The Washington Capitals are the best team in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, and the hottest in the league, only a few games removed from a franchise-record 14-game winning streak. But while Washington has scored the most goals in the NHL by a margin of half a goal per game, their defense is distinctly middle of the road. It’s only fitting, then, that as the NHL’s 3 p.m. deadline for trades in the 2009-10 season approached, the Capitals added … two veteran forwards?

Of course, pundits have argued for months that the Capitals aren’t big enough at center to take on some of the tougher teams in the conference, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the team has added towering center Eric Belanger from the Minnesota Wild for a second-round draft pick. At 5’11”, Belanger has the stature to stand up to…well, OK, not hockey players. We’re stumped here. But he’s on pace for a 20-goal season, and could stand in ably if the similarly diminutive, talented and experienced Brendan Morrison should miss some time to injury, as he has in each of the last few seasons.

Scott Walker, the other addition we know about at this minute, is a bit easier to understand. Although he’s only 5’10”, Walker has established himself as a steady contributor and a hard hitter, averaging over a penalty minute per game through 15 NHL seasons. He’s broken the 20-goal mark three times, most recently in 2006-07, with 21. This year, he has a dismal three goals in 33 games, but in last spring’s playoffs he created national buzz with a punch to the face of former teammate and good friend Aaron Ward.