Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dmitry Orlov

Morning Notes: Bruins, Senators, Salary Cap

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Over the past couple of seasons, the Boston Bruins haven’t made big trade deadline splashes for rentals. Their two significant acquisitions in 2021 and 2022, Taylor Hall and Hampus Lindholm, signed extensions with the team and remain in Boston today.

In his latest for The Athletic, Fluto Shinzawa explains how that will be a tricky trend to repeat this season with Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Tyler Bertuzzi. Although general manager Don Sweeney has expressed an interest in re-signing all three, signing an extension with only one would require multiple cap-dump trades. Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, and Mike Reilly would likely all see their way out of Boston this offseason, with the team likely to fetch far below market value on trades for Grzelcyk and Forbort if backed into a salary cap hole. Per CapFriendly, Boston has just over $10.5MM in projected cap space for 2023-24, not including potential performance bonus penalties carrying over from Patrice Bergeron’s and David Krejci’s contracts this season.

Other items dotting the league rumor wire this morning:

  • On last night’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Chris Johnston noted that an ownership group led by The Hockey News owner Graeme Roustan, in conjunction with Canadian First Nations groups, has advanced past the first round of bidding to purchase the Ottawa Senators. Johnston reports that the group notably has an interest in developing the land around LeBreton Flats, realizing a long-time hope for a more centrally located arena in Ottawa.
  • Also on Insider Trading, Johnston says that the NHLPA is likely dead set against increasing escrow payments next season to accommodate for a larger salary cap increase. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman noted earlier this week that such an exchange would be necessary to increase next year’s salary cap past the projected $1MM bump to an Upper Limit of $83.5MM.

Boston Bruins Acquire Garnet Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov

at CDT | by 32 Comments

A few moments after announcing that Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway would be held out of the lineup for tonight’s game for trade protection purposes, the Washington Capitals have sent both players to the league-leading Boston Bruins.

Heading back to the Capitals is forward Craig Smith, Boston’s first-round pick in 2023, Boston’s third-round pick in 2024, and Boston’s second-round pick in 2025. Washington will retain 50% of Orlov’s remaining salary, while the Minnesota Wild will retain 25% of Orlov’s contract, sending the rights to Andrei Svetlakov to Washington (who actually flipped those rights to Boston in the other part of the deal), and acquiring Boston’s fifth-round pick in 2023.

The NHL’s best team just became much better. With the acquisition of Orlov and Hathaway, the Bruins have cemented themselves as a top Stanley Cup contender and an odds-on-favorite for Lord Stanley. In his 11 seasons in Washington, Orlov became one of the more underappreciated defensemen in the league. Being able to do a little bit of everything, averaging over 100 shots, 100 hits, and over 20 minutes a game, Orlov is a complete player that Boston will now be able to supplant into their already talented defensive core.

Joining him on the New England juggernaut is Hathaway, who is a near-perfect example of what Bruins fans have come to love from their players over the years. A hard-nosed forward, Hathaway can provide depth goal scoring, sufficient work on the penalty kill, and amassing almost 200+ hits every year of his career. If they weren’t already hard enough to play against, Orlov and Hathaway turn Bruins into an even more frustrating opponent for the rest of the league.

Although they only find themselves two points out of a playoff spot, the Capitals’ recent stretch of play has sent them into a bit of a spiral. Losing their last five games in a row, the Capitals seemed to have made a pivot toward selling during this deadline. Still carrying the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson, it is not likely that this will lead to a full-tear down in D.C. However, with so many players headed for unrestricted free agency after this season, and falling further out of the playoff picture, it is only natural that the Capitals recoup some assets from this group.

Having already traded away this year’s third-round selection and next year’s second-round selection in separate trades, the Capitals looked to restock their draft capital in this deal with Boston. After falling out of favor in Boston and clearing waivers earlier this season, Smith can slot into the Capitals’ bottom six for the remainder of the season.

Much like the trade sending Ryan O’Reilly to the Maple Leafs, the Wild were able to involve themselves in this trade as well. With ample deadline cap space, the Wild have now used 2/3 of their retention slots in the last six days to help facilitate deals around the league.

Boston will also receive the rights to Svetlakov, though his inclusion will be overshadowed by the two NHLers. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Svetlakov has spent the last several seasons playing for CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that Hathaway and Orlov were headed to Boston, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic first reported Smith and picks would be the return to Washington.

Washington Capitals To Scratch Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Washington Capitals have joined a growing list of teams scratching players on the basis of trade protection. Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov will sit out of tonight’s game against the Anaheim Ducks for that exact reason. The team followed up shortly after indicating that Garnet Hathaway will also be left out of the lineup.

As the long-time Metropolitan heavyweight looks to climb back into the playoffs, the Capitals’ brass seems to be doing their due diligence this upcoming trade deadline. As things currently sit, the Capitals are two points out of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. However, unlike the other teams ahead of them in the standings, the Capitals are trending in the wrong direction. Losers of their last five games, the Capitals’ path to the playoffs is becoming increasingly narrow as each day passes. With four games remaining until the trade deadline, this next stretch of games will determine if they buy, sell, or do a little bit of both this deadline.

In the final year of a 6-year, $30.6MM contract signed prior to the 2017-18 NHL season, Orlov has become a familiar name on the Capitals’ back end. Scoring a career-high 35 points during the 2021-22 season, Orlov has become a valuable asset. Carrying a cap hit of $5.1MM this season, some cap-conscious teams may have to do some maneuvering to get Orlov on the roster. With 13 players on the Capitals’ roster headed towards unrestricted free agency this summer, they are likely taking their time to see who has a long-term fit on their roster.

Joining Orlov as a scratch, Hathaway also finds himself likely headed out of the nation’s Capital in a few days. One of many forwards with an expiring contract on the team, Hathaway is an extremely flexible trade candidate. Only carrying a cap hit of $1.5MM, many teams could find a spot for him in their bottom six. Much like Orlov, Hathaway achieved a career-high in points last season, scoring 26 points in 76 games for the Capitals. Having already signed forwards Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano to extensions past next season, the Capitals are looking to recoup whatever assets they can on players not penciled into their future.

Snapshots: Blues, Orlov, Senyshyn

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The St. Louis Blues are not technically out of the playoff race, sitting 26-26-3 after today’s loss, but the front office decided that this wasn’t their year weeks ago. General manager Doug Armstrong spoke with Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his recent selling spree, moving Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, Ryan O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari over the last ten days.

As we have suggested in the past, the Blues aren’t guaranteed to use the draft picks they’ve landed this month. Instead, they could flip them for established NHL talents to try and reload this offseason. Armstrong admitted as much, explaining that the team needs to “retrench with players 25, 26, and under that have term on their contracts.”

  • The Washington Capitals are trying to work out an extension with Dmitry Orlov, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes that “term is a significant issue” in the negotiations. Orlov, 31, has a lot of miles on his body, with more than 750 NHL games (regular season and playoffs) in an 11-year career, and is probably looking for one more big payday as he nears unrestricted free agency. Coming off a six-year, $30.6MM deal, he is playing nearly 23 a night for Washington, who have been without John Carlson for a big chunk of the year.
  • Zachary Senyshyn has been traded again, this time in the minor leagues. The former Boston Bruins prospect was traded from the Utica Comets to the Chicago Wolves in exchange for future considerations. Ben Birnell of the Daily Sentinal gives some context on the deal, explaining that the Comets have had to sit a player all season, because of the rule that limits the number of minor league veterans that can be in the lineup at any one time. Senyshyn, 25, is approaching 300 regular season games in the AHL.

East Notes: Capitals, Krejci, Voronkov, Hellberg

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Capitals got some good news and bad news on their back end for tonight’s contest against Winnipeg.  The good news is that after missing 16 games, defenseman Dmitry Orlov was activated off IR, relays Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link).  However, they also lost blueliner Erik Gustafsson to an upper-body injury, notes Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link).  The net trade-off is certainly a positive as Orlov, a long-term top-four player for them, is jumping right back onto their top pairing although Gustafsson is tied for the team lead in assists by a defender with ten.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Prior to their game tonight against Vegas, the Bruins announced (Twitter link) that center David Krejci is out due to a lower-body injury sustained on Friday against Arizona. Fortunately for Boston, the absence is likely to be short-lived as the team hopes he’ll be ready to play in their next game on Tuesday.  Krejci’s return to the NHL has been a very good one so far as the 36-year-old has 21 points in 23 games so far, the highest point-per-game average of his 16-year NHL career.
  • Blue Jackets prospect Dmitry Voronkov is expected to sign with Columbus once his KHL season comes to an end, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). The 22-year-old center was a fourth-round pick by Columbus back in 2019 (114th overall) and has been a regular in the KHL since then.  This season, he has 13 points in 28 games and is on pace for his best year offensively at that level.  The Blue Jackets certainly could use some help down the middle and it appears they’ll get someone else to try at that position for next season in Voronkov.
  • The Red Wings announced that they have recalled goaltender Magnus Hellberg from his conditioning stint with AHL Grand Rapids. The 31-year-old had a 2.50 GAA and a .932 SV% in four starts with the Griffins.  He’ll be Detroit’s third-stringer so this might be the last game action he sees for a little while.

Injury Notes: Capitals, Jets, Krug

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s been a tough season thus far for the Washington Capitals, who sit three points out of the New York Rangers and a Wild Card spot in the East and six points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes for a spot in the Metropolitan Division. No team will ever make excuses, however injuries have been unrelenting for Washington even before the puck dropped on the 2022-23 season. The organization expected a tough go of it early on without some of their stars and all things considered, 30 points in 29 games is not half bad. They’ll have to have a strong season the rest of the way to get into the postseason, but as of right now, injury updates look positive.

Earlier today, the Capitals placed defenseman Alexander Alexeyev and goaltender Darcy Kuemper on IR and recalled defensemen Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath. For Kuemper, that’s not expected to be much of an issue, eligible to come off of IR as soon as Tuesday, and according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the netminder participated in the team’s morning skate today for the first time since suffering the injury. Also from Gulitti, veteran Dmitry Orlov, who has not played since November 5th due to a lower-body injury, also skated this morning. Perhaps the best news, even if nothing is imminent, is forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson skated this morning in non-contact jerseys, traveling with the team on the road for the first time this season, which appears to be the norm going forward. Both core pieces of this generation’s Capitals squad, getting either back in the lineup would be a massive boost not only to on-ice production, but to off-ice morale too. Still, one bit of bad news, both Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary did not skate this morning, and fellow defenseman Erik Gustafsson left practice early, head coach Peter Laviolette telling Gulitti the Capitals and Gustafsson are “working through some things.”

  • The Winnipeg Jets will be without forward Saku Maenalanen and defenseman Logan Stanley when they take on the Capitals this evening says Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. No update beyond that was given by associate coach Scott Arniel. Billeck adds that the Jets are trying to get an additional player called up from the Manitoba Moose to join the Jets at home this evening. Billeck adds the Moose, who actually share an arena with the Jets, are on their way to Calgary, however getting a player back from Calgary to Winnipeg by tonight shouldn’t be an issue. As for the injured players, Maenalanen has impressed in a depth role for the Jets this year, recording six points in 25 games, averaging 11:30 a night, his first NHL action since a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2018-19. Unfortunately for Stanley, who missed a-month-and-a-half, was able to play just two games after coming back before being forced out of the lineup once again.
  • The St. Louis Blues confirmed defenseman Torey Krug would rejoin the lineup Sunday after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The veteran, much like his Blues, has had a shaky start to 2022-23, recording 11 points in 24 games, but comes with a -22 rating, the worst mark in the league. Even amid his struggles, if the Blues hope to re-write their 2022-23 story, it’s more likely than not that Krug will have to be part of the solution, and having him in the lineup would be a start. Though Krug is back, forward Pavel Buchnevich, who also hasn’t played since December 5th, will not play this afternoon, the Blues announced.

Tom Wilson Joins Capitals Practice

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Morning skate for the Washington Capitals was rather encouraging today, as several injured players were on the ice. Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports that Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, and Dmitry Orlov were all skating with their teammates, though none are ready to return just yet.

For Wilson, it’s the first time he’s joined the group since undergoing ACL surgery last spring. Coming off a career-best 24-goal, 52-point season, the physical winger is one of the most important players on the club, and has been sorely missed through the early part of the year. The Capitals are 12-12-4 on the year and have struggled to find much consistency from the lower half of their forward group, with Wilson, Backstrom, and Connor Brown all out.

Backstrom has joined the team a few times as he deals with his own rehab and is optimistic he will return at some point this season after hip surgery. There is no clear timeline for either player, but getting them around practice again will be sure to lift the team’s spirits, given how important a role they play on the ice and in the dressing room.

Orlov, meanwhile, has been out for more than a month with a lower-body injury. He too is coming off a career year, with 12 goals and 35 points, and had been averaging a ton of ice time through the early part of the season. If the Capitals are able to keep their head above water until they get these reinforcements back, they will still have a shot at the playoffs. As it stands right now, they are sixth in the Metropolitan Division, ahead of only the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Capitals Notes: Trade Possibilities, Injury Updates, Miroshnichenko

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Washington Capitals have not had the start to their season that they likely had in mind. Despite entering the season with the intention of being a serious contender, a 10-12-4 record to start the year has left the Capitals with more questions than answers. Washington GM Brian MacLellan spoke to the media yesterday to issue updates on the state of his team, and as part of that availability, he spoke on the possibility completing a significant trade in order to jump-start a climb in the standings.

As relayed by The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, MacLellan said that the presence of Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom on long-term injured reserve makes the possibility of a major deal highly unlikely. (subscription link) To use his exact words, MacLellan said:

To help our team you would have to add a high-end guy, top-six guy but they are $5 million, $6 million. You can’t add that player while you are bringing two guys back from LTI.

Some other notes regarding the Capitals:

  • As part of his comments to the media, MacLellan also issued updates on several injured Capitals players. MacLellan said that Backstrom was “progressing well,” but that there is no firm timeline on a return. He also said that the team will have a “better idea” on Wilson’s return by mid-December, and said that while Dmitry Orlov’s injury has “lingered on a lot longer than anyone anticipated,” he is nonetheless “headed in a positive direction.” For the Capitals to have any hope of Stanley Cup contention, getting Wilson, Orlov, and perhaps even Backstrom back onto the ice will be extremely important.
  • When the Capitals drafted dynamic Russian forward Ivan Miroshnichenko in the first round of the 2022 draft, some saw it as a risky move due to the uncertainty related to the forward’s recovery from Hodgkin Lymphoma. But thankfully all signs have been that Miroshinchenko’s recovery process has gone well, and today he took an important next step on his path to the NHL. Miroshnichenko made his KHL debut today, and while MacLellan did say that the forward is likely still “a few years” away from the NHL, this remains an undoubtedly positive development for all interested in seeing Miroshnichenko thrive.

Morning Notes: Schenn, Orlov, Bastian

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The St. Louis Blues had what could be a season-altering win last night, beating the Florida Panthers in overtime after scoring three unanswered goals to tie the game into the third period. It wasn’t all good news for St. Louis, though, as they could be missing a strong veteran presence from their lineup. Forward Brayden Schenn left the game at the end of the second period with a lower-body injury, per the Bally Sports Midwest local broadcast. He did not return to the game.

Schenn had performed well in the Blues’ recent winning stretch, recording three goals and seven points in 10 games since their eight-game losing streak ended. His six goals in 21 games on the season are tied for second on the team alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan O’Reilly. While he may not be the all-around player he used to be in his earlier seasons with the Blues, he remains an important scorer and a skilled shooter. His presence also allows the Blues to roll a strong three-line attack, slotting Schenn in behind O’Reilly and Robert Thomas at center. Postgame, head coach Craig Berube noted that Schenn’s injury would be further evaluated today.

  • Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov could join the team on their current road trip, according to The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell, which lasts another five games and 11 days. The veteran defenseman suffered a lower-body injury prior to a game on November 7 and has been day-to-day since. One of six Capitals on injured reserve, Orlov had five assists through 13 games and his +3 rating remains tied for the best on the team.
  • According to a team tweet, the New Jersey Devils lost forward Nathan Bastian partway through last night’s game to an upper-body injury. Bastian left the game during the first period after taking a hit from Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. The 24-year-old is a good defensive presence in the bottom six and is an adept penalty killer. With no extra forwards on the active roster, the team will have to make a recall from AHL Utica if Bastian misses any time.

Washington Capitals Loan Connor McMichael To AHL

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals announced they have loaned young forward Connor McMichael to the Hershey Bears, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding move was made. Of note, however, is that T..J. Oshie, who is currently on IR with a lower-body injury, was seen warming up at Capitals practice this morning in a regular jersey, as opposed to the non-contact jersey he had been wearing, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell suggests that not only Oshie, but also defenseman Dmitry Orlov could be ready for a return to action. Should both activated, the Capitals would have to send another player down. Washington next plays on Wednesday night at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The choice to loan McMichael to Hershey, especially if it is in fact to make room for Oshie, does make good sense. For one, McMichael, unlike many of his Capitals teammates, is exempt from waivers. On top of that, the forward hasn’t played much this season despite being healthy, getting into just six of the team’s 20 games to date. Having been considered one of Washington’s top prospects since they drafted him 25th overall in 2019, McMichael hasn’t been able to truly take the next step in his development as an NHLer, recording just 18 points in 75 career games.

Sending McMichael down today also makes sense for Washington with Hershey set to take on the Hartford Wolf Pack this afternoon at home. Although the Ontario native has already shown he can handle AHL hockey, putting up 27 points in 33 games in his only appearance back in 2020-21, the trip back to Hershey may simply be an opportunity for McMichael to skate in every game and receive important minutes in the process, something he had not been getting with Washington, as the NHL club looks to dig out of an early hole in the standings.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top