Lars Eller Reflects On Challenging Reunion With Capitals & What's Next: 'I Didn't Get The Best Out of Myself, We Didn't Get The Best Out Of Me'
Eller said he couldn't get his production going as he struggled with a different role in his second stint with the Capitals.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For Lars Eller, his reunion with the Washington Capitals didn’t have the storybook arc he’d hoped for.
Ultimately, it ended in bitter fashion, as he was left on the outside looking in after being a healthy scratch for Game 5 of the second round, where D.C. saw its season come to a close at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Disappointing,” Eller put the situation simply, especially having never gone through it before.
The Dane was re-acquired in November to “get the band back together” and bring in a familiar veteran who can bring stability and consistency to the third line. However, he couldn’t get much going in terms of offense and finished the year with just six goals and nine assists through 63 games, along with a plus/minus rating of plus-4. Then, in the playoffs, he had just one assist as his line struggled to generate chemistry.
All the while, he averaged just 12:27 minutes a game, the lowest amount of ice time since his rookie season, and he felt the identity he’d established for himself over the years start to fade, as he was being utilized in a smaller role primarily at 5-on-5.
“I didn’t get the best out of myself, or we didn’t get the best out of me at times,” Eller said. “You expect yourself to just keep going at the same rate like you have in the past, but if you don’t have that role and those minutes and those responsibilities… you can’t expect your production to match what you had in the past, right?”
It was frustrating for Eller, who, looking back, wishes things had taken a different turn. All he could do, though, was make do with what he had.
“You make the best of the situation you’re given and you take pride in that, and you help the team do that. I always did that to the best of my ability. Given that, I’m happy with myself and what I gave,” Eller said. “But I think, always at the end when you’re standing here, every player is probably telling themselves, ‘Oh, I wish I could’ve done a little more.’ Everybody is left with that feeling unless you’re raising the Cup at the end, right?"
Despite the hardships, Eller said he was thankful he had the opportunity to return to the organization he’d called home for such a long time.
“I felt very fortunate to be part of this team and organization one more time with a lot of guys I’ve been with the first time, but also some new ones and some players that was starting to come in,” Eller said. “You come back and see how they established themselves and taken great strides… it was a lot of fun this year.”
The 36-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July. He isn’t sure where he’ll land next or if a return to D.C. is in the cards, but his sights are on continuing his career and hopefully also getting to play in the Olympics with Denmark.
What he’s sure of, though, is that his career isn’t ending here.
“I’ll definitely keep playing,” Eller said. “My body feels good.”