Confirmed: Orlov Signs One-Year Deal With Capitals
The Washington Capitals and Dmitry Orlov agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.57MM. Orlov was a restricted free agent this summer, and while his contract will keep him as an RFA next summer, he is arbitration-eligible. The signing wraps up the Capitals’ obligations right before training camp opens.
Orlov is currently playing on Team Russia’s blueline in the World Cup of Hockey and averaging around 20 minutes a game. Last season he scored 8G and 21A in 82 games for the Capitals, but remains a bottom-pairing defenseman because of a stacked Capitals’ blueline.
The signing leaves Washington with approximately $880K in salary cap space to start the season. The Caps have little wiggle room to add, however, and will have to manipulate the cap creatively in order to make space at the trade deadline. The deal itself seems team friendly, but if Orlov continues to progress he is in line for a healthy raise next year.
2016-17 NHL Over/Unders
After giving us their opening Stanley Cup odds last week, Las Vegas odds-maker Bovada was back at it again today, releasing their over/under for each NHL team’s total points in the upcoming season. Not included on the list (below) are the Dallas Stars, who were left off the board by the odds-makers until more information is available regarding the injury to Tyler Seguin. The Stars are an unpredictable pick at this point regardless, as both Seguin and Jamie Benn are banged up, Valeri Nichushkin is suddenly gone, and the defense is still a risk following the departure of three starters.
While the points projections generally mirror the Stanley Cup odds, Bovada has certainly predicted some interesting scenarios. Despite having the highest Cup odds in the East, the Penguins are again expected to finish behind the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division. On second thought though, a slow start to the regular season for the defending champs would not be much of a surprise, nor would another postseason collapse for Washington. Elsewhere in the division, the Islanders and Rangers are projected to be in a dead heat for that final divisional seed, with the loser slipping into a wild card spot. Staying in the East, they see the Canadiens and a healthy Carey Price skyrocketing from their 82 point finish a year ago to 96.5 points in 2016-17, with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators taking a corresponding dip in the standings. Out West, the battles atop each division promise to be similarly tight as they were last season, but the projected jump by Calgary and Edmonton of 10+ points from bottom dwellers to playoff contenders may be a story to watch. The good news for Vancouver Canucks fans is that they’re expected to finish with more points this season than last. The bad news? It will be good enough for last place in the league.
The easiest over to take out of this group is likely the St. Louis Blues. Although they lost captain David Backes and have to see if Jake Allen can handle his bigger workload in net, the Blues are set at 101.5 points, a mark they have beaten easily in each of the past three seasons. The Ottawa Senators are another good over, as they have hardly changed their roster this summer and finished with 85 points last year and more than that the two years prior. Their 80.5 line seems unwarranted unless you believe the rest of the Atlantic Division is in for a big year. That seems unlikely, especially when it comes to the aforementioned Canadiens, who are an easy under. Yes, the loss of Price for much of 2015-16 hurt the Canadiens, but they also had a lot of trouble scoring goals as well. The effects of the trade-off between P.K. Subban and Lars Eller for Shea Weber, Andrew Shaw, and Alexander Radulov have yet to be seen, but one would think that it’s not enough to justify a 14 or 15 point increase in points. The Oilers, somewhat obviously, are also a good choice for an under. If this many seasons of “this is the year” followed by a lottery pick haven’t tempered your expectations of Edmonton yet, nothing will. Even if they do finally improve in 2016-17, will it really be to a high-80’s point total? Doubtful.
Washington Capitals 107.5 points
Tampa Bay Lightning 106.5 points
Pittsburgh Penguins 103.5 points
Chicago Blackhawks 102.5 points
St. Louis Blues 101.5 points
San Jose Sharks 100.5 points
Los Angeles Kings 99.5 points
Anaheim Ducks 98.5 points
Florida Panthers 98.5 points
Nashville Predators 98.5 points
Montreal Canadiens 96.5 points
New York Islanders 95.5 points
New York Rangers 95.5 points
Minnesota Wild 94.5 points
Boston Bruins 92.5 points
Detroit Red Wings 90.5 points
Philadelphia Flyers 89.5 points
Calgary Flames 87.5 points
Edmonton Oilers 87.5 points
Winnipeg Jets 87.5 points
Colorado Avalanche 86.5 points
Columbus Blue Jackets 84.5 points
Buffalo Sabres 83.5 points
New Jersey Devils 82.5 points
Ottawa Senators 80.5 points
Toronto Maple Leafs 80.5 points
Carolina Hurricanes 78.5 points
Arizona Coyotes 76.5 points
Vancouver Canucks 76.5 points
Capitals And Orlov Expected To Agree To Terms
Update: Orlov and the Capitals have agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.57MM. Orlov will remain a RFA next year, but he will be arbitration-eligible.
According to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and the Washington Capitals are close to getting a new contract signed.
Citing multiple sources, Khurshudyan is expecting a one-year contract worth “something in the neighborhood of $2.6 million”.
The Capitals have approximately $3.45MM in cap space for the upcoming season, according to Cap Friendly. Orlov made $2.25MM in 2015-16, his most successful campaign in the NHL.
However, Orlov is looking for a bigger role this season after averaging just 17 minutes-per-game thus far in his career. Earlier this off-season, coach Barry Trotz said he’s looking for Orlov to play top-four minutes this season with John Carlson or Matt Niskanen at even strength, and to contribute at both special teams disciplines.
More to come.
Snapshots: Capitals, Zetterberg, Team Canada
Washington Capitals fans will get a taste of what could have been on Wednesday night, when Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom and former Capitals first-rounder Filip Forsberg line up together for Sweden in D.C.
Forsberg told NHL.com’s Katie Brown that playing with his countryman Backstrom was a dream of his when he was drafted by the Capitals back in 2012. Unfortunately for Capitals fans, it didn’t work out that way as Forsberg was dealt to Nashville for Martin Erat in one of the worst trades in recent memory. Forsberg told Brown “it’s pretty cool” to play with Backstrom, even though “a lot has changed since then”.
In other news out of D.C., Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports that Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov isn’t sure where he’s going to end up playing next season. Orlov posted 29 points in 82 games last season, posting good possession numbers while averaging just over 16 minutes per game. Coach Barry Trotz said he’s looking for Orlov to play top-four minutes with John Carlson or Matt Niskanen at even strength, and to contribute at both special teams disciplines.
[Related: Capitals’ depth chart at Roster Resource]
The 25-year-old Russian is coming off a two-year contract worth $2.25MM per season, and will likely be looking for a raise on that. Based on the Capitals’ salary cap situation, Khurshudyan estimates the most the Capitals could give Orlov is around $2.6MM. That has lead to Sergei Fedorov, former Capital and GM of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow to contact Orlov’s agent. CSKA owns his KHL rights, and expressed interest in bringing him over to Russia, even if it’s just for one season. Despite the interest from overseas, Orlov says he enjoys playing in the NHL and “would like to stay there, but I don’t know how it’s going to happen. We’ll see.”
In other news from around the hockey world:
- Henrik Zetterberg was forced to pull out of the World Cup of Hockey with a knee injury. The Red Wings tweeted Monday morning that while Zetterberg is expected to be healthy for the season opener, his participation in training camp is still to be determined.
- Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that Team Canada’s lines have not changed at practice on Monday. Forward Claude Giroux took a maintenance day, so the only rotating lines were Jake Muzzin and Jay Bouwmeester splitting time with Drew Doughty. Also according to Johnston, the power-play units have changed, with Sidney Crosby heading up the first unit with Joe Thornton, Corey Perry, Tyler Seguin, and Brent Burns. Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews, John Tavares, Ryan Getzlaf, Steven Stamkos, and Doughty are manning the second unit.
- In an appearance on TSN 690 in Montreal this morning, Bob McKenzie said he was encouraged by “how ridiculously hard” the Canadians and Americans played in their pair of pre-tournament games. McKenzie said fans can thank John Tortorella’s strategy of wanting to “maul [Canada] a little bit” for that. The veteran broadcaster compared the games to a late-night men’s league, laughing “it’s fun. Just go out there for a little skate… then there’s one guy out there… one guy does something stupid, and then suddenly it’s on. Next thing you know, you’ve got the constabulary being called in.”
Can’t-Miss Games Of The 2016-17 NHL Season: October
The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games of October:
Oct. 12th – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators
The puck drops on a new NHL season at 7pm ET in the Canadian capital, as the Sens host the Leafs in a rivalry match-up. With #1 overall pick Auston Matthews and newly acquired keeper Frederik Andersen expected to be among many new faces in the Toronto lineup, the Leafs will have a clean slate as they start the year off against old friend Dion Phaneuf and an Ottawa team looking to get back to the playoffs.
Oct. 12th – Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers
Later that night, the Oilers will open the brand new Rogers Place for it’s first NHL regular-season game, as they welcome their Alberta rivals. Edmonton will definitely be curious to see if the newly-acquired Adam Larsson can help to slow down the Flames’ dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Leaving behind Rexall Place and the many memories (though few good ones in recent years) they had there, the Oilers will look to start the season off on the right foot in a new building, while Calgary hopes to play spoiler.
October 13th – Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The home opener for the 2015-16 Stanley Cup champs comes against none other than the 2015-16 President’s Trophy winners, as fans are treated to a battle of talent and intensity between two fierce rivals on just Day 2 of the NHL season. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will each look to start off strong and lead their teams to victory, as the Penguins begin a title defense and the Capitals begin another long march toward that elusive Stanley Cup championship.
October 20th – San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have another big game a week later, this time against their Stanley Cup competitors, the Sharks. The 2016 Stanley Cup final was one of the best in recent memory, with immense speed and talent on both sides and young goalies Martin Jones and Matt Murray standing on their heads. Though nothing can make up for falling short when it mattered most, you can bet that captain Joe Pavelski and the Sharks will be fired up for some revenge in this game.
October 23rd – Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets will get their first taste of outdoor hockey, as they square off against the Oilers in the Heritage Classic. Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, will host the game as these two Canadian teams look to battle it out, and at least put on a better show than the much talked-about Alumni Game.
Capitals Notes: Johansson, Eller, Holtby
After playing last season on a one year, $3.75MM deal, Capitals forward Marcus Johansson is looking forward to having more stability this year, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. Back in July, he inked a three year, $13.75MM contract, one that also affords him a small bit of no-trade protection in the form of a five team no-trade clause. As Johansson notes, not having looming contract talks takes some of the pressure off:
“Especially family-wise, it feels good. You still always put pressure on yourself to do well, and I think that’s never going to change for anyone. It’s just mostly off the ice with the family and all, you can, you know, relax and settle in a little bit more and just focus on the game.”
Johansson is coming off his third straight 40+ point season, picking up 17 goals and 29 assists in 74 games while averaging 16:38 of ice time per game. He also had a solid postseason, adding a pair of goals and five helpers in 12 contests with a 16:41 ATOI.
The 25 year old battled through an injury late in the year and told CSN Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir that he is 100% recovered although he wouldn’t specific what or where the injury actually was.
Last season, Johansson shifted between the left wing and center despite not playing the latter position much in the previous three seasons. However, that shouldn’t be the case this season as the addition of Lars Eller from Montreal should free him up to focus primarily on the wing. Johansson is certainly a fan of that as well, noting that it will be nice to just “focus on one thing at a time”.
With the roster as it stands, there’s a good chance that Johansson will start on the left side on the second line behind Alex Ovechkin at that position.
More from Washington:
- Speaking of stability, Eller is looking forward to playing center full-time this season instead of shuffling positions, Khurshudyan wrote in a separate column. Eller spent time both there and on the left wing last year with the Canadiens but noted that he’s “never hidden the fact that I like to play center the most” and that he couldn’t be happier to be at center this season. With both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom at the World Cup of Hockey, Eller will open up camp as their top pivot, meaning he should have a chance to showcase his offensive skills before settling in to his two-way bottom six role when the season gets underway next month.
- Goaltender Braden Holtby’s World Cup of Hockey mask features a tribute to Canadian band The Tragically Hip and he will auction it off with the proceeds intended to go to the charity of the band’s choice, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Holtby enters the tournament as the presumed backup goaltender to Carey Price but he will have a chance to debut the mask on Saturday night as he is expected to play half the game in Canada’s second exhibition game against the USA.
World Cup Injury Scares
One reason team executives and coaching staffs aren’t too keen on tournaments like the World Cup of Hockey is the fear one of their top players might get hurt playing in a meaningless – to them anyway – exhibition. If, for example, the Capitals lost Alex Ovechkin for any significant duration due to an injury playing in the World Cup, Washington’s chances to compete for a Stanley Cup would take a major hit. So general managers and head coaches nervously watch these games with the hope that no one gets injured and thus consequently derailing a team’s playoff hopes.
We’re just one warm-up game and a handful of practices into the tournament and already have seen a number of injury scares to key players. Here’s a quick rundown.
- Vladimir Sobotka of the Czech Republic was injured in Thursday’s game with Team Russia and according to early reports, was transported to the hospital with an apparent shoulder/clavicle injury. Tom Gulitti of NHL.com later reported that x-rays were negative and that there was a chance Sobotka would be available for Saturday’s return tilt against Russia. However, Gulitti followed up via Twitter this morning and said that Sobotka is indeed out for tomorrow’s contest. Roman Cervenka would have ultimately replaced Sobotka in the lineup but he won’t be available in time to suit up tomorrow. Instead the Czechs will be forced to ice seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Sobotka has spent the past two seasons in the KHL but was expected to return to North America and the Blues for the 2016-17 campaign. After losing Troy Brouwer and David Backes to free agency, the hope was Sobotka would be able to pick up some of the slack in St. Louis. Even though he may miss some time in the World Cup, the early indications are the injury isn’t too severe, much to the relief of the Blues and their fans.
- The Chicago Blackhawks experienced a bit of a scare when Marian Hossa left Team Europe’s game against Team North America after a puck struck his right foot causing the veteran Slovak to sit out the third period. But after a quick trip to the hospital revealed just a bruise, Hossa is expected to continue on in the tournament though he might still sit out future World Cup exhibition games as a precaution, according to Scott Powers writing for The Athletic. The 37-year-old Hossa, whose offensive output dropped last season to just 33 points in 64 games, is still a vital cog in the Chicago lineup due to his outstanding two-way play.
- Earlier it was reported that superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist may have injured himself while on a golf outing ahead of the World Cup of Hockey. However it was later revealed he took a shot to the ribs during a practice and that he was indeed good to go for the tournament. According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com (via Twitter), Lundqvist is in fact expected to get the start between the pipes tomorrow and play the whole game for Team Sweden.
- The news isn’t quite as good for fellow Swede and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger. Again according to Rosen, Kruger suffered an upper body injury which caused the pivot to miss the final 7:39 of regulation and all of OT in the game against Finland (both links via Twitter). With Kruger out for tomorrow’s contest, Team Sweden will insert Mikael Backlund into the lineup in Kruger’s place. Backlund, of course, was added to the Swedish roster as a replacement for Henrik Zetterberg.
World Cup Notes: Grubauer, Kopitar, Caps
With the news hitting yesterday that Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen will miss 3-4 weeks with an injured shoulder, thus taking him out of the running for the upcoming World Cup, Team Europe has announced his replacement today. Philipp Grubauer will join the squad as the third goaltender, suiting up behind Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss. Grubauer, a Washington Capitals product, played in 22 NHL games last season and put up a 2.32 GAA with a .918 SV%.
The 24-year old has performed well for his native Germany in international competition before, including three recent Olympic qualifying matches. Grubauer led his team with a 0.67 GAA in the three matches and helped Germany lock up a spot for 2018.
- Recently named Los Angeles Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar is getting used to having a letter sewn into his sweater, as Team Europe named him captain today for the tournament. Kopitar is the most talented player on the roster, and represented his home country of Slovenia remarkably over the years. He also recently led his team to a qualifying spot at the next Olympics, scoring five points in the three games.
- With the Capitals sending both of their goaltenders to the World Cup (Braden Holtby will be suiting up for Team Canada), Mike Vogel reports that the team will bring in Drew MacIntyre to fill a spot in their training camp. MacIntyre split last season between the Charlotte Checkers and Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, his 14th professional season. The 33-year old has six games of NHL experience, playing for the Canucks, Sabres and Maple Leafs.
Injury Notes: Rask, Krejci, Andersen
After working all season to rehab his injured shoulder, Victor Rask now tells Ben Pope of The News & Observer that he’s one-hundred percent healthy and ready for another big season. “I think I had a good season last year but I also want to improve and get better for every season. I think this year’s going to be even better,” said Rask, who played much of last season in a shoulder brace, still scoring 21 goals and 48 points in just his second NHL season.
“I’m just excited for the future and I think we’ve got something really good going on here.” Indeed, the Hurricanes have a strong young core of players going forward, with Rask, Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm up front and one of the youngest defense corps in the league. The team will hope Rask has another level this season, and can push Skinner for the team lead in points again.
- According to a report from Roman Jedlicka of TV NOVA Sport, Czech Republic and Boston Bruin forward David Krejci will not be playing in the upcoming World Cup after hip surgery earlier this summer. Krejci is still expected to be ready for the beginning of the season, though Bruins fans should definitely keep an eye on his status as we head into September.
- Aivis Kalnins gives us some more news from the KHL, as Ilya Samsonov has reportedly been placed on injured reserve. Sampsonov was the first goaltender taken in the 2015 draft, 22nd overall by the Washington Capitals, and was slated to see an increased work load for Magnitogorsk Mettalurg this season.
- Also from Kalnins, the Danish Hockey Federation is expecting that Frederik Andersen, who was injured earlier today in an Olympic qualifier should still be available for the World Cup, where he was selected by Team Europe as one of three goaltenders (Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss were the other two). Elliotte Friedman adds that Andersen is being flown back to Toronto to be examined by team doctors, with the injury simply being listed as “upper body”, and Kristen Shilton of TSN says it’s his shoulder.
Snapshots: Las Vegas Trademarks, Madden, Reirden
One way or another, it seems as though the “Knights” will suit up in Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season. The NHL reports that their newest expansion team filed for three trademarks last week: Golden Knights, Silver Knights, and Desert Knights. Team owner Bill Foley reportedly wanted the team to be named the Black Knights, after the Army Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy, which he attended. Eventually, it sounded like he had settled on just “Knights”, but the team had trademark contention with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Now it appears as though a color (or climate) will end up attached to Knights. While the double entendre of “Las Vegas Knights” won’t be as clean, the first team called the Knights in major North American pro sports will still be a nice addition to the National Hockey League.
In other news:
- Another team with recent name news, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, announced the hiring of John Madden as their new head coach. Formerly known as the Lake Erie Monsters, the Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate is fresh off of a Calder Cup championship in 2015-16. As a result, head coach Jared Bednar was a top NHL head coaching candidate this off-season, and was officially named the new head coach of the Colorado Avalanche last week. In need of a new coach for their AHL team, the Blue Jackets brass targeted Madden as their first choice and it appears that there was mutual interest. The long-time New Jersey Devil was fired this off-season after three years as an assistant with the Florida Panthers, the team with which he finished his playing days, but now moves on to another stage of his hockey career. A veteran of nearly 900 NHL games and a strong two-way player, Madden has the knowledge and experience to teach the young Monsters skaters how to play a complete, responsible game.
- In another coaching move, the Washington Capitals announced that they have promoted Todd Reirden to associate coach. Reirden has served as an assistant coach to Barry Trotz for the past two seasons, and has been given long looks by both the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames as a potential head coach in that time span. As associate coach, Reirden will hold on to his previous responsibilities of working with defenseman and the power play unit, but will also be in charge of running training camp while Trotz is away at the World Cup.