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Eastern Notes: Zaitsev, Niskanen, Mayfield, Komarov

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After another disappointing exit for the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which the team lost in a Game 7 to the rival Boston Bruins, has left the team with nothing more than an off-season to look forward to for the remainder of the year, many expect changes to be made to an already strong, but flawed roster.

The Athletic’s Ian Tulloch (subscription required) grades out each player for the season, breaking down who were the elite players on the team and who struggled throughout the season. While it’s no surprise that the Maple Leafs problems often centered on their defense, Tulloch points out that both Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey fell into the underwhelming category. Zaitsev, in particular, struggles to get the puck up the ice which often puts him constantly on the defensive, hence why his defensive numbers are so weak. Although his play has improved since being paired up with Jake Muzzin, Tulloch believes that Muzzin has been carrying him. The scribe adds that the Maple Leafs must find a way to rid themselves of Zaitsev’s contract, which will be critical for general manager Kyle Dubas.

Of course, that’s a tall task for Dubas as the underachieving defenseman has five more years on his contract at $4.5MM AAV and a modified no-trade clause kicking in this coming season, meaning that Toronto will have to give up something significant to a team that is willing to take on his salary.

  • In a playoff report card for the Washington Capitals, The Athletic’s Chris Kuc (subscription required) grades out the defensive combination of Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov with C’s, suggesting that while neither defenseman hurt the team with their play, neither blue liner helped the team either. In fact, Kuc points out that at age 32, Niskanen is beginning to show signs of slowing down, compared to last year, and a sudden lack of jump could set the franchise back if he can’t return to form next season. Niskanen still has two years remaining on his deal at a $5.75MM AAV.
  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that there is nothing to worry about after defenseman Scott Mayfield and forward Leo Komarov did not practice Saturday. Head coach Barry Trotz said that both players received maintenance days, but are expected to play in Game 2 of their series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Komarov has a goal and an assist in five playoff games so far. Mayfield has averaged more than 20 minutes in his last two playoff games.

Russia Adds Top Talent For IIHF World Championship

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Teams that lose in the first round of the NHL playoffs often represent the biggest source of talent for the IIHF World Championship, and for Team Russia that is certainly the case this season. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express tweets that Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Nikita Zaitsev have all accepted an invitation from Russia to suit up in next month’s tournament. Evgenii Dadonov from the Florida Panthers will be joining them, giving the Russians quite the powerful forward group.

It’s not just those players who are headed to Slovakia for the tournament, as the team had previously received commitments from Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Mikhail Sergachev, Kirill Kaprizov, Andrei Vasilevskiy and others.

For Ovechkin, this is just another chance to add to his incredible international resume. The Washington Capitals have been knocked out of the playoffs early many times in the past, leading to the superstar forward suiting up 12 times in the past for this tournament. While still looking for an Olympic gold—Russia won last year when the NHL did not attend—Ovechkin has won this tournament three times previously and has a total of eight medals.

The action begins on May 10th.

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.

Behind The Scenes Of The Jacob Trouba Arbitration Case

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Arbitration cases rarely go through the hearing stage in the NHL, so for Jacob Trouba and the Winnipeg Jets to have reached this point in their negotiations – on the first scheduled day of hearing dates no less – is a major surprise. TSN’s Sara Orlesky reports that the two sides did in fact sit down for their hearing with the arbitrator and that a decision will be handed down in the next 48 hours. The Jets and Trouba have until that decision is made to agree to a deal on their own terms, likely a long-term extension, otherwise they will be stuck with a one-year deal and have to go through the process once again next summer.

So what exactly did it look like in the hearing today? Likely not what many would think. While the player and team are present during presentations to the arbitrator, neither team executives nor the player’s representation are in charge of arguing the case. The NHL Players’ Association handles the player side, while the teams use one of three lawyers to present their side: Dan Rabinowitz and Andre Nowakowski of Miller-Thomson in Toronto or Andre Lepage of BFC in Montreal. Each side makes their case based on briefs that they have previously filed to both the opposing side and the arbitrator, bringing in exhibits to support their arguments as well. The briefs contain the salary figures sought; the Jets reportedly filed at $4MM and Trouba at $7MM. It is a wide spread for the abitrator to consider and he may decide at or in between those figures.

What is the content of the arguments? Also somewhat contrary to what one may think, the two sides spend little time actually arguing the merits of the player, at least in absolute terms. The backbone of a salary arbitration case is the comparable players. For Trouba, the NHLPA would generally have comparable players that make $7MM or more to show that their filing number is fair, while the team reps will use comparable players around $4MM or less to prove their value. Each side will identify strengths or weaknesses to the player and find comparables that they can use to strengthen those points. The use of concrete search criteria to choose comparable players is key and often results in both sides tweaking their criteria ever so much that it includes only player who benefit their case. There are also rules regarding the players used: they must be current contracts, they must be recent contracts, and they must be contracts signed by a player who was or would have been an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. Any deviation from this criteria would seriously injure the persuasiveness of the use of that comparable player. Other things that cannot be considered are off-ice behavior, even including something like Trouba’s previous contract holdout, or the team’s salary cap or roster depth status, which the Jets wish they could use in this case.

So who might be comparables in the Trouba case? The filing numbers for both sides suggest that there could be a wide range of possibilities. Using only the most basic metrics – games played and points-per-game – players like Justin Schultz, Colton Parayko, and Tyson Barrie lie right in the middle of the two values at $5.5MM and either side might struggle to use them effectively. Unfortunately for the NHLPA, those appear to be their best options. The case for any might be percentage of the salary cap rather than actual salary, given the major jump this off-season. Players like Torey Krug, Jared Spurgeon, Sami Vatanen and Dmitry Orlov would favor the Jets slightly more, but their home run option is likely a player like David Savard at $4.25MM.

After all the comparables have been presented, arguments have been made, and rebuttals and closing comments have been heard, the arbitrator will take his time to make the decision on just how much Trouba is worth based on everything he has witnessed. During that time, the two sides – who have also been enlightened to some extent – also come back together and talk contract terms. In recent years, hearings have more often than not led to independent agreements and not official decisions. Will it be the same for Jacob Trouba and the Winnipeg Jets? We will know soon enough.

Capitals Hire Reid Cashman As Assistant Coach

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New Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden has begun filling out his staff. Just as Reirden was promoted internally, he has made his first hire from within. According to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal, the Capitals have hired Reid Cashman as an assistant coach. Cashman has been an assistant coach with the Hersey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, for the past two years but is set to make the jump. While the team has yet to formally announce the hiring, Divver’s report last night has since been followed up by confirmation from a local radio source and a former colleague of Cashman’s.

It has been a meteoric rise for the 35-year-old coach. Cashman was still playing in the AHL less than a decade ago – including a season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with Reirden as his coach – after a highly successful collegiate career at Quinnipiac University. He then returned to his alma mater as an assistant right after his playing days were over and coached the Bobcats until 2016. He then joined the Bears and just two years later is already on to the NHL level with the Capitals.

A high-scoring defenseman in his time, Cashman will be tasked with working on the Washington blue line as the replacement to the departed Lane Lambert. His style as a player and experience as a coach at the younger levels should stand to benefit Capitals defensemen like Dmitry Orlov, Christian Djoos, Madison Bowey, and rookie hopeful Lucas Johansen. The defending champs need their younger players on the back end to step up this season with some lacking depth and Cashman will be the man to get them going.

Vegas GM McPhee Has Had A Hand In Building Both Stanley Cup Teams

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While much of the attention to this year’s Stanley Cup will go towards the players, especially Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Vegas Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury, much of the spotlight should be shining on the Golden Knights’ general manager, George McPhee. The GM, who also worked as the general manager from 1997 to 2014 of the Washington Capitals, has had a hand in more than 75 percent of the players that will be on the ice on Monday.

McPhee is already responsible for putting together the Golden Knights roster from Fleury to William Karlsson to Jon Marchessault, to the often criticized deadline moves of acquiring Tomas Tatar and Ryan Reaves, both who have scored critical goals in the postseason. According to NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir, not only has he had a hand in every player the Golden Knights have on their roster from Day 1, McPhee also is responsible for 13 of the team’s 25 players on their roster who have played in this year’s playoffs.

As the Capitals general manager, McPhee was responsible for drafting Alex Ovechkin (first overall in 2004), Nicklas Backstrom (fourth overall in 2006), Jay Beagle (signed as a free agent in 2008), John Carlson (24th overall in 2008), Braden Holtby (93rd overall in 2008), Dmitry Orlov (55th overall in 2009), Evgeny Kuznetsov (26th overall in 2010), Philipp Grubauer (112th in 2010), Travis Boyd (177th overall in 2011), Tom Wilson (16th overall in 2012), Chandler Stephenson (77th overall, 2012), Christian Djoos (195th in 2012), and Andre Burakovsky (23rd overall, 2013).

McPhee also has a close relationship with Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. They played junior hockey together, were teammates at Bowling Green and worked together in Washington for 14 years, making this a very strange Stanley Cup Finals.

“It’s kind of a weird experience. We’ve been texting back-and-forth how strange it feels,” said McLellan on facing Vegas GM George McPhee.

Washington Worried About Filling Out Its Defense

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Decimated by losses this offseason, the Washington Capitals are focusing on rebuilding their team as quickly as possible so they can contend once again, but while there is some progress on the offense as some young players have stepped up, there hasn’t been that infusion of new talent on the Capitals’ blueline, writes Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan.

After a disappointing playoff run which ended in the second round to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the team endured multiple losses, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Nate Schmidt and Daniel Winnik. All of the losses were due to the fact the team was up against the cap, but the team instead focused on re-signing some of their core, including extending stars Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and T.J. Oshie.

While the offense seems to have found replacements for their top lines in youngsters like Andre Burakovsky and Jakub Vrana, fixing the defense might be a totally different story, according to Khurshudyan. The scribe writes that Washington head coach Barry Trotz said that no defenseman has stood out so far into training camp to claim the final two spots in the team’s top six. Even with the losses of Shattenkirk, Alzner and Schmidt, the team still has a solid top four in Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, Orlov and John Carlson. However, the team must fill in those final two spots.

Amongst those defensemen attempting to win one of those two spots is Taylor Chorney, who has been the team’s extra defenseman for the past two years. The team also brought in two of their solid AHL defenseman in Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos, who the team hopes will be ready to take on a new challenge. The team also has several others ready to take a spot, including 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen, Aaron Ness, Tyler Lewington, and Connor Hobbs.

Chorney has spent the last two years on the Capitals roster, but has managed to get into 73 games in those two years and just 18 last season. The 30-year-old defenseman accululated 11 points in those two years, but is trying to break the label of journeyman.

Much of their defensive hopefuls come from their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Beras. Bowey, 22, is coming off an injury-shortened season in the AHL after suffering a gruesome ankle injury with the Hershey Bears. He managed to play only 34 games, but has lost 12 pounds and is skating faster than he did a year ago. Many people thought Djoos, 23, had the best shot to make the team’s roster this year as he had a great season for Hershey a year ago. He scored 15 goals and 45 assists for 66 points for them last year. Ness has also been in the Washington system, playing the last two years in Hershey. He also managed to get called up and get into 10 games over the past two years. A quality skater, he has played a total of 39 NHL games over the course of his career. Lewington, 22, played 72 games for the Bears last season, compiling 142 penalty minutes to go with 17 points.

Johansen,19, was the 28th overall pick in the 2016 draft and many feel he might be ready to step into the team’s lineup, while Hobbs, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2015 had a breakout year with his junior team. The 20-year-old prospect, known for his hard shot, had 31 goals and 54 assists with the WHL Regina Pats.

With the team right up against the cap, a trade would seem unlikely to aid the defense. So, the team hopes that two of these defensemen will step up soon to solidify the Capitals defense.

 

 

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 2017-18 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: $70,910,107 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jakub Vrana ($863K, two years remaining)

This is where the Capitals have gotten themselves into trouble. Playing to win it all for the last couple of years has taken a toll on the depth of the team’s roster as they have chosen to go with veterans rather than allow youngsters to work their way into the lineup. Now that those contracts have become too much and the team has had to purge a number of free agents to stay under the cap, suddenly there is no depth to look to when they really need it.

Vrana, a former 2014 first-rounder returned to his team in Sweden after being drafted, but signed at the end of the 2015 season and joined the AHL Hershey Bears for three games, tallying five assists. He then added six points in 10 playoff games to establish himself as a top prospect. He scored 35 goals over the next two seasons in Hershey before being promoted to Washington last year. In 21 games, he tallied three goals and three assists and appears ready to step in to a bottom line role this year.

There are a number of minor leaguers that may be ready to step into the lineup such as defenders Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos, but none have seen any NHL action so far in their careers and there is no guarantee they will make the team out of training camp.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D John Carlson ($3.96MM, UFA)
F Lars Eller ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Tom Wilson ($2.0MM, RFA)
F Jay Beagle ($1.75MM, UFA)
G Philipp Grubauer ($1.5MM, RFA)
D Taylor Chorney ($800K, UFA)
F Devante Smith-Pelly ($650K, RFA)

The team has already lost several key defenseman in the past few months, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Nate Schmidt and Karl Alzner. Could Carlson be next? While the team still has several veteran remaining on their roster, the team might be hard-pressed to avoid losing another veteran defenseman. Currently penciled in to play next to Orlov, at 27 years old, he would be a big loss if the team is unable to bring him back. However, the team will be paying Orpik, Niskanen and Orlov, more than $16MM combined next year. Will Washington find the money for Carlson?

Wilson is a player who the Capitals have high hopes for. The 23-year-old wing is a former 2012 first-rounder and has played four years with the team already, usually among the bottom-tier lines. However, with smoe of the team’s losses on offense, including Marcus Johanson and Justin Williams, this might be the year that Wilson breaks out. He is currently penciled in on the team’s second line and while he managed just seven goals a year ago, he did put up three playoff goals, showing he might be ready for an enhanced role. As a restricted free agent in 2018, the team will have some control on managing his salary.

Perhaps one of the more interesting decisions the team must make is what they plan to do with their backup goalie. Grubauer is considered to be one of the top-young goaltending prospects and while he was not chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, many feel that he could be a solid starting goaltender. However, with Holtby in front of him and locked up for three more years, that role would not likely be given to Grubauer in Washington. With minor leaguer Pheonix Copley looking ready to become the team’s backup and the presence of 2014 second-round prospect Vitek Vanacek and 2015 first-round prospect Ilya Samsonov, the team is loaded with goaltending talent. It seems far more likely the team will move Grubauer at some point, maybe at the trade deadline next season to add much needed depth.

Eller is at best a third line center, who averages between 10 and 15 goals per season. Barring a breakout year and he’s already 28 years old so that seems unlikely, Eller at $3.5MM might be too expensive to bring back in a year, but it’s too early to tell. Beagle did have a career year last year and should challenge Eller for that third-line center job with the loser likely to man the fourth line. Beagle, a faceoff specialist, scored 13 goals last year. If the team can bring them back on relatively cheap deals, they might be able to retain them.

Chorney was used primarily as an extra defenseman last year and only managed 18 games last season. With the team’s lack of depth after their top four, Washington may have no choice but to give Chorney a chance to win one of the last spots. The 30-year-old did manage to get into 55 games a year ago. Smith-Pelly, a quiet free agent acquisition this offseason, scored four goals in 55 games for New Jersey last year. Their futures will be decided by whether they make the team and how they perform.

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Capitals Notes: Carlson, Defensive Depth, Arena

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Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson will have his work cut out for him this coming season. The Capitals which had one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league had no choice to break up their team due to salary cap issues. The team was forced to say goodbye to several players on their defense, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, and Nate Schmidt, leaving Carlson to take on an even bigger role next year.

The defense does still have some of their high-paid defensemen remaining on the roster, including 30-year-old Matt Niskanen, who has four years remaining on the contract he signed in 2014 at $5.75MM AAV. Brooks Orpik, 36, still has two years remaining on his deal which pays him $5.5MM annually. The Capitals also locked up 26-year-old Dmitry Orlov to a new six-year, $30.6MM deal this offseason.

Carlson, who may have been one of the least noticed defenseman on his team, is currently fourth among the highest paid Capitals’ defenders at $3.96MM for one more year. He put up solid numbers of nine goals and 28 assists in 22:43 average minutes of ice time. He will likely have to do that again as the depth ends there.

Carlson said he has always been used to youth in the clubhouse with last year being an exception, so the 27-year-old veteran is not surprised the Capitals are trending in that direction, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic. Carlson said he wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up playing with a rookie next season.

Currently, fifth on their depth chart is 30-year Taylor Chorney, who played in 18 games last year. AHL defenders Christian Djoos (58 points in 66 games) and Madison Bowey (14 points in 34 games) are currently penciled on the defensive depth chart. There is even some talk the Capitals might entertain promoting 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen from the WHL.

The team still has time to make some additions as they still have more than $4MM in cap space. They could attempt to sign a free agent like Cody Franson to a minimal deal or attempt to broker a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights for one of their many defenders, but the Capitals have other holes to fill on offense as well, so in the end, they may go with what they have.

  • Gone unnoticed was that the Capitals changed the name of their stadium last week. Previously known as the Verizon Center since 2006, the new stadium will be called Capital One Arena, according to NHL.com. Originally opened in 1997 as the MCI Center, and while the connection between Capital One and the Capitals is a clever one, the arena is also home to the Washington Wizards of the NBA, the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and Georgetown University basketball.

 

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