The Washington Capitals cleared extra cap space earlier today when they tagged Brooks Orpik onto a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. That space might not be available very long, as Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports that Capitals GM Brian MacLellan believes they are “close” to a new contract with defenseman John Carlson. MacLellan wants to get the deal done before Carlson can start talking to other teams on Sunday during the free agent interview period.
If Carlson does sign before Sunday, the free agent market would be changed considerably. The 28-year old currently sits as the top defenseman on the market and it’s not even really close. After scoring a career-high 68 points this season and being a key factor in the first Stanley Cup in Capitals history, he could demand as much as $8MM per season on a long-term deal. If teams were holding open that kind of cap space for a chance at Carlson on the open market, only to see him sign just before the interview period opens, you can bet some phone calls will be ringing on the draft floor inquiring about other defensemen around the league.
Carlson is an excellent player, capable of putting up big offensive numbers while not hurting his team in his own end. He’d be welcome on nearly any team in the league, but is more important to the Capitals than nearly anyone else. After losing Nate Schmidt in the expansion draft, Kevin Shattenkirk to free agency and seeing Orpik’s recent decline, the Capitals’ blue line has been substantially weakened in the last 12 months. Losing Carlson on the open market would put an immense amount of pressure on Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov, who already carry a huge load for the team.
Michal Kempny, a revelation for the team down the stretch and into the playoffs is also an unrestricted free agent. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post confirms MacLellan’s intention to try and bring Kempny back as well, though doesn’t specify how close negotiations are. After a trade deadline deal that brought Kempny to Washington from the Chicago Blackhawks, he found his game and developed into a legitimate top-four option for the team. Bringing him back for a reasonable price would allow the Capitals to really contend for the Stanley Cup once again with the same group, something that may not have seemed possible at the end of the year.