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Nic Dowd

Nic Dowd Placed In COVID Protocol

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Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd has entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol ahead of the team’s game Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, per a team tweet. He did not practice today, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.

It continues what’s been a rough season health-wise for Dowd, who’s already spent time on injured reserve and has been limited to 16 out of Washington’s 24 games. It’s not been all bad news for the Alabama native, though, as he inked a three-year extension with the team last month.

In those 16 games, Dowd’s played extremely well, scoring three goals and four assists for seven points. He’s averaging 14:03 per game, an elevated role due to the onslaught of injuries the Capitals have faced early on in 2021-22.

Michael Sgarbossa, who has a goal in four games this season, will likely draw into the lineup. He’s Washington’s only remaining extra healthy skater.

In terms of players with NHL experience in the minors, Axel Jonsson Fjallby or Garrett Pilon could be called up, but they would both require waivers to be sent back down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Washington Capitals Activate T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd

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The Washington Capitals activated forwards T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd from injured reserve today, per a team release. In a corresponding move, the release states the team also reassigned forward Brett Leason to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Oshie’s been absent from the Capitals lineup since October 28, when he was designated as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. At the time, he was in the middle of a good start to the 2021-22 campaign with four goals and six points in seven games.

Dowd, however, has missed just a week and a half with this undisclosed injury. He’s been in and out of the lineup due to injury this year, but after the placement on injured reserve, the Capitals hope he’s good to go at 100%. The 31-year-old has a goal in nine games.

As Washington deals with a variety of absences that include Nicklas Backstrom, Anthony Mantha, and Lars Eller, Oshie’s and Dowd’s returns couldn’t come at a better time. Oshie likely returns as a veteran presence on a line with Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Garrett Pilon, while Dowd reprises his role as the fourth-line center between Carl Hagelin and Garnet Hathaway.

Despite all the injuries, Washington’s soldiered on to a 10-2-5 record this year and sit at second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Washington Capitals Give Nic Dowd Three-Year Extension

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The Washington Capitals announced Sunday afternoon that the team signed center Nic Dowd to a three-year extension worth $3.9MM. The deal, which spans from 2022-23 to 2024-25, will carry an average annual value of $1.3MM. Per PuckPedia, the structure of the contract is as follows:

2022-23: $1.6MM salary
2023-24: $1.3MM salary
2024-25: $1.0MM salary

Dowd will enter his fifth season with Washington in 2022-23. He’s been a reliable fourth-line center for the team since joining in free agency prior to the 2018-19 campaign.

The native of Huntsville, Alabama, is in the final year of a three-year, $2.25MM extension he signed with the team on April 11, 2019. In his Capitals tenure, Dowd has 27 goals, 26 assists and 53 points in 185 games played along with a 53.3% winning rate in the faceoff dot. He had a career-best 11 goals in 56 games last season while averaging 14:22 per game, also a career-high.

Dowd’s been limited to just nine games in 2021-22 due to a recurring lower-body injury, scoring just a goal in those nine contests. It’s his ability in the faceoff circle and reliable game that draw Washington’s coaching staff and front office to him, though.

As a variety of young prospects like Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre, and Brett Leason are close to becoming full-time players at the NHL level, Dowd will likely be a valuable pivot and mentor to help solidify the team’s bottom six.

Dowd will be 34 years old at the expiry of this contract extension.

Metropolitan Notes: Niederreiter, Reaves, Dowd

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The Hurricanes had plenty to be happy about on Friday night as they ran their winning streak to seven straight to start the season but it wasn’t all good news as Nino Niederreiter suffered a lower-body injury in the third period.  Speaking with reporters including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer postgame, head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that the winger could be “out for a while”.  Niederreiter, a five-time 20-goal scorer, was off to a decent start this season with three tallies in his first seven games and with this being a contract year, any extended absence certainly won’t help his cause when it’s time to work out a new agreement.  In the meantime, Niederreiter’s injury could open up a spot for Seth Jarvis to make his NHL debut.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • The Rangers are hoping that winger Ryan Reaves won’t miss more than the minimum seven days after being placed on IR Thursday, relays Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 34-year-old will be with the team on their upcoming four-game road trip and the hope is that he’ll be able to return over that stretch.  Reaves has logged nearly nine minutes per game in his first seven contests in New York.
  • Capitals center Nic Dowd suffered a lower-body injury in Friday’s morning skate, notes Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription link). Head coach Peter Laviolette expressed optimism that Dowd, who has won nearly 60% of his faceoffs this season, won’t be out for too long.  Brett Leason made his NHL debut in Dowd’s absence and Washington will need to make a roster move if they want to bring up another extra forward.  Dowd could be shifted to IR if he’s going to miss at least a week or defenseman Martin Fehervary – who’s waiver-exempt – may need to be sent down and replaced with a forward.

Injury Notes: Klingberg, Senators, Dowd

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It looks like the Dallas Stars will receive a huge boost for their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night in the form of a healthy John Klingberg. Head coach Rick Bowness said Sunday morning that Klingberg “should” return, but that the team won’t have full confirmation until tomorrow. The 29-year-old defenseman was injured in the team’s season opener and missed the succeeding four games, playing just 10:21 before suffering a lower-body injury. He’ll look to provide a boost with his offensive instincts to a team that’s scored just ten goals through their first five games.

More injury notes from around the league:

  • There’s some updates on the injury front in Ottawa, as TSN reports goalie Matt Murray has been moved to injured reserve with a neck injury after being run into by the Rangers’ Chris Kreider on Saturday afternoon. He’ll miss at least the next ten days. It also appears center Shane Pinto will be out for a shorter term than expected, as head coach D.J. Smith he’s only expected to be absent for a week or two. A prompt return would be a good break for both him and the team, as Pinto had begun to impress in a top-six role.
  • Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette says the status of Nic Dowd for the team’s one-game road trip to Ottawa on Monday night is in question. Dowd is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He played in all of the team’s overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, so even if he does miss that contest, it doesn’t appear he’ll be out for any sort of term. The native of Huntsville, Alabama has one goal in five games this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Sorokin, Zibanejad, Capitals

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Islanders goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin has been viewed as one of the top goalies not currently in the NHL for a few years now.  His early season performance has done nothing to change that sentiment as he has a 1.47 GAA and a .938 SV% through 18 games so far with CSKA Moscow (and both of those are actually a step back from his 2018-19 numbers).

While it has been a long wait to get the 24-year-old to North America, it appears that move could be on the horizon.  Sorokin’s KHL deal is up at the end of the season and Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports (Twitter link) that the netminder’s sole focus at this point is to get a deal done with the Islanders.  He’d undoubtedly be leaving some money on the table in the short term though as he’ll be subject to the entry-level system.  Thomas Greiss is a pending UFA and he recently indicated that he isn’t interested in having any discussion about a possible contract extension and if the plan is for Sorokin to come to the NHL next year, it’s quite likely that Greiss’s spot will be the one he takes.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • Rangers center Mika Zibanejad did not accompany the team for their two-game road trip which started tonight in Ottawa, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post. There was initially some hope that his upper-body injury wouldn’t keep him out for too long but it has now nearly been four weeks since he last suited up.  The good news for New York is that he took part in a practice on Thursday, albeit without contact.  Head coach David Quinn stated that Zibanejad will need to take part in a full practice and take contact before getting the green light to return which should have him in line to come back sometime next week.
  • The Capitals will be without center Nicklas Backstrom for a second straight game due to an upper-body injury, notes Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The veteran is listed as day-to-day.  Meanwhile, while fellow center Nic Dowd is eligible to be activated off IR from his hand issue, he hasn’t been cleared to return just yet and remains day-to-day.

Washington Capitals Make Several Roster Moves

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With Garnet Hathaway expected to get some sort of suspension for his spitting incident, the Washington Capitals needed to make some roster moves. Today, the team has recalled Beck Malenstyn, Michael Sgarbossa, Tyler Lewington and Ilya Samsonov while returning Vitek Vanecek to the minor leagues. These moves are designed to give them depth options and maximize the amount of salary cap relief available when they placed Carl Hagelin on long-term injured reserve. Nic Dowd, who was also a potential candidate for the LTIR list, has been placed on regular injured reserve.

With Nicklas Backstrom also set to miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, the Capitals will likely be without four of their regular forwards should Hathaway get suspended. That leaves quite the opening for some of these younger players to get an opportunity.

This is one of the biggest problems with spending right up to the cap, as Washington has to deal with tricky CBA machinations just to fill their roster each night. Injuries and suspensions only complicate the matter further. Hagelin will now be out until at least December 2nd.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. 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 2019-20 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: $82,864,294 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

G Ilya Samsonov (two years, $925K)
F Jonas Siegenthaler (one year, $714K)

Potential Bonuses

Samsonov: $550K
Siegenthaler: $83K

The one failing of the Washington Capitals and their dominance of their run over the years has been their inability, lately, to develop young talent that can step in. Again there are few players on entry-level contracts who can help ease the Capitals’ salary cap. However, the team believes that they might be close to bringing in their top prospect in Samsonov. The talented Russian goaltender finally arrived in North America last season and had mixed results in his first year in the AHL. However, Samsonov is likely to get a long look in training camp this season and even if he doesn’t make the team, he’s due to make his NHL debut at some point this season. After all, the Capitals must figure out quickly whether they have their future No. 1 netminder.

Siegenthaler finally looks ready to step into a permanent role on the Capitals’ blueline. The 22-year-old showed promise last year in 26 regular season games and even saw some playoff action with four games last season. The defensive defenseman is a perfect addition to a defense that is still dealing with injuries.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Nicklas Backstrom ($6.7MM, UFA)
G Braden Holtby ($6.1MM, UFA)
D Radko Gudas ($2.35MM, UFA)
D Christian Djoos ($1.25MM, RFA)
F Chandler Stephenson ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Travis Boyd ($800K, RFA)
F Brendan Leipsic ($700K, RFA)

Washington will have a big decision to make next offseason as they have two of their core pieces who will become unrestricted free agents and with serious cap issue for several years coming, the team will almost assuredly have to make a tough decision and are likely to lose at least one of them for nothing next summer. Neither is likely to be traded considering the team is strong enough to compete for a Stanley Cup, but the team just can’t afford both. The most likely scenario is the team finds a way to retain Backstrom, but will be forced to let Holtby go, considering that top goaltenders have been cashing in and the Capitals likely won’t have the money to keep him around. Of course much could change, but considering that Washington does have a top goaltending prospect who is almost ready for the NHL, losing Holtby might be an easier blow to take than losing Backstrom.

The remaining group will have to prove their worth. The most interesting player could be Gudas, who is considered a likeable locker room guy, but the Capitals will have to wait and see how well the veteran blueliner fits in with their defense and what the cost of retaining him in the future will be.

Two Years Remaining

F Alex Ovechkin ($9.54MM, UFA)
F Jakub Vrana ($3.35MM, RFA)

While it’s hard to imagine a Capitals team without their star in Ovechkin seems highly unlikely, Washington will have to see whether they can convince their star to re-sign. He’ll be 36 years old by the time he signs his next contract, which means he has quite a few options and while re-signing with Washington is the most likely possibility, the veteran has a number of options which could include returning to Russia to finish his career. Signing with Washington also could hinge on how the Capitals will look in two years. If the team looks like an aging team that has little real chance at winning a title, Ovechkin could also look elsewhere in the NHL for a last chance for a Stanley Cup. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger suggested a while back that Ovechkin might be a good fit with Vegas in a couple of years, suggesting that his relationship with George McPhee could be enough to bring him over there.

The team needs Vrana to continue his development. A player who struggled and was a big question mark at this time a season ago, Vrana answered a lot of questions last year with a 24-goal, 47-point season. If he can continue that success and be a consistent top-six player, the team will likely have hand him a long-term deal in two years.

Three Years Remaining

D Michal Kempny ($2.5MM, UFA)
G Pheonix Copley ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Nic Dowd ($750K, UFA)

The team lacks many major contracts here, but if Kempny continues to prove to be a solid defensive presence on Washington’s blueline, the team may have to hand out a significant contract. While the defender will be out for the start of the season and remains an unknown after a season-ending hamstring injury, he has proven to be quite reliable since the Capitals acquired him back at the trade deadline in 2018. Copley, who posted solid numbers as a full-time back-up goalie, likely will hold down his job, but will be challenged by Samsonov, who the team hopes will be their goalie of the future.

Four Or More Years Remaining

D John Carlson ($8MM through 2025-26)
F Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8MM through 2024-25)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM through 2024-25)
F Tom Wilson ($5.17MM through 2023-24)
D Dmitry Orlov ($5.1MM through 2022-23)
F Lars Eller ($3.5MM through 2022-23)
F Carl Hagelin ($2.75MM through 2022-23)
F Richard Panik ($2.75MM through 2022-23)
D Nick Jensen ($2.5MM through 2022-23)
F Garnet Hathaway ($1.5MM through 2022-23)

The bulk of the team’s contracts are here with plenty of money being dedicated to the team between the next four to seven years. Many of these players will likely not be worth the money they are paying for them by that time and much will depend on whether Washington can supplement the team with young, cheap talent. However, the core of the team comes down to Carlson, Kuznetsov, Oshie and Wilson, all of which are currently key to the team’s status as threats to capture another Stanley Cup in the next few years. Carlson, who hits 30 at midseason, put up another phenomenal numbers last year, scoring 13 goals and a career-high 70 points. Kuznetsov had a slight down year, but could be a candidate for a big bounce-back season. Oshie continues to put up solid numbers, 25 goals last season, but will turn 33 during the season and will be 39 before his contract expires, which could go bad quickly. Wilson’s contract doesn’t look nearly as bad, especially after posting career highs in goals (22) and points (40).

Orlov saw his goal-scoring numbers drop, but he still has been a key figure on the team’s defense. Although he saw his ATOI drop by a minute in a half, the team still believes that Orlov is a top-pairing defender. The team hopes that Jensen might provide the same value at a much cheaper price. Jensen, acquired from Detroit and immediately extended for four years, gives Washington even more depth on the team’s blueline. He only averaged 17 minutes in his 20 games with Washington, but he could return to the 20 minutes he was averaging when he was with the Red Wings.

Washington has started to put more effort into bringing in cheaper players, who they think can contribute to the team long-term such as Hagelin and Panik, who were both locked up as the team believes both can contribute as middle-six players for a number of years.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Wilson
Worst Value: Oshie

Looking Ahead

The Capitals are a team that have made it clear years ago that they were going for it. They succeeded finally, winning a Stanley Cup after the 2017-18 season. However, they looked just as formidable last year, despite a first-round exit in a grueling seven-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, expectations continue to be high that this veteran laden club can continue to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. With a number of their players already in their 30’s, the question will end up being how long can they keep this up? The team is capped out and will be for years to come, so they could lose quite a bit of talent over the next few years and with one of the weakest group of prospects in the league, the team will have to be quite clever with the cap to keep the team relevant.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Hedman, Ferland, Hamilton, McKenna, Simmonds

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It looks like the Tampa Bay Lightning will be without another key player Sunday. Already without the suspended Nikita Kucherov, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns reports that star defenseman Victor Hedman will miss Game 3 with an unknown injury.

Head coach Jon Cooper said earlier today that Hedman would be a game-time decision, but now Braydon Coburn is on the ice, taking Hedman’s place. Hedman has been playing injured in the first two games of the playoffs.

  • There won’t be any supplementary discipline from Saturday’s Game 2 between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes despite a number of controversial hits. Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said that neither Micheal Ferland or Dougie Hamilton will receive any attention from the Department of Player Safety, according to News & Observer’s Luke DeCock. Ferland gave a big hit to Washington’s Nic Dowd, but the angle looks like Ferland hit through Dowd’s body and did not aim for the head. Hamilton’s elbow to Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov was also heavily criticized, but it wasn’t believed that the elbow had enough force for supplementary discipline.
  • Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Mike McKenna sent out a tweet Sunday, saying he would have a “humongous big announcement” coming on Monday. While there no confirmation what it is about, speculation has risen that McKenna might be ready to announce his retirement. AHLcom’s Tony Androckitis wrote that the 36-year-old McKenna was leaning towards ending his career Saturday night after the Lehigh Valley Phantoms ended their AHL season. “I’m pragmatically saying I’m not sure,” said McKenna. “It’s going to take an awful lot to convince me to play again I think. In terms of what I need to have happen for my family, more so than me.” McKenna, who could be considered an AHL-lifer, made 11 NHL appearances this season — 10 with Ottawa and another one with the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s made 35 NHL appearances over the course of his career.
  • NHL.com’s Robby Stanley reports that Brian Boyle remains “ill” and is day-to-day for Monday’s Game 3 matchup with the Dallas Stars. Boyle missed Game 2 with the flu. The scribe adds that there still isn’t an update on the status of Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds left Saturday’s game after taking a puck to the knee. A update is expected on Monday.

Nic Dowd Signs Three-Year Extension

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The Washington Capitals have decided to lock up some center depth. Nic Dowd experienced a career year playing on the Capitals’ fourth line this season, and the team has rewarded him with a three-year contract extension. The deal carries an average annual value of $750K, and will keep Dowd under contract through the 2021-22 season.

Now 28, Dowd is about to make his NHL playoff debut after finally finding a home with the Capitals this season. Originally a seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2009, he had only once played more than 40 games in a season prior to 2018-19. This year saw him record eight goals and 22 points in 64 games while anchoring the fourth line, something he’ll likely do for the next few seasons.

That is, unless the Capitals find a better option during that time. Though Dowd has found some financial and career stability with this deal, there’s no reason to believe that the Capitals wouldn’t move on if an upgrade presented itself. The $750K cap hit is nearly the league minimum—in fact it will be by 2021-22—meaning it can be buried in the minor leagues if the team needs a bit of flexibility. Still, Dowd could very well show that he can be a valuable member of the team over the next few weeks given his penchant for scoring timely goals. Of his 17 career NHL tallies, six have been game-winners.

The expansion draft is another thing to consider when looking at a three-year deal for a depth forward. As it was with the Vegas draft two years ago, teams must expose at least two forwards that are under contract for 2021-22 and played at least 40 games the previous year or 70 the previous two combined. While that doesn’t seem like a very tough thing to do, having a player like Dowd meet the criteria is an easy way to give you some flexibility as the draft approaches.

This obviously isn’t a franchise-altering deal for the Capitals, but it is an effective way of insuring you have cheap options for the fourth line moving forward. The team has been stuck in a precarious cap situation the last two seasons, resulting in decisions like burying Devante Smith-Pelly in the minor leagues because of his relatively expensive $1MM salary. He couldn’t serve as an extra forward because the team simply needed the addition cap room to make necessary injury moves. Dowd will now give them that veteran option who can slot into several spots and likely pass through waivers if needed because of the length of the deal.

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