On Thursday, the NHL allows unrestricted free agents to begin negotiating with new teams. Players who have reached the end of their contracts and achieved the right combination of age and experience — usually guys over twenty-seven years old — can go play anywhere they want, for whatever someone will pay them.

This will mark new beginnings for some past Capitals whom the team has opted not to re-sign. Announced departures include Brendan Morrison, Scott Walker, Joe Corvo and goaltender Jose Theodore. None played quite the role expected in the disappointing 2010 playoffs, and their collective salary cap space turned into Nicklas Backstrom’s well-deserved raise.

The Caps could easily fill their vacancies from within. The Hershey Bears just won the second of back-to-back Calder Cup championships, and a lot of their stars are ready for a shot at the big leagues. In goal, Michal Neuvirth deserves a chance to compete with Semyon Varlamov for starting duties. On defense, Karl Alzner and John Carlson could use the experience of eighty-two games in the NHL, and each one has the resume to justify the promotion. The Caps, however, don’t want to short-change the development of either player, so until they are fully ready to play twenty minutes per night, they will be left in the minors.