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Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? As we continue with the Central Division, here is a look at the St. Louis Blues.

Alex Pietrangelo? Vladimir Tarasenko? Colton Parayko? Sorry, but they aren’t going anywhere. The St. Louis Blues have quietly climbed within three points of a playoff spot and the early-season panic is over. Granted, the team is still in the middle of a cluster of teams fighting for just a few postseason berths, but the Blues have games in hand on the whole bunch and have been playing some of their best hockey lately. St. Louis is now a legitimate threat to slip into the playoffs and, once there, could do some damage. In fact, the potential on paper of this team is yet another reason why a fire sale is unlikely. There is no excuse for their first half failures, but many, including their own GM Doug Armstrong, have expressed optimism about what this core can do next season. They may have considered tearing it all down at one point, but that’s no longer a realistic possibility.

With that said, the Blues have fallen short of expectations all year long and no one would be surprised if they do in fact miss the playoffs this year. As such, they need to hedge their bets and continue to take offers as a seller. The team has a handful of impending unrestricted free agents they can trade, as well as others that they may entertain moving. The bulk of the St. Louis lineup isn’t going anywhere and will continue their playoff push, but Armstrong and company are likely to move out some extraneous pieces and play both sides of the market as the trade deadline approaches.

Record

22-22-5, sixth in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Moderate Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$7.2MM of full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: STL 2nd, STL 3rd, STL 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th
2020: STL 1st*, STL 2nd, STL 3rd, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 7th
* – Blues owe their 2019 first-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade, but have option to keep that pick if it is top-ten and send 2020 first-round pick instead

Trade Chips

Brayden Schenn is a name that just won’t go away. Even as the Blues’ play has improved of late, Schenn’s name continues to bounce around the rumor mill. The 27-year-old center broke out for 70 points last season, but is back to his regular 50-point pace, if that, this year and has been an underwhelming presence this season for an underachieving team. Logic would dictate that if the Blues want to keep their core intact for another try next season, they’ll refrain from moving Schenn. However, if the market interest forces his hand, Armstrong will move the talented forward, who has one year remaining on his contract, for the right price.

The same goes for winger Jaden Schwartz. Once the epitome of consistency and clutch in the Blues’ lineup, Schwartz, 27, has been streaky and largely ineffective on offense this season. His 21 points thus far is one of the biggest disappointments of St. Louis’ season. Schwartz has quietly continued to be a solid two-way force for the Blues though, even if it doesn’t show up on the score sheet. Schwartz has shown immense talent previously and his trade value is at an all-time low. Maybe he does just need a change of scenery, but Armstrong is unlikely to sell low on the two-way forward this season.

Not every trade decision will be as difficult as Schenn and Schwartz. For example, veteran forward Patrick Maroon has been an utter failure this year for St. Louis and is all but gone before the deadline. Earlier this month, it was rumored that Maroon was likely to be dealt when his full no-trade clause expired at the end of January. In the nine games since the report, Maroon has one lone goal. Hometown product or not, the Blues are likely to move Maroon – who has proven before to be a deadline commodity – for the best offer. Veteran grinders Jordan Nolan and, to a lesser extent, Chris Thorburn could also have value on the market and their absences would mean little to the Blues.

Defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson have not struggled like Maroon, but are also likely goners as impending UFA’s. Bouwmeester, 35, is a respected veteran around the league but has undoubtedly slowed down over the past couple of seasons. He’s currently fourth among St. Louis defenders in time on ice and has the worst plus/minus of the group. Bouwmeester isn’t going to be extended by the Blues, but he’s also still a serviceable and experienced blue liner who could help a true contender. He’s worth more elsewhere than he is for this fringe St. Louis team. The same goes for depth defender Gunnarsson, who has actually been a quite effective possession defenseman in limited opportunity this year, but has a higher value as an added option to a contender than to a team that may not make the playoffs. Jakub Jerabek and Chris Butler are also impending UFA defensemen who may have some slight value on the market. Don’t be surprised if 25-year-old Jordan Schmaltz has his name thrown around too; the Blues have made no effort to get him NHL minutes and he could use a new opportunity.

One of the major issues of this St. Louis team is underachieving forwards and it’s not just the veterans. Sure, the Blues might like to move Alex Steen or Tyler Bozak, but no-trade clauses alone will limit that possibility. The team would be far more likely to find takers for some of their disappointing young forwards, of which there are many. Robby Fabbri, Zach Sanford, Ivan Barbashev, Nikita Soshnikov, and Sammy Blais are all getting too old to be called prospects, but have yet to prove themselves as difference-makers in the NHL. Each one is an impending restricted free agent this summer and the Blues likely don’t plan to bring the whole group back. St. Louis could benefit from swapping out a young forward or two of their own for other teams’ disappointing forwards in hopes that a new system can turn their game around.

Five Players To Watch For: F Brayden Schenn, F Patrick Maroon, D Jay Bouwmeester, D Carl Gunnarsson, F Sammy Blais

Team Needs

1) Scoring Depth: Obviously, goaltending is the biggest long-term concern of the Blues, but that isn’t going to be addressed at the deadline this year. Next in line then is scoring. As previously mentioned multiple times, one of the fatal flaws of the Blues this season has been a lack of scoring and disappointing efforts from too many regular forwards. St. Louis is 22nd in goals for this season and, even if the veteran core returns to form this season, the fringe pieces lack some upside in the production department. As the team moves out forwards from the roster, old or young, the Blues could benefit from taking a waiver on other teams’ frustrated young forwards to test this season for whether there is a there is a fit moving forward. The Washington Capitals’ Andre Burakovsky, the Vancouver Canucks’ Nikolay Goldobin, or the Montreal Canadiens’ Charles Hudon could all be intriguing options. Finding another name to add to the blossoming next wave of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Klim Kostin, and Dominik Bokk should be a priority.

2) Top Prospect Defenseman: In the course of making possible trades of Schenn or Bouwmeester or a young forward, Armstrong would be smart to target a top young defender in the return. The Blues have some nice 25-and-under pieces on the NHL blue line right now, but the AHL unit lacks much upside and the organization does not really have a blue chip defenseman in the pipeline other than collegiate rearguard Scott Perunovich, who will already be 21 next season when he begins his junior year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. St. Louis has many exciting, talented forwards waiting to take over a role in the NHL; the team desperately needs to add a defenseman into that group. If they can’t find one via trade, they should focus on the draft and adding picks to make up for their first- and fourth-rounders this year.

Deadline Primer: Nashville Predators

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? As we continue with the Central Division, here is a look at the Nashville Predators.

The core of the Nashville Predators remains unchanged since the team was a Stanley Cup finalist two years ago and are all signed long-term, likely keeping the Predators a contender for years to come. However, the team has shown a willingness to make moves at the deadline each year to maximize their odds of taking home the title during this stretch. Last season, GM David Poile made a whopping seven trades total, six of which came in the month of February, and notably added Kyle Turris and Ryan Hartman to the roster. While it’s doubtful that the team makes a similar number or caliber of deal this time around, expect the Predators to again be busy.

Record

29-18-4, second in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$29.88MM in a full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 44/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: NSH 1st, NSH 2nd, FLA 3rd, COL 4th, NSH 4th, NSH 5th, NSH 6th, NSH 7th
2020: NSH 1st, NSH 2nd, NSH 3rd, NSH 4th, NSH 5th, NSH 6th, NSH 7th

Trade Chips

More and more often, and specifically this season, it has become easier to identify the likely pieces that a trade deadline buyer is willing to give up to land a veteran player. Trade boards now include just as many young roster players and prospects from contenders as they do the typical rentals from sellers.

This is not the case for the Predators. There are no clear trade chips that Poile and company are actively using to bait teams into making a deal. However, there are plenty of players one could speculate that they will dangle.

Prospect defenseman Dante Fabbro definitely heads up that list. Fabbro, 20, is the junior captain of the Boston University Terriers and is developing into quite the two-way defenseman. Fabbro is on pace for the best offensive season of his collegiate career and looks likely to turn pro this off-season. However, three of the Predators’ famous top-four are all signed long-term, with Roman Josi likely to be extended, and the team has seven defensemen overall under contract for next season already. Fabbro does not have much opportunity to play in the NHL next season in Nashville, but many other teams would be happy to give the recent first-rounder guaranteed minutes as a rookie. Fabbro would undoubtedly be a valued piece on the market. To a lesser extent, so could BU teammate David Farrance and leading AHL defender Frederic Allard, who also lack a clear route to play time in Nashville and thus become expendable.

The Predators also have some intriguing young forwards, including several with NHL experience. The Predators are looking to add a forward or two at the deadline, making some current contributors superfluous. 25-year-olds Miikka Salomaki and Frederick Gaudreau have failed to make the most of ample opportunity this season and are part of why the need up front exists. The pair have combined for just ten points despite playing in the majority of Nashville’s games, but have shown great ability before. Both have another year left at a minimal cap hit, which would make them an even more attractive get for interested teams. Anthony Richard, the Milwaukee Admirals leading scorer, is another young forward who could garner some attention, as could University of Minnesota standout Rem Pitlick.

Five Players To Watch For: D Dante Fabbro, F Miikka Salomaki, D Frederic Allard, F Anthony Richard, F Rem Pitlick

Team Needs

1) Top-six Winger: Injuries to top-six forwards Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, and Kyle Turris this season have made it difficult to truly evaluate the Nashville offense. The team is still more than capable of scoring, currently 12th in goals per game, but there’s room for improvement. That includes on paper, as well.  Even once everyone is healthy, there still seems to be a gap in talent between Forsberg, Arvidsson, Turris, Ryan Johansen, and the rest of the roster. One of Kevin Fiala, Craig Smith, or the disappointing Ryan Hartman can surely continue to fill a second-line role, but the Predators could use an upgrade to round out the group. More specifically, the team is lacking size and grit up front and could use a power forward if possible. The Philadelphia Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds seems like a perfect fit and has already been linked to the team, while the Carolina Hurricanes’ Micheal Ferland and, if made available, the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider would also be ideal. Outside of bigger wingers, the New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello and the Detroit Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist also make sense.

2) Depth Winger: Compared to their stellar defense and goaltending and even compared to their depth down the middle – Johansen, Turris, Colton Sissons, and Nick Bonino – winger is definitely the position of weakness for Nashville. Even if they do acquire a top target to fill a scoring line role, don’t be surprised to see Poile add another piece as well. The veteran GM showed a willingness to use the deadline to land a young forward last season in Hartman and could do the same this year. The last time the Predators bought low on a Washington Capitals forward, it worked out pretty well, making Andre Burakovsky an interesting target. The Vancouver Canucks’ Nikolay Goldobin is another intriguing possibility.

Several Teams Inquiring About Andre Burakovsky

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Andre Burakovsky’s future with the Capitals has been in question for several months now and other teams are certainly taking notice.  Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that teams are starting to call regarding Washington’s plans for the winger.  He notes that the Avalanche, Canucks, Coyotes, and Stars are among the teams that are believed to have shown some interest already but that there are likely others as well.

Burakovsky put up at least 35 points in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons and at that time, he looked like he’d be an important piece of Washington’s future.  He was signed to a two-year, $6MM contract, a reasonable bridge deal at the time.

However, things have not gone too well for him or the team since then.  After dipping to 25 points last season, he has just five goals and six assists through 42 games so far this season while spending considerable time as a healthy scratch as well.  All of a sudden, he has gone from a part of their secondary core to someone that may be on the outside looking in soon;  Burakovsky is owed a qualifying offer of $3.25MM this summer, something that doesn’t appear to be likely to happen at this point.

Earlier this month, GM Brian MacLellan indicated that he was open to moving a forward for a forward on a similar contract.  While he didn’t come out and say Burakovsky by name, it’s reasonable to infer he’s one of the players MacLellan was thinking of when he said that.

With that in mind, teams appear to be looking to see if they can buy low on the 23-year-old.  Given what he has shown in the past, Burakovsky could be someone that simply needs a change of scenery to get back on track.  With that qualifying offer looming, MacLellan doesn’t have a lot of leverage to work with either.

While the team may want to acquire a comparable forward as part of the return, opening up their options to accepting a futures-based return may give them some more suitors.  Yes, Washington is going to be a buyer between now and the trade deadline but they could just as easily turn around and deal the futures-based return elsewhere to get the player they desire.  No matter how it happens, it certainly appears as if Burakovsky’s days with the Capitals are soon coming to an end.

Predators Notes: Sissons, Burakovsky, Fabbro

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The Nashville Predators have taken another hit up front, announcing today that forward Colton Sissons has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. While it’s unclear when Sissons suffered the injury, he was not in  the lineup when the Predators faced the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. The team did not give any timeline for Sissons’ return, but any extended absence will hurt Nashville, who are also still without Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson. Sissons has been a key contributor while those two have been sidelined, recording seven goals and nine assists in 35 games, tied for eighth on the team in scoring. Sissons also has a tremendous +17 rating and is an invaluable defensive presence among the forward corps. For the Predators’ sake, hopefully Sissons will return after the minimum ten days on the IR.

  • With yet another starting forward out of commission, Predators GM David Poile may feel even more pressure to land some help via trade. Nashville was already expected to pursue scoring help before the trade deadline to help out their middling offense and was one of the teams speculated to have interest in Washington Capitals forward Andre Burakovsky, who hit the trade block last week. The Capitals are reportedly looking to make a deal that would bring back a player that can help them immediately this season, of which the Predators have options. Pressed into regular action due to the rash of injuries, Miikka Salomaki and Frederick Gaudreau have both played well at times this season and could be of interest to Washington. The team could even be willing to dangle Calle Jarnkrok if they’re high on Burakovsky. The two teams would seemingly be a good fit for a deal, although there still could be lingering feelings from the last time the Capitals traded a young winger to the Predators (see Forsberg-for-Martin Erat).
  • Speaking of reinforcements, Predators fans should be excited to see defensive prospect Dante Fabbro listed on the Team Canada roster for the upcoming Spengler Cup. The team’s first-round pick in 2016, Fabbro has been a productive member of the Boston University blue line for three seasons now and has even evolved into the Terriers’ captain. However, playing alongside pros at the Spengler Cup is the next step for Fabbro and could give the young defenseman the experience needed to step in to the Predators’ lineup later this season. Although Fabbro has another season of NCAA eligibility remaining, he is heavily expected to leave school when BU’s season is over. A strong showing in Switzerland could convince Poile and company that Fabbro is worth signing and playing immediately this year. The young puck-mover could be a nice depth addition for a Nashville team that is looking to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final this year.

Snapshots: Melnyk, Burakovsky, AHL

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The Ottawa Senators’ Lebreton Flats arena bid was dealt an expected death blow when owner Eugene Melnyk filed a $700MM lawsuit against his former partner John Ruddy, who was part of the group trying to acquire the development rights to the area. Now Ruddy has filed his own counterclaim, seeking more than $1 billion according to the Canadian Press. In the counterclaim Trinity Development, Ruddy’s company, alleges:

CSMI’s and Melnyk’s true aim is to have the City of Ottawa or Trinity fund and build the $500 million event centre for the Ottawa Senators hockey team, with the Senators getting 30 years’ free rent. CSMI also wants the valuable naming rights and an unreasonable degree of control over the Lebreton project.

Meanwhile, Melnyk’s group has issued a statement offering to amend the original plan and have Trinity fund the project but also take all of the expected profits. Though not technically dead, it does seem like a difficult path forward for the Senators to try and get a new arena near the downtown core. Lebreton was arguably their best chance for now, meaning they’ll be stuck dealing with the arena in Kanata going forward. That rink is far from the city center and difficult for many fans to get to, especially for weekday games.

  • While Andre Burakovsky’s name has surfaced in trade rumors recently, Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post is quick to point out that the Washington Capitals are not necessarily shopping the young forward around at this time. Though they would certainly listen to offers, the hope is that Burakovsky can turn things around on his own and be the productive middle-six forward that they have hoped he would be for some time. The 23-year old has just eight points this season and has never fulfilled the promise he showed as a young forward in Sweden or the OHL. Burakovsky is also a restricted free agent at the end of the season with arbitration rights, which could certainly give any acquiring team pause given his salary is already at $3MM this year.
  • The AHL announced multiple suspensions today, handing out a two-game ban to Matt Puempel and a three-game ban to Stephen Gionta. The two forwards, playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins and Bridgeport Sound Tigers respectively, will have to sit out a few contests over the holiday season following their supplementary discipline.

Andre Burakovsky Has Come Up In Trade Talks

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Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky has had a rough start to his season and was a healthy scratch for a second straight game tonight against Carolina.  Accordingly, his name has started to come up in trade discussions, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in an appearance on Sportsnet 960 (audio link).

The 23-year-old has been in trade speculation dating back to last season but he has shown spurts of becoming a top-six player in the past so Washington opted to hold onto him.  However, those spurts haven’t been evident too often this season as he has just eight points in 29 games while spending most of the year in their bottom six.  That’s not particularly good value for a $3MM cap charge on a team that is once again very tight to the salary cap.

It’s that cap hit that may ultimately make a sell-low move a realistic possibility.  Burakovsky is set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer but with a $3.25MM qualifying offer required (his salary for this season), he looks like a prime non-tender candidate as things currently stand.  An acquiring team may want to get a look at him to see if a change of scenery is enough to get him going while allowing the Capitals to get some sort of asset back (and perhaps some short-term cap flexibility) over losing him for nothing in June if they are leaning towards not tendering the offer.

It wasn’t that long ago that Burakovsky was viewed as part of Washington’s long-term plans.  That doesn’t appear to be the case any longer and even though their potential return in a trade is a lot less than it was just a year or two ago, it still may be the time for the Capitals to move on.

Metropolitan Notes: Darling, Vrana, Burakovsky, Fleury, Flyers’ Goalies

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The Carolina Hurricanes have been holding onto three goaltenders since the start of the season. With injury issues that may have been a good idea, but that could change soon as head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that with Petr Mrazek not 100 percent and it not being “fair” to use Curtis McElhinney in both games of the back-to-back set, the team will start Scott Darling. News & Observer’s Luke DeCock writes that this start has a last-chance feel for Darling.

While many people felt that Darling would have a bounce-back season after a disastrous first year as the Hurricanes’ starter, that hasn’t happened. While splitting time with two other goalies, Darling has appeared in just six games with a 2.99 GAA and a .903 save percentage. While McElhinney and Mrazek likely would be claimed off waivers by some goaltending needy NHL team, it’s unlikely that Darling would after he signed a four-year, $16.6MM contract last summer, which no team would likely want to take on considering his struggles.

  • In a mailbag piece, the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan writes that while the Washington Capitals did extend Lars Eller during the middle of last season, don’t expect the same treatment for restricted free agents Jakub Vrana or Andre Burakovsky. While the team’s extension of Eller got them a cheaper price than they would have had to contend with had he hit the open market this summer, the team will likely want to wait and see how both players fare before handing out new contracts considering how tight they will be against the salary cap over the next few years. Vrana has been having a solid year up till now as he has six goals and 14 points in 23 games, which will likely have him headed for a career year. Burakovsky has just three goals and six points in 23 games as well.
  • NHL.com’s Michael Smith writes that Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Haydn Fleury has been diagnosed with a concussion, according to Brind’Amour. The 22-year-old was forced out of the team’s game during the third period Friday against Florida after taking a hit from Troy Brouwer. He will join the NHL concussion protocol and remain sidelined until he’s medically cleared. Fleury has served as an extra defenseman for most of the year after playing in 67 games last year. However, the seventh-overall pick in 2014, has not been able to seize a regular rotation spot and has played in just eight games this year. He’s also played four games for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
  • Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi reports that Phildelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall gave an update on the team’s goaltending injury situation as Brian Elliott is expected to be at least a week away, maybe more, while Michal Neuvirth is closer to returning and is expected to skate with the team on Monday. Alex Lyon tweaked something in warmups before allowing four first-period goals on Wednesday. He is expected back soon. “That’s the way it goes, and if you look around the league, we’re not the only team it’s happening to,” Hextall said.

Metropolitan Notes: Burakovsky, Chytil, Jones

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Although Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky is off to a slow start this season, the organization doesn’t have an inclination to trade him, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.  He has been held without a point through the first six games and is coming off of a 25-point campaign from the year before, his lowest output since his rookie campaign.  If his struggles continue, the team may have to change their thinking as another quiet year could make him a non-tender candidate as he’ll be owed a qualifying offer of $3.25MM this summer, his salary this season.  Given how often Washington is tight to the cap, that could be too rich for them to carry on their books moving forward.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Rangers center Filip Chytil is quickly approaching the nine-game mark where the team will then have to decide on whether or not to keep him up and burn the first year of his entry-level contract. Head coach David Quinn appears to be leaning towards keeping him up as he told reporters, including Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, that “As long as he continues to put forth an effort, we’re going to let him play because we think very highly of him.  He’s a big piece of our future and I think he could be good right now. This isn’t just about the future, this is about us winning hockey games right now and we think he can help us.”  If Chytil does play in his tenth game, the next important threshold will be when he reaches 40 games on the active roster.
  • Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones has been cleared for contact in practice, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. While he won’t play today, he appears to be on the verge of returning to the lineup which will be a big boost for their back end.  Jones suffered a torn MCL late in the preseason that had a four-to-six week recovery timeline and it appears he’ll be getting back in the shorter of those two timeframes.

Capitals Hoping To Deal From Depth Of Defensive Prospects

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The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan may have gotten more than she bargained for when talking to Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan today. The Stanley Cup-winning executive let slip some internal team building plans, a rarity in the tight-lipped NHL. MacLellan acknowledged that the Capitals currently have a surplus of defensive prospects, but took it even further, stating that he hopes to trade some away in exchange for forward prospects.

The first part of MacLellan’s statement is rather obvious and why Khurshudyan though to ask about his plans. The Capitals had struggled defensively for many years before putting together a solid unit en route to championship last season. Although it involved trading and later re-signing Brooks Orpik, the team was surprisingly able to keep the group together this year and moving forward, with seven of the nine defensemen who suited up in 2017-18 – most importantly the top six from the Cup run – returning. The top four of John Carlson, Michal Kempny, Matt Niskanen, and Dmitry Orlov are all signed through at least three more years, while Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey – both under 25 – are restricted free agents at the end of their current contracts. There isn’t much long-term opportunity for defensemen in the Capitals system, yet they are well-stocked in pro-caliber prospects. 2015 second-rounder Jonas Siegenthaler, 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen, and promising righty Connor Hobbs would all be pushing for NHL play time on a majority of teams across the league. The team also used first- and second-round picks on blue liners in June, selecting Alexander Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary respectively. While it doesn’t hurt to have a redundancy of talent, it does seem as though the Capitals have too many mouths to feed on defense over the next five years or so.

As such, MacLellan revealed that he would ideally trade some of those players for forward prospects of a similar caliber. Seeing as Johansen, Alexeyev, and Fehervary are recent high picks with room to grow, Siegenthaler and Hobbs would likely be the leading candidates to be dealt away, with an even an off-chance that one of Djoos or Bowey are dealt. Forwards of equal quality to that foursome would be far more valuable to Washington, who has ample opportunity up front moving forward but far fewer players to compete. Outside of Jakub Vrana, who Khurshudyan calls the Capitals’ “last high-end forward prospect”, and Andre Burakovsky, the depth of talent among young forwards in the system is not overwhelming. Many could have good careers as bottom-six forwards, including 2018 second- and third-round picks Kody Clark and Riley Sutter, but none seem to have much in the way of great top-six upside. The Capitals also don’t plan to be in a draft position next year to land a forward with elite scoring potential. So, they’re left to trade from an area of strength in the organization to fill an area of weakness. At least that is MacLellan’s plan. The fact that it is now public knowledge could help or hinder his attempts to make it happen.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Washington Capitals

Current Cap Hit: $78,400,961 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jakub Vrana (One year remaining, $863K)

With the team trying to make a Stanley Cup run over the past few years and finally capturing one, youth is in rare supply in Washington as the team has made it clear that it prefers to play its veterans rather than risk mistakes from youngsters. The only player who is still on an entry-level deal is Vrana, who has had a turbulent career so far with the Capitals. After spending a couple of years in the AHL, he finally got a full season with Washington this year, but the former first-round pick was never able to secure a full-time role in the team’s top six as he bounced around on different lines all season. He finished the year with 13 goals and 27 points, but put up another three goals and eight points in the playoffs. He has a chance to take on a full-time role on the team’s second line this season and hopes for a breakout season.

Potential Bonuses

Vrana: $600K

Total: $600K

One Year Remaining, Non Entry-Level

F Andre Burakovsky ($3MM, RFA)
F Brett Connolly ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Brooks Orpik ($1MM, UFA)
F Devante Smith-Pelly ($1MM, UFA)
D Christian Djoos ($650K, RFA)
F Nic Dowd ($650K, UFA)
F Chandler Stephenson ($650K, RFA)
F Nathan Walker ($650K, RFA)
G Pheonix Copley ($650K, UFA)

The Capitals have only a few significant free agents for next season as many of their deals are league-minimum contracts, which is necessary considering the amount of money the team has expended in keeping their roster together. Perhaps the biggest name on their free agent list will be Burakovsky, who many thought might have a breakout season with a bigger role last year. However, Burakovsky’s numbers decreased as his season was plagued with injuries. His 12 goals and 25 points in 56 games was the worst since his rookie season. However, he did post six points in 13 playoff games. If he can stay healthy, the 23-year-old could provide the team with more offense.

Due to the Stanley Cup win, the team was able to find a way to bring back several key role players on cheaper deals. The team assumed they would lose Smith-Pelly to free agency, but the 26-year-old opted to return for another playoff run, while long-time Capital Orpik was traded away, waived and opted to return for another year.

Two Years Remaining

F Nicklas Backstrom ($6.7MM, UFA)
G Braden Holtby ($6.1MM, UFA)
D Madison Bowey ($1MM, RFA)
F Travis Boyd ($800K, RFA)

The team does have to worry about Backstrom in two years. The team’s No. 2 center is still posting excellent numbers as he tallied 21 goals and 70 points last season, the fifth straight season he’s reached at least 70 points. However, the team will have a tough decision to eventually make as the veteran will be 32 when he gets awarded a new contract, which can get into a dangerous area when players hit their early 30’s.

Holtby will be another interesting case. After temporarily losing his starting job to Philipp Grubauer for a few weeks near the end of the season due to poor play (2.99 GAA, .907 save percentage), Holtby snapped out of it and posted dominant numbers throughout the playoffs (2.16 GAA, .922 save percentage) showing he still has what it takes to be a top-of-the-line goaltender. While the 28-year-old should still be in his prime in two years, the team also has top goaltending prospect Ilya Samsonov arriving in North America this season. He’ll likely start the season in the AHL, but he will likely be ready to take the reigns once Holtby’s deal expires.

Three Or More Years

F Alex Ovechkin ($9.54MM through 2020-21)
D John Carlson ($8MM through 2025-26)
F Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8MM through 2024-25)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM through 2024-25)
D Matt Niskanen ($5.75MM through 2020-21)
F Tom Wilson ($5.17MM through 2023-24)
D Dmitry Orlov ($5.1MM through 2022-23)
F Lars Eller ($3.5MM through 2022-23)
D Michal Kempny ($2.5MM through 2021-22)

The team decided more than a year ago that they were going for it, which worked out perfectly last season. The team has done a fantastic job locking up its core, although many of the pricetags are quite generous, which could come to hurt them. However, now that the team has won the Stanley Cup, the team is going all out to win another as the team has locked up all of their critical free agents this year, signing Carlson as a long-term answer as their top defender as well as locking in Wilson. That gives them a solid core for the next many years. That should give them two or three years to attempt to capture another title. However, eventually this team will be weighed down by these contracts, much like the Chicago Blackhawks, but Washington is focused on the future.

The team may be forced into handing out another long-term extension to Ovechkin in three years, depending on how the 32-year-old fares in three years, but the deal would unlikely be more than he is already being paid.

Buyouts

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Holtby
Worst Value: Wilson

Looking Ahead

The Capitals are quite used to dealing with little to no cap space and will have to do that again for a number of years to come. However, the team has managed to keep not just the core of their team together, but have also managed to bring back multiple role players at bargain prices to keep this team at a Stanley Cup level. With new deals to players like Carlson and Wilson, should challenge for a few more years, but age and those long-term deals will eventually hold the franchise after that. However, the team has already proven that their tactics are worth it after winning it all last season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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