or 30 minutes. We\u2019re going to have a pretty good committee back there. We\u2019ve got a good mix of players too. We have different things that we can all bring.\u201D\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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