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Hendrix Lapierre

Capitals Activate Lars Eller, Reassign Hendrix Lapierre

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The Washington Capitals have reportedly made a roster move to create room for Lars Eller’s activation but not necessarily the one they were expected to make. The Capitals organization announced they have reassigned youngster Hendrix Lapierre to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, to make space for Eller on the active roster.

Lapierre came into the 2024-25 season off of a respectable effort in 2023-24. He scored eight goals and 22 points in 51 games for the Capitals and represented one of the better prospects in the system as the former 22nd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. He showed a lack of maturity in the faceoff dot (which isn’t uncommon for younger centers) but displayed adept playmaking and defensive abilities.

It’s hard to classify this season as anything but a step backward for Lapierre. He’s tallied eight assists in 27 games but has no goals to show for and has seen his ice time cut dramatically in the last few weeks. He isn’t shooting the puck nearly as much as he was last year and is in clear need of a reset.

Lapierre’s demotion means that fellow youngster Ivan Miroshnichenko’s spot on the roster is safe for now. The 20-year-old Russian is the only other forward on Washington’s roster who wouldn’t have needed waivers for an AHL reassignment and was originally believed to be the eventual casualty of Eller and Alex Ovechkin’s return. He hasn’t taken any meaningful step forward in limited action this year with one goal and four points in 15 games averaging 9:24 of ice time per game.

Eller missed four games battling an illness. He’s expected to reprise his role down the middle of the team’s third line for their game against the Detroit Red Wings later this afternoon. Since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in an early-season trade, Eller has scored two goals and six points in 13 games in his second go-around in Washington.

Capitals Assign Seven Players To The AHL

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One day after being swept by the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals announced that they’ve assigned seven players to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Washington’s AHL affiliate is the top seed and are the defending Calder Cup champions.

The Capitals loaned goaltender Mitchell Gibson, forwards Ivan Miroshnichenko and Hendrix Lapierre, as well as defensemen Lucas Johansen, Vincent Iorio, Dylan McIlrath, and Hardy Haman Aktell to the Bears. The group will have an opportunity to make a deep playoff run in Hershey. Iorio, Johansen, Lapierre, and McIlrath were all part of Hershey’s Calder Cup championship team from last season.

Of the players being assigned to Hersey only Lapierre and Miroshnichenko played more than 20 NHL games this season. Lapierre dressed in 51 games for Washington posting eight goals and 14 assists as well as a goal and an assist in four playoff games. He tallied his first career postseason goal last night with a beautiful individual effort that tied the game at two.

Miroshnichenko dressed in 21 games with Washington this year, posting two goals and four assists. The 20-year-old was the Capitals first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and appeared mostly in the AHL this season where he had nine goals and 16 assists in 47 games.

Iorio, Johansen, and Aktell all appeared in six games for Washington this season, while McIlrath dressed in three NHL games. Gibson didn’t see NHL action this year and spent most of the season in the ECHL, aside from two games with the Bears.

Hershey opens their Atlantic Division Semifinals series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday at GIANT Center. Lehigh Valley swept the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in two games this past weekend and will be a big underdog against the Bears, especially with all the reinforcements that Washington has sent down.

Capitals Recall Hendrix Lapierre

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The Capitals summoned 2020 first-round pick Hendrix Lapierre from AHL Hershey on Friday, per a team release. Washington must open a roster spot to execute this recall, meaning either Nic Dowd or T.J. Oshie has likely been placed on IR. Dowd has been out for the last three days with an upper-body injury, while Oshie sustained a non-contact lower-body injury against the Lightning yesterday and is still undergoing evaluation, head coach Spencer Carbery said. Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports that Dowd will be the one heading to IR, ruling him out of Washington’s next two games.

Lapierre, 22, skated in 25 games for the Capitals earlier this season, scoring twice and adding five assists with a -3 rating while averaging a paltry 9:34 per game. He’s been in Hershey for the last month, where he’s taken a leap forward in his development with 17 points in 21 on the AHL’s best team.

Viewed as a top prospect heading into the 2020 draft, serious injuries limited his draft stock and allowed him to slip out of the top 15. He’s rebounded nicely, averaging over a point-per-game in juniors after his draft and demonstrating linear growth with Hershey.

Lapierre is a projected scratch for tomorrow’s game against the Panthers, although he may slot into the lineup in a bottom-six role if the Capitals opt not to have another recent call-up, Pierrick Dubé, make his NHL debut.

The Gatineau, Québec, native remains waivers-exempt in the second season of his entry-level deal. He carries a cap hit of $863.3K and will be an RFA in 2025.

Washington Capitals Activate Rasmus Sandin, Reassign Hendrix Lapierre

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Getting a valuable reinforcement back on the blue line, the Washington Capitals announced they have activated defenseman Rasmus Sandin from the injured reserve, and have reassigned forward Hendrix Lapierre to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

After the Capitals acquired Sandin from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, he quickly became one of the better defensemen on the roster, scoring three goals and 15 points in 19 games. Now being overshadowed by John Carlson as the team’s number-one defenseman, Sandin has been a tad less productive, only scoring 11 assists in 36 games played. Nevertheless, even though Sandin’s offensive production has slipped, he’s been much better defensively this year in Washington, as evidenced by his 90.5% on-ice save percentage in all situations, a 4.1% increase from last season.

Staying relatively healthy throughout his short stint with the Capitals, Sandin suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s January 3rd game against the New Jersey Devils, keeping him out of the lineup until tonight. Needing to get back into the swing of things after nearly a month away from gameplay, Sandin will likely slot into the third-defensive pairing next to Trevor van Riemsdyk.

To make room for Sandin’s return, the team decided to demote Lapierre, who has continued to struggle in his early days with Washington. Being the 22nd overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft, Lapierre has yet to make any real noise in the NHL, having only scored two goals and seven points in 25 games for the Capitals this season. In somewhat of a silver lining, Lapierre has been much more productive playing for the Bears, scoring 17 goals and 38 points over 71 games with one of the AHL’s most successful franchises.

Minor Transactions: 12/27/23

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After taking the past three days off with a 14-game schedule, the NHL gets back to action today. As such, many teams are adding to their roster today, undoing transactions made before their off days for the Christmas holiday.

  • One of those teams is the Blues, who recalled winger Mackenzie MacEachern from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds this morning. After spending last season with the Hurricanes, playing in eight playoff games en route to an Eastern Conference Final appearance, MacEachern returned to the team that drafted him on a two-year deal worth $1.55MM in free agency. A one-way contract structure suggested the Blues envisioned him having a spot on their roster out of the gate. However, he ended up as one of their final cuts before the regular season began and cleared waivers before being assigned to Springfield. He scored four goals and added eight assists for 12 points in 22 games there before the Blues recalled him earlier this month. MacEachern played in five games on his initial recall, recording one assist and averaging 9:04 per game. The Blues then papered him down to Springfield on Christmas Eve. MacEachern will likely be in the lineup tonight against the Stars.
  • The Lightning recalled defenseman Sean Day from AHL Syracuse, marking the veteran pro’s third recall in the last week-and-a-half. Day, 25, has eight assists in 17 games with Syracuse this season, his fourth in the Lightning organization. The former OHL exceptional status grantee has gone 87 straight games without a goal in the minors, last lighting the lamp on April 8, 2022. He’s been rostered for four NHL games this month but has been a healthy scratch each time. Even with Mikhail Sergachev expected to remain out of the lineup tonight with a lower-body injury, Day will likely watch from the box as the Lightning take on the cross-state rival Panthers.
  • The Capitals brought young forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko back up from AHL Hershey this morning. Lapierre, 21, and Miroshnichenko, 19, had appeared in each of Washington’s last three games before the holiday break and are expected to be linemates on a unit centered by Evgeny Kuznetsov tonight against the Rangers. Miroshnichenko, the 20th overall pick in 2022, is still looking for his first NHL point and has posted a -1 rating in 9:32 of his average ice time since his first career recall earlier this month. As NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti points out, the move suggests none of Washington’s three injured forwards – Sonny Milano, T.J. Oshie and Max Pacioretty – are ready to return for tonight’s game.
  • The Flyers recalled center Rhett Gardner from AHL Lehigh Valley after assigning him to the minors last Saturday. Gardner was rostered for the Flyers’ final three games before the holiday break but was a healthy scratch in all of them. The 27-year-old has yet to appear in a contest for Philadelphia after signing a two-year, two-way deal worth $825K in the minors and $1.5MM in the NHL in free agency and has just three goals and one assist in 21 games for Lehigh Valley this year.
  • Defenseman Grant Hutton was a participant at the Islanders’ morning skate Wednesday, suggesting the team has recalled him from AHL Bridgeport, per Newsday’s Andrew Gross. This is Hutton’s seventh recall since American Thanksgiving despite playing only two NHL contests. The Islanders have been keeping him in the minors as much as possible to extend his waiver-exempt clock, allowing them to keep him on the roster as their seventh defenseman on game days. Their ability to freely move him between leagues is coming to an end soon, though, as the 28-year-old can remain on the NHL roster for six more days until he requires waivers again to head to Bridgeport.
  • Former AHL All-Star forward Tanner Fritz has left the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, the club he has played almost all of his pro career with, to sign a two-year deal with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. Filling the forward spot opened by Fritz’s departure, Bridgeport recalled forward Jake Pivonka from their ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers. The Islanders originally signed Fritz as an undrafted college free agent out of Ohio State University, and he worked his way into the AHL by scoring 33 points in 43 games with the Islanders’ ECHL affiliate, the Kansas City Mavericks. Fritz ranks seventh all-time in points for Bridgeport, and will now head to a Minsk team that already boasts import talent such as Nick Merkley, Brett Ritchie, and Sam Anas. He’s going to attempt to aid Minsk’s offensive attack, a unit that has struggled this season as the team sits firmly outside of legitimate Gagarin Cup contention.
  • Former Florida Panthers prospect Thomas Schemitsch has signed a one-year deal with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star. He’ll likely join Kunlun at the conclusion of the Spengler Cup, where he is currently on Team Canada’s roster. The 27-year-old stands six-foot-four, 205 pounds and will bring size as well as over 300 games of experience in a top pro league (the AHL) to the Red Star blueline. Schemitsch spent last season with the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks, scoring 14 points in 49 games on 18:37 time-on-ice per game.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 12/24/23

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With no games on the NHL schedule until Wednesday, many teams snuck last-minute transactions in before the full roster freeze kicked in.  We’ve covered a handful of them here throughout the day in Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and St. Louis; here’s a rundown of the remaining moves.  All transactions are via the AHL’s transactions log unless otherwise noted.

  • The Capitals returned winger Ivan Miroshnichenko and center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey. Both players were recalled on Tuesday with Miroshnichenko making his NHL debut.  He was held off the scoresheet in his three appearances while Lapierre has five points in 14 games with Washington so far.
  • The Red Wings re-assigned center Austin Czarnik and defenseman Simon Edvinsson back to AHL Grand Rapids. Czarnik has been shuffled back and forth frequently this month and has one assist in 16 games with Detroit while Edvinsson, who was only brought up Saturday, made his season debut last night.
  • The Kings loaned Jacob Moverare back to AHL Ontario after playing just shy of 15 minutes last night versus Calgary. The 25-year-old has been recalled and sent back down ten separate times each since mid-November.
  • The Golden Knights have loaned goaltender Isaiah Saville back to AHL Henderson, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). He has been serving as their interim backup with both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson injured.  As Thompson remains on the active roster, Saville was eligible to be sent back down.  The 23-year-old was activated off SOIR earlier this month and has made three appearances for the Silver Knights.
  • The Bruins sent three players back to AHL Providence – defensemen Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon along with center Patrick Brown. Lohrei has five points in 17 games so far in his first full professional campaign while Wotherspoon is logging nearly 16 minutes a night in eight games with Boston.  As for Brown, he cleared waivers early in the season and has been brought up four separate times now; he has an assist in nine games at the top level so far.
  • Boston also made one other transaction as they converted defenseman Ian Mitchell from an emergency recall to a regular one, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Mitchell was recalled on Saturday and has two assists in 13 games with Boston so far.  The Bruins will now be ineligible to send him down until after the roster freeze lifts.
  • The Maple Leafs have returned center Pontus Holmberg to AHL Toronto. It’s the third time he has been sent back down since Wednesday as Toronto has been shuffling him up and down quite frequently.  The 24-year-old has an assist in eight games with the big club so far.
  • A day after recalling him, the Coyotes have sent center Justin Kirkland back to Tucson of the AHL. The 27-year-old had spent the full year with the Roadrunners prior to yesterday’s move, notching ten points in nine contests.
  • Grant Hutton is once again on the move as the Islanders have sent him back to AHL Bridgeport, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He has been recalled and re-assigned six times apiece in the last month and has been limited to just two appearances with New York so far this season.

Many of these transactions will be undone on the 27th or 28th as NHL teams return to action.  In the meantime, these teams will save a bit of salary money and cap space with these demotions.  Toronto and Ottawa’s moves could have AHL implications as well as their two affiliates will play on Tuesday so the players they sent down could suit up in that contest.

Capitals Recall Ivan Miroshnichenko, Hendrix Lapierre

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10:09 a.m.: Further to this morning’s news, the Capitals have now moved Oshie to injured reserve to free up an additional roster spot, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports. This is Oshie’s second time landing on IR this season after just recently returning from a six-game absence due to an upper-body injury. He’s now out with a lower-body ailment, and the IR placement will be retroactive to December 17, when he missed the team’s game against the Hurricanes. He will miss at least the team’s next three contests during his minimum seven-day stint on IR and will be eligible to return on December 27 against the Rangers.

9:23 a.m.: The Capitals recalled forwards Ivan Miroshnichenko and Hendrix Lapierre from AHL Hershey on Tuesday morning, a team release states. Both are high-end prospects and were first-round selections in the 2022 and 2020 drafts.

This is Miroshnichenko’s first NHL call-up. After spending the 2022-23 season in Russia in the Avangard Omsk organization, he signed his entry-level contract last May and was a late cut from the Capitals’ opening-night roster. He was technically listed on the NHL roster at the beginning of the season for salary cap management purposes but was assigned to Hershey one day later.

The call-up comes earlier than expected for Miroshnichenko, who was once viewed as a likely top-ten pick in 2022 but fell down the board due to some inconsistent play early in his draft year. That became secondary when he received a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in the middle of the 2021-22 season, ending his campaign. He was cleared to resume training before the draft after three months of treatments, though, leading the Capitals to select him 20th overall.

Thankfully, Miroshnichenko’s journey toward remission was quick and complete, and he returned to play in Russia just a handful of weeks into the 2022-23 campaign. He played in all three primary tiers of Russian hockey last season – the major-pro KHL, the minor-pro VHL and the junior MHL – but spent most of his time in the KHL, notching three goals and an assist in 23 games despite minimal ice time

A high-speed sniper, Miroshnichenko immediately impressed during his first training camp in Washington last summer, consistently earning himself looks among the Capitals’ likely top-six forward group in preseason games. Understandably, the Capitals didn’t want to rush the 19-year-old’s development and let him begin the season in Hershey to acclimate to the North American professional system.

The decision proved to be the correct one. Miroshnichenko hasn’t looked out of place in the minors, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 27 games, good enough for sixth on the team. His two-way play has unexpectedly jumped out as an impressive factor, too, leading Hershey with a +13 rating. It’s quickly looking like he can hit the top-ten potential he was billed for earlier in his development.

With T.J. Oshie expected to miss Wednesday’s contest against the Islanders and veteran minor-leaguer Joe Snively being sent to Hershey yesterday, all signs point to Miroshnichenko making his NHL debut tomorrow. He’s projected to occupy the left-wing spot on the Capitals’ third line alongside countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov and Matthew Phillips.

Lapierre comes up to the Capitals for the second time this season. Washington recalled the 21-year-old center in late October and played him in 11 contests, recording three points and a -2 rating while averaging 10:06 per game before returning him to Hershey two Saturdays ago.

He responded to the demotion well, recording two goals and three assists in five games with Hershey over the past week and a half, including a three-point effort against the Laval Rocket on Saturday. The 22nd overall selection in 2020 remains waiver-exempt and is in the second season of his three-year entry-level contract. He’s expected to sit as a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game.

Capitals Activate T.J. Oshie, Assign Hendrix Lapierre To AHL

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The Capitals will welcome back winger T.J. Oshie to their lineup tonight against the Rangers as they announced that he has been activated off injured reserve.  To make room for him on the active roster, Washington has assigned center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey.

Oshie has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury.  However, prior to the injury, things had not been going well for the 37-year-old.  Oshie had just one goal and one assist in his first 17 games of the season despite averaging 16:40 per night, nearly the identical ice time compared to a year ago when he collected 35 points in 58 games.

He’s hardly the only veteran Capital to struggle to score this season.  Washington enters tonight’s action dead last in the NHL in goals with 56 despite returning most of the same group from last season which finished 20th in the league in scoring.

As for Lapierre, he has spent the bulk of the season so far with Washington following a late-October recall, going in and out of the lineup when needed.  Overall, he has played in 11 games with the Caps, collecting a goal and two assists while logging just over ten minutes a night.  The 2020 first-rounder also has three assists in six contests with the Bears.  As one of only a handful of waiver-exempt players on the roster, he winds up drawing the short straw to return to the minors this time around.

Washington Places Dowd On IR, Recall Lapierre

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The Washington Capitals have placed forward Nic Dowd on injured reserved and recalled 2020 First Round pick Hendrix Lapierre from the Hershey Bears. Dowd has been out since the team’s October 18th game with an upper-body injury and will now miss an additional week of action, at least.

And while Washington was able to fill in for Dowd’s injury, they are also anticipating Sonny Milano to miss action with illness. This means the team will need to recall one more forward to ice a full lineup, as they’re not currently carrying any extra forwards. One possible option for this recall could be top prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko, who garnered a lot of attention during Washington’s training camp but narrowly missed the mark for the roster. He has five points through his first seven career AHL games.

Lapierre’s recall is an enticing one for Capitals fans anticipating what the former 22nd-overall selection could become. His only NHL action came in the 2021-22 season when Lapierre played six games and scored one goal. Last season was his first full year of professional hockey, with the winger netting 15 goals and 30 points in 60 regular season games and three goals and six points in 20 playoff games. Lapierre has three points in six AHL games this year, continuing his modest minor-league scoring.

Aliaksei Protas has slotted into the lineup in place of Dowd, recording one assist in six NHL games while averaging just shy of nine minutes of ice time. The 22-year-old forward was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft and has 97 career NHL Games under his belt, with 25 career points.

Trade Deadline Primer: Washington Capitals

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With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Washington Capitals.

The Washington Capitals find themselves in a sticky situation with the trade deadline approaching. On one hand, like all other teams currently in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals may as well have already clinched a postseason berth. The other eight clubs in the East are so far out of the playoff picture that Washington is not worried about “if” they make the playoffs. On the other hand, the Caps are also not looking like a top contender this season. For much of the past few months, they have just been jockeying for wild card position with the Boston Bruins, who currently sit five points behind but with three games in hand. In the Metropolitan race, Washington is soundly in fourth, trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins by five points themselves. With limited cap space favoring a quiet approach but an aging core with waning chances pushing to load up for another run, the Capitals are left with difficult choices on how to navigate this year’s deadline.

Record

28-15-9 (.625), fourth in Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Room

No base cap room, $1.913MM in deadline cap space with LTIR, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: WAS 1st, WPG 2nd, WAS 3rd, WAS 4th, WAS 5th, WAS 6th, WAS 7th
2023: WAS 1st, WAS 2nd, WAS 3rd, WAS 4th, WAS 5th, WAS 6th, WAS 7th

Trade Chips

Just how big of a swing will the Capitals take? That will go a long way to determining which of their trade chips are actually available. With a full complement of draft picks in each of the next two years, it is safe to assume that one or more of those will be dealt away. However, Washington would like to retain their first-round picks if possible. Acquiring depth options rather than top targets will help in that pursuit, but won’t help the Capitals to transform into a legitimate contender this season.

Major buyer or just value shopper, it safe to assume that top prospect Connor McMichael is off the table barring an unforeseen blockbuster, which will be hard to do with limited cap space. Though McMichael has been inconsistent this season and hasn’t often been afford top-six opportunity, he projects as a scoring forward and is a critical piece of the future for an aging Washington team with a lacking pipeline.

Can the same be said for Hendrix Lapierre? After making the Capitals out of training camp, Lapierre was returned to his junior team and has had an underwhelming season. However, he is still a promising prospect with a bright future. If Washington makes a big move, perhaps Lapierre could be the centerpiece, but otherwise he should also be off limits.

So which young pieces could be available? Though they have played meaningful NHL roles at time this season, that could only serve to boost the trade value of forwards Alexei Protas and Brett Leason. Both appear ready for full-time roles, especially for rebuilding teams, and their size makes them menacing physical threats on top of scoring prowess. Yet, their ceiling could be limited for both, making them potential trade victims if the Capitals decide to mortage the future this season.

Among other young pieces, AHL defensemen Alexander Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen have struggled to find their way on to the NHL roster and could be looking for a fresh start while sellers look for untapped potential. Even more youthful defensemen Vincent Iorio and Brent Johnson are also intriguing pieces, but the Capitals may not be eager to move on so soon.

Of course, with the Capitals linked to some goaltenders on the trade block and two young netminders on the roster, neither of whom would clear waivers, Washington may have no choice but to give up one of Ilya Samsonov or Vitek Vanecek in order to make that move. Both are impending restricted free agents and a case could be made to keep one over the other. Samsonov is younger yet also more experienced, but hasn’t played his best this season. Vanecek has been the better goaltender and may be more affordable to re-sign, but at 26 years old this next contract will be his last before unrestricted free agency. The Capitals may ultimately have to let the sellers choose which they prefer.

Other Potential Trade Chips: F Daniel Sprong, F Joe Snively, D Tobias Geisser, G Mitchell Gibson

Team Needs

1) Goaltending: The situation in the Washington net is fascinating. Multiple sources have reported that the Capitals are interested in adding a veteran goaltender before the deadline, with Marc-Andre Fleury among the names specifically mentioned. Yet, the team is actually seventh in the league in goals against per game making them statistically one of the best situated teams in net, even if they aren’t perfect. Admittedly, Samsonov, who leads the team in appearances, is having a down year with a .906 save percentage and 2.84 GAA, however it isn’t actually having a huge impact on the team and the amount of skepticism he has faced doesn’t seem entirely warranted. Despite some criticism of his own, Vanecek is quietly having a strong season, holding a .915 save percentage and 2.39 GAA. With that being said, he too has been inconsistent. Vanecek is currently sidelined with an upper body injury though, which may only amp up Washington’s alleged pursuit of another goalie. If the team doesn’t decide to swing for the fences for a new starter, they could instead look for an experienced third-string option that has cleared waivers and can be sent to the minors.

2) Top-Six Forward: On paper, an impact forward should actually be an even greater priority than a goaltender. While the Capitals are ranked 11th in scoring, two of their top five scorers are defensemen and there is a major drop-off from Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov and their 110 combined points and the rest of the forward corps. Making the situation even more pressing are the current injuries to Anthony Mantha and T.J. Oshie. The team could use scoring depth even if those two are healthy by the time the postseason kicks off, but if one or both are missing then an established top-six scorer would be a vital addition.

3) Depth Defenseman: The Capitals have run with a consistent and solid six-man defense group this season, though there is room for improvement. However, adding to the blue line is not the top priority and simply adding depth may be the way to go. Michal Kempny looks like a shell of his former self and Matt Irwin is not a dependable option, so beyond that top six there is a need for security. With Kempny, Irwin, and Justin Schultz on expiring contracts, Washington could be in position to add a defender with term if the opportunity arises. However, they may hold off and make a bigger move in the offseason.

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