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Senators Trade Jakob Chychrun To Capitals

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The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators, per a team announcement. Ottawa is receiving defenseman Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick in return. The deal comes nearly a year and a half after the Senators acquired Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick.

Chychrun should immediately step into a top-four position on the Capitals blue line next to a shutdown defenseman. On a subpar Senators team, Chychrun put up 14 goals and 41 points in 82 games with 16 of those points coming while on the team’s powerplay.

There is some critique of Chychrun’s game on the defensive side of the puck as he finished the 2023-24 season with a -30 rating on the team’s top-pairing. In Chychrun’s defense, Ottawa was plagued by uniquely bad goaltending during the regular season which could have also factored into Chychrun’s 88.0% on-ice save percentage in all situations. The young defenseman finished the year with an expected +/- of 0.4 according to HockeyReference which shows some of Chychrun’s poor defensive metrics were in part due to the Senators’ style of play.

Heading to Ottawa is Jensen who has two years remaining on a three-year, $12.12MM extension signed with Washington towards the end of the 2022-23 regular season. Heading into the 2023-24 season, Jensen was coming off a stretch of 153 games with the Capitals in which he scored 10 goals and 50 points from the blue line. Jensen would only score one goal and 14 points in 79 games for the Capitals this season in a disappointing follow-up.

Becoming more apparent by the day that Chychrun was unwilling to sign an extension with the Senators, the team can get out from under his contract while keeping their defensive structure in place. Chychrun will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season as the 26-year-old defenseman is approaching the end of a six-year, $27.6MM contract originally signed with the Arizona Coyotes.

Capitals Re-Sign Connor McMichael

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The Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Connor McMichael to a two-year, $4.2MM contract. The deal will carry an annual cap hit of $2.1MM. McMichael was Washington’s last restricted free agent after the team traded Beck Malenstyn to the Buffalo Sabres.

McMichael stood as Washington’s biggest hurdle this summer. He played in all 82 games this season, recording 18 goals and 33 points, successfully besting the meager 18 points, split evenly, that he managed as a rookie in the 2021-22 season. McMichael gapped the two NHL years with a Calder Cup-winning season with the Hershey Bears, scoring 39 points in 57 AHL games along the way.

McMichael was selected 25th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, following a 72-point season with the OHL’s London Knights. He quickly vindicated the selection, potting 102 points in just 52 games in his last season in the OHL. But he hasn’t gotten off to the smash start at the pro level that many hoped for. Instead, he’s starting to slowly find his footing as a centerman capable of being leaned on down the lineup. He’s a flashy, high-energy forward when he finds his stride, though those moments can sometimes be few and far between. A two-year deal will give McMichael, who’s still just 23, a chance to further solidify his NHL standing and craft an argument for a raise when he becomes a restricted free agent in 2026.

Capitals Re-Sign Ethen Frank, Chase Priskie, Mitchell Gibson

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July 1, 9:01 a.m.: Washington has made both of these depth extensions official, also inking RFA goalie Mitchell Gibson to a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$100K AHL). Gibson, 25, was a fourth-round pick of the Caps in 2018. Last year was his first pro season after a four-year career at Harvard. He played mostly with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, recording a .899 SV%, 2.56 GAA and three shutouts in 42 games.

June 30, 8:14 p.m.: Just hours after issuing a qualifying offer to Ethen Frank, the Capitals have reached an agreement on a new contract with him.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed the forward to a two-year contract.  The NHL portion is the minimum of $775K in both years while the AHL salary is $250K next season before converting to a one-way agreement for 2025-26.

Meanwhile, PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the Caps have also re-signed pending UFA blueliner Chase Priskie to a one-year, two-way agreement.  The deal pays $775K in the NHL and $400K in the minors.

Frank only has two full professional seasons under his belt after a five-year NCAA career.  In his rookie campaign, the 26-year-old put up a strong 30 goals and 19 assists in 57 games with AHL Hershey.

This past season, he followed it up with a similarly strong showing, notching 29 goals and 18 assists in 64 regular season games.  Despite that, he didn’t receive a recall from Washington during the season.  Frank finished up on a high note, collecting 10 goals and seven assists in 18 postseason appearances, helping the Bears take home the Calder Cup.

As for Priskie, the 28-year-old has four career NHL appearances under his belt from 2021-22 with Florida but has played exclusively in the minors since then.  This season, he had eight goals and 26 assists in 69 games with Hershey before adding 14 more points in 20 playoff contests.  He’s in line to play a big role for them again next season.

Capitals Were Not Looking To Move Malenstyn

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  • Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports that the Washington Capitals previously had zero intentions of moving forward Beck Malenstyn this summer but the Buffalo Sabres gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse. After scoring six goals and 21 points in 81 games for the Capitals this season in a middle-six role, the organization moved Malenstyn for the 43rd overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. Washington used the pick to select defenseman Cole Hutson out of the US National Team Development Program after scoring 15 goals and 51 points in 51 games.

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Capitals Acquire Logan Thompson

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The Washington Capitals have acquired goaltender Logan Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Pick 83 this year and Washington’s 2025 third-round pick, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link).

This trade gives Washington a quick answer to the question of who was going to fill Darcy Kuemper’s role after he was swapped for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Kuemper served as Washington’s preferred starter last year, though he was limited to just 33 appearances as a result of injury and personal absences. He also wasn’t near his normal self in the games he did play, recording just 13 wins and an .890 save percentage, the first sub-.900 season of his career.

In Kuemper’s absence, Charlie Lindgren staked a strong claim on Washington’s starting role. He recorded 25 wins and a .911 save percentage through 50 appearances, showing the potential to win games for the Capitals when their offense wasn’t moving. He faltered a bit in the postseason – allowing 14 goals on 93 shots as the Capitals got swept – but Lindgren’s left his mark all the same, commanding the NHL starting role after just one year in a full-time backup position.

Lindgren should be the favorite to hang onto Washington’s starting role again next year. After all, he’s now the highest-paid goalie on the roster. But he’ll face like competition in Thompson, who assumed Vegas’ starting role to good effect in the wake of injuries to Adin Hill. Thompson, 27, recorded 25 wins and a .908 save percentage in 46 games this season, continuing the strong start to his NHL career that began in 2021. He’s since totaled 58 wins and a .912 save percentage through 107 career games. That’s a fantastic track record to acquire via trade, especially for a contract that’s technically cheaper than the veteran’s minimum of $775K.

Thompson will join what should be a fun competition for goalie minutes, fighting with Lindgren and Hunter Shepard. Thompson’s consistency could speak to the highest upside of the three.

For their part in supporting Washington’s goaltending room, Vegas receives a pair of picks and a bit more freedom with their own goalies. Adin Hill has proved dazzling when he stays healthy, bosting a career .910 save percentage through 139 games. He’ll now be the team’s unquestioned starter heading into next season, while Jiri Patera and Isaiah Saville will compete for the backup role, pending another move.

Sabres Acquire Beck Malenstyn From Capitals

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The Buffalo Sabres have acquired the rights to pending-restricted free agent Beck Malenstyn from the Washington Capitals, sending Pick 43 in the 2024 NHL Draft the other way.

Beck Malenstyn was one of two notable RFAs in Washington’s system, alongside forward Connor McMichael. The two headlined a stressful summer for the Capitals – who are facing three remaining free agents, including McMichael and Max Pacioretty, with just $7.6MM in cap space if you factor in the team receiving LTIR relief for Nicklas Backstrom. Having recently acquired the ever-cheap Logan Thompson, Washington now sits just two contracts short of a full NHL roster.

For their role in helping Washington sort out their summer, Buffalo receives the hefty frame of Malenstyn, who carved out a meaningful role on Washington’s third line as a rookie this year. He recorded 21 points and 25 penalty minutes in 81 games through his inaugural season – more points than he’s managed in any one AHL season, despite spending the last four years with the Hershey Bears. Before his move to the Capitals lineup, Malenstyn’s career-high sat at just 16 points, recorded in 65 games with Hershey in 2021-22. He even took a step back in scoring last year, posting just 10 points in 40 games while supporting Hershey to their first of back-to-back Calder Cups.

Now headed to Buffalo, Malenstyn will serve as relief to a Sabres team that may lose each of Zemgus Girgensons, Victor Olofsson, and Eric Robinson to unrestricted free agency. If that is the case, Malenstyn would vie for a strong role on the third-line wing, though he’ll face pressure from top prospects like Matthew Savoie, Isak Rosen, and Jiri Kulich.

Capitals Acquire Andrew Mangiapane

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After adding Pierre-Luc Dubois to shore up their center depth, the Capitals have struck a deal to add an upgrade on the wing.  The team announced that they’ve acquired Andrew Mangiapane from the Flames in exchange for Colorado’s 2025 second-round pick (previously acquired).

The 28-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22, scoring 35 goals after putting up 35 in the previous two seasons combined.  Hoping that this was a sign of things to come, Calgary inked Mangiapane to a three-year, $17.4MM contract, buying out his final RFA year plus two more years of club control.

However, Mangiapane hasn’t quite been able to replicate his output from that season.  In 2022-23, his output dipped to 17 goals and 26 assists while this season, it went down a bit more as he noted 14 goals and 26 helpers although it’s worth noting that he missed seven games due to injury.

With Calgary committing to a rebuild after being sellers during the season along with moving starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey earlier this month, it makes sense that they were looking to move Mangiapane.  They now have two first-round picks and two second-round selections in the 2025 draft while they now sit with just under $29MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  That positions them to be aggressive in free agency or on the trade front if they so desire as only four teams have more space to work with.

Meanwhile, Washington, who is picking up his full salary, was one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league this season and only had three players put up more points than Mangiapane did with the Flames, center Dylan Strome, winger Alex Ovechkin, and defenseman John Carlson.  Clearly, GM Brian MacLellan correctly identified that if the Capitals are going to take a step forward and try to push for a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division, improvements offensively are going to be needed.  An expected late second-round pick is a reasonably low enough cost to pay for a short-term upgrade.

With taking on additional salary in the Dubois trade and now adding nearly $6MM with Mangiapane, the Capitals are now technically over next season’s salary cap with just over $90MM in commitments, per CapFriendly.  However, with Nicklas Backstrom and his $9.2MM AAV expected to remain on LTIR next season, Washington still has some flexibility to work with although some of that will be needed to re-sign RFA forwards Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn at a minimum.  T.J. Oshie’s availability for next season is also in some question and if it’s determined that he won’t be able to play, Washington would be able to add another $5.75MM to its LTIR pool.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Daniel Winnik Announces Retirement

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Versatile forward Daniel Winnik has retired, as he announced on his personal X page this morning. A veteran of 11 NHL seasons, Winnik had a respectable journeyman career, suiting up for eight major league teams after being taken in the ninth round of the 2004 draft by the Coyotes. The 39-year-old last suited up in the NHL in 2018 before heading to Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League, where he’s spent the last six seasons.

“For the past 19 years, I have lived a dream, from signing my first contract with the Phoenix Coyotes to my last with Geneva Servette,” Winnik wrote in his announcement. “Some experiences I thought would only remain dreams became reality: being coached by Wayne Gretzky, playing for my hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and representing Canada at the Olympic Games.”

As expected for a late-round pick, Winnik took a few years to break into the NHL. But unexpectedly, he wasn’t a depth piece or a fringe player subject to endless recalls and reassignments. Instead, he immediately cemented himself as a full-time piece for Phoenix upon making his debut in 2007-08, making 79 appearances in his rookie season while contributing 11 goals and 26 points in 14:06 of ice time per game, a good portion of which came on the penalty kill. Winnik spent the first three years of his NHL career with the Coyotes, recording 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists) in 202 games before they traded him to the Avalanche for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 offseason.

In 2010-11, Winnik rediscovered his valuable depth-scoring contributions from his rookie season, matching his 11 goals and 26 points in 80 games for the Avs while averaging 16:33 per game, the most he’d played at that point in his career. He was also one of Colorado’s most-used forwards in shorthanded situations that season, averaging 2:44 per game while down a man. Unfortunately, he was slugging it out on an Avs team that finished with only 68 points, earning them the right to select future captain Gabriel Landeskog with the second-overall pick in that summer’s draft.

Winnik was dealt again to the Sharks midway through the 2011-12 season, beginning a run of playing for seven different teams in the final seven seasons of his NHL career, including two separate stints with the Maple Leafs. He would also end up logging action for the Capitals, Ducks, Penguins and Wild, although he only managed to play more than 150 games for one team, the Coyotes. His career-defining season was split between Toronto and Pittsburgh in 2014-15, recording a career-high 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 79 games and a +23 rating, earning him a second- and fifth-place vote in Selke Trophy polling.

However, after completing a one-year, $660K contract with the Wild in 2017-18, which saw him produce six goals and 23 points in 81 games, there wasn’t much interest in his services stateside. That led him to head to Geneva, where he broke out immediately as one of the best two-way threats in the top-flight Swiss league. Over six seasons with the club, he recorded 91 goals and 234 points in 270 games, winning three major trophies – a Spengler Cup in 2020, an NL championship in 2023, and a Champions Hockey League title this season. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, contributing a goal and an assist in five appearances.

Ultimately, Winnik ended his NHL career with 82 goals, 169 assists, 251 points and a +52 rating in 798 games. We all at PHR congratulate Winnik on such a lengthy stint in the pros, especially for a ninth-round pick.

Sergei Berezin Passes Away At Age 52

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Earlier today, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former player Sergei Berezin at age 52. Berezin, born in Voskresensk in 1971, spent seven seasons in the National Hockey League from 1996-2003.

Berezin started his professional career in his home town of Voskresensk in the early 1990s while playing for Khimik Voskresensk of the Soviet Hockey Championship league. Joining the league as a professional talent shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Berezin was able to play with Vyacheslav Kozlov who was born in the same town as Berezin a year later. Although several former Soviet players defected to the NHL before the collapse of the state; many players still faced harsh difficulties in pursuing a professional career in North America.

Berezin’s time would come, as he was drafted in the 10th round (256th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1994 NHL Draft after becoming a point-per-game player in Voskresensk in the now-defunct International Hockey League. After a brief stint in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1994-1996, Berezin finally made his professional debut for the Maple Leafs for the 1996-97 NHL season.

Typically playing in the middle six of Toront’s forward core; Berezin quickly became a key secondary scorer. In his rookie campaign, Berezin scored 25 goals and 41 points in 73 games earning him seventh place in Calder Trophy voting. In the following four years, all with the Maple Leafs, Berezin would score 101 goals and 179 points in total over 284 regular season games. He contributed well for Toronto in the playoffs with 12 goals and 27 points over 40 postseason contests.

Following his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Berezin bounced around through four organizations over the next two seasons. He experienced some revival during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2001-02 season with 18 goals and 31 points in 66 games — but was largely ineffective during his time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals.

Berezin retired from the NHL after the 2002-03 NHL season and spent one more in the Russian Superleague with CSKA Moscow. The Russian forward played in 502 games throughout his NHL tenure and scored 160 goals and 286 points. PHR sends its condolences to Berezin’s family and friends.

Capitals Not Done Making Moves

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia wrote today that the Ottawa Senators have been linked to Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson. He didn’t go into much detail about the link, but it’s not the first time there has been mention of a link between Gibson and the Senators. Ottawa has been pushing hard to improve their netminding and has held talks on Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark since before the NHL trade deadline.

The Senators are desperate to improve their goaltending which has been a disaster since Craig Anderson left town in 2020. The 30-year-old Gibson hasn’t been a strong netminder for years but has been paid like one and still has three years left on his deal at an AAV of $6.4MM. It seems unlikely Ottawa will pursue Gibson at his current price point; however, they could entertain him if they can’t make a deal with the Bruins for Ullmark or if Anaheim is willing to retain some of Gibson’s cap hit.

In other Eastern Conference notes:

  • Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period tweeted that he believes that forward Matvei Michkov’s arrival to the Philadelphia Flyers will give the team a bit of leverage in their contract negotiations with right winger Travis Konecny. The Flyers have a difficult decision looming with Konecny, as the 27-year-old is just a year out from unrestricted free agency and there have been rumblings that he is seeking $10MM annually on his next deal. With Michkov likely on his way to Philadelphia, the Flyers could see him as a Konecny replacement, and possibly pivot to an exploration of the trade market for Konecny.
  • The Washington Capitals recently swapped goaltender Darcy Kuemper for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois but are apparently not close to done re-shaping their roster (per Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts). The Capitals have some in-house free agents to take care of but will be able to bring everyone back if they want to. The team badly needs to address their offense, and while Dubois should help in that regard, he can’t be the only piece they add if they hope to improve upfront. Washington scored just 220 goals last season, good enough for 28 out of 32 teams and can no longer rely on their power play to carry them.

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