The Washington Capitals are set to lose one of their draft picks, as Chase Priskie has informed the team that he will not sign with them before the August 15th deadline. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Priskie will wait until the summer to become an unrestricted free agent, and will likely be “highly sought after.” Priskie recently finished his senior season with Quinnipiac University.
The 23-year old Priskie will have to sign a two-year entry-level contract when he eventually does find a team, but will be able to pick from what should be a long list of suitors. A real factor in this decision also could have been the fact that Washington couldn’t sign him this season and allow him to burn a year off the deal right away. The team is already at the 50-contract limit, meaning any deal with Priskie would have had to start in 2019-20 anyway. If he isn’t burning a year it makes sense for him to wait a few months and be able to control his destiny.
An excellent offensive defenseman, Priskie recorded 39 points in 36 games this season for Quinnipiac including a whopping 17 goals. That was enough to make him a Hobey Baker finalist, and should lead to plenty of teams to take interest in his free agency. The Florida native was selected in the sixth round by the Capitals back in 2016 after bursting onto NHL scouting radars, as he had already gone undrafted twice.
Does he have to sign an entry level deal first or is he just like any other NHL free agent?
He still needs to sign an ELC, but it’ll be restricted to two years though because of his age.
Thanks Bill