The Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, have landed veteran free agent defenseman Brad Hunt on a one-year deal, a team announcement reads. The blue liner settles for a minor-league contract after spending the last two seasons on a two-way deal with the Avalanche.
Hunt, 36 later this month, saw NHL action in 10 straight seasons from 2013-14 onward before spending all of last year in the minors. The left-shot defender’s NHL upside has always been limited because of his diminutive 5’9″, 176-lb stature, but he was one of the more offensively talented defenders available that was still unsigned.
It’s a nice move for the Capitals organization. Washington doesn’t acquire Hunt’s signing rights with today’s news, but they (or any NHL team) can still sign Hunt to a contract at any time if they wish. He adds 288 games of NHL experience to the pipeline and immediately becomes the top defenseman for a Bears team that’s won back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
Hunt spent the last two seasons captaining the Avs’ affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Last season, he led the team in scoring with 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in 70 games and was named to the AHL’s year-end First All-Star Team. Dating back to his professional debut over a decade ago, Hunt has 279 points (80 goals, 199 assists) in 381 AHL games in parts of eight seasons.
His last extended run in the NHL came in the front half of his now-expired two-year deal with the Avalanche, suiting up in 47 contests for them in the 2022-23 campaign. He wasn’t given any special teams usage and averaged just 11:13 per game, but still contributed 10 points (four goals, six assists) with a +4 rating. The British Columbia native has 88 career points (26 goals, 60 assists) with a -32 rating in parts of 10 NHL seasons for the Oilers, Wild, Golden Knights, Predators, Blues, Canucks and Avs.