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Washington Capitals Acquire Rasmus Sandin

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The Toronto Maple Leafs said this week that there were ways to recoup some of their recently traded draft capital, and it didn’t take long. The Washington Capitals have acquired Rasmus Sandin from the Maple Leafs in exchange for Erik Gustafsson and Boston’s 2023 first-round pick, as confirmed by Toronto.

The move comes just after the Maple Leafs landed Jake McCabe to shore up their defensive group, ultimately pushing Sandin out of the regular lineup. The 22-year-old defenseman has been unable to keep a grip on that full-time role, even with outstanding underlying metrics through his first few NHL seasons.

In 140 career games, Sandin has ten goals and 48 points, averaging just under 17 minutes a night. It seemed as though he was turning a corner with Toronto this season, but instead will have to find his way with a new organization.

Signed to a two-year contract last summer, Sandin carries a very reasonable $1.4MM cap hit and can contribute in several ways for the Capitals. After they moved Dmitry Orlov, he should find playing time next season and could run the team’s second powerplay unit. There’s plenty of upside still left in the first-round pick, though his size and foot speed will always likely limit him to a middle-pairing ceiling in the NHL.

Still, you can see that the Capitals aren’t content with a full rebuild while their core is still in place. Flipping a first-round pick (despite how late it will be in the first round) for a young defenseman gives them a chance to quickly rebound and try to compete again in the 2023-24 season.

For Toronto, that pick might not be in their pocket for very long. The team still has to make another move to clear enough cap space to activate Matt Murray, and they now have another chip to waive in any trade discussions.

Not to be forgotten in this deal is Gustafsson, who has 38 points in 61 games this season as an all-offense defenseman. The curious thing is where he fits into the lineup right now, as like Sandin, he currently projects outside of their top group. The Maple Leafs essentially kept their defensive depth intact with this move, though with Gustafsson being a UFA, they are sacrificing it in future seasons.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to break the trade.

Minnesota Wild Acquire Marcus Johansson

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Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin has been clear that he thinks his group deserves an addition at the deadline, and now he’s made one. The Wild have acquired Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick.

This is Johansson’s second stint with Minnesota, though he may still have nightmares about his first go-round. After being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in 2020, the versatile forward would play 36 games for the Wild during the regular season before breaking his arm in a game three playoff loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Surgery and a seven-game elimination followed, ending his time with Minnesota prematurely. Johansson will get to rewrite history this time, joining the Wild ahead of another playoff run.

With a bit of a rebound after some disappointing seasons, Johansson has 13 goals and 28 points in 60 games for the Capitals this season. The left-shot forward can play center in a pinch, and adds another capable NHL option to the Minnesota lineup—one that currently leans heavily on one line to do most of the heavy lifting. Johansson’s goal and point totals would put him fifth on the Wild, who have gotten little production from players like Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway.

For Washington, expiring contracts are must-trades unless an extension is possible. The club has already thrown in the towel on this season by trading long-time defender Dmitry Orlov, and might as well sell off anything else that’s not tied down.

Getting a third-round pick for Johansson is a nice return, though it should be pointed out that they invested more than just the one-year, $1.1MM contract he is currently playing on. Last year at this time, it was Washington trading for him at the deadline, sending Daniel Sprong and two draft picks (a fourth and a sixth) to the Seattle Kraken. This is the fifth time he has been traded in his career, and the third at the deadline.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN broke news of the deal on Twitter.

West Notes: Karlsson, Chychrun, McDonough

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With Timo Meier already out the door, many have wondered if even more big changes will be coming to the San Jose Sharks before Friday’s trade deadline. More specifically, many have wondered if two-time Norris Trophy winner and leading defensive scorer Erik Karlsson could be traded. According to Karlsson himself, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to be a possibility. In speaking to The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak, Karlsson said “it would be weird” if Sharks GM Mike Grier asked him to waive his no-trade clause just a few days before the deadline, indicating that it would be a complete shock at this point if he were dealt in the next few days.

While the 32-year-old has had a vintage season (he’s on pace to score 105 points) Karlsson’s $11.5MM cap hit through the 2026-27 season has seemingly presented a significant obstacle toward finding an agreeable trade. The Edmonton Oilers have been widely rumored as having had interest in acquiring Karlsson, only for any trade talks to stall once the issue of retained salary came under the microscope. Despite his stellar play, it could be the Sharks’ reported unwillingness to retain a major chunk of Karlsson’s average annual salary (more than $1-2MM per year) that has thrown a wrench in any blockbuster mid-season deal happening.

  • With Karlsson seemingly off the market, the top defenseman on the market before Friday’s deadline is widely considered to be Arizona Coyotes blueliner Jakob Chychrun. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta issued an update on Chychrun’s status, tweeting that trade “talk has picked up,” although no trade is expected to be imminent. He also adds that the Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, and Carolina Hurricanes are “three of the teams very much in the mix” to acquire Chychrun.
  • Northeastern University captain Aidan McDonough has had a strong senior season for the Huskies, scoring 36 points in 31 games, and is nearing a significant decision regarding his professional career. He’ll have the ability to choose his pro destination this summer and could potentially sign with a different team besides the Vancouver Canucks, the club that selected him 195th overall at the 2019 draft. Per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, McDonough “is still very open to signing in VAN,” and his ultimate decision is “not far away.” It’s likely that quite a few teams would be interested in adding McDonough, so should Vancouver get him it would be a quality addition to their prospect system.

Deadline Notes: Capitals, Dumba, Foote

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The Washington Capitals are in unfamiliar territory as they became deadline sellers when they traded Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the Boston Bruins. It doesn’t sound like this is the beginning of a massive selloff though. According to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic, general manager Brian MacLellan is not interested in moving pending unrestricted free agents Nick Jensen, Conor Sheary, Trevor van Riemsdyk or Erik Gustafsson for small returns. Quite the opposite, as he is interested in bringing back all four if they are open to an extension. He also has interest in keeping winger Connor Brown who played only four games this season before tearing his ACL.

El-Bashir also notes that the Capitals may flip some of the assets they received in the Orlov/Hathaway deal and try to add before the deadline. Jakob Chychrun is of interest to them. Chychrun has been sitting out for over a week now waiting for a trade from the Arizona Coyotes and has two more years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.6MM.

  • The Minnesota Wild have had an up-and-down season but appear to be firmly entering the buyer category ahead of the deadline. A recent hot streak has propelled them to within two points of Central Division leading Dallas Stars. This should put talk of Matt Dumba’s availability to rest. Joe Smith of The Athletic reports that Wild general manager Bill Guerin said Dumba would be tough to replace and he is not looking to move the right defenceman with his team playing so well.
  • One right-shot defenceman that is available is Cal Foote. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports the Tampa Bay Lightning are open to moving the 24 year-old defender. The Lightning have already traded their first and second-round picks in 2023 and first-round pick in 2024 so they are low on assets at this deadline. Their general manager Julien BriseBois has stickhandled around sticky cap situations before and will have to do the same this season to add before Friday’s deadline.

Marcus Johansson Misses Saturday's Game Due To Illness

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  • We’re at the time of the year when players on expiring contracts being absent is worth keeping track of. However, while the Capitals were without Marcus Johansson for their game this afternoon against the Rangers, NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti relays (Twitter link) that the winger has a non-COVID illness.  Johansson is on an expiring deal that carries a $1.1MM cap hit and has 28 points in 60 games this season which could draw some interest around the league.

Capitals Looking To Rebuild On The Fly

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Anything you can do, I can do better. After a report emerged earlier today that the Pittsburgh Penguins have shown interest in Jakob Chychrun, rival Washington Capitals have also now been linked to the Arizona Coyotes defenseman. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Capitals are hoping to “rebuild on the fly” and, after yesterday’s trade of Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway, now have the assets to pull it off if it gets that far.

The Penguins and Capitals are in similar situations, trying to contend as many times as possible while their franchise icons are still on the ice. Neither one is guaranteed to make the playoffs this season, meaning it will be quite the task to retool quickly enough to challenge for the Stanley Cup. In the meantime, the Capitals have recalled Aliaksei Protas from the minor leagues to fill the last vacated roster spot.

West Notes: Krug, Olofsson, Eller

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St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug is set to return to the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, head coach Craig Berube told reporters today. It ends a brief absence stemming from a lower-body injury.

It’s been a bumpy road for Krug in 2022-23, who’s missed significant portions of the season. This is the fifth separate occasion he’s missed time with a lower-body injury, including a 13-game-long absence through December and January. Krug’s ice time has dipped below 20 minutes this season, and his -28 rating is tied for the worst on the team. He’ll return to his usual spot alongside Justin Faulk.

  • After being sent down yesterday, the Dallas Stars have brought forward Fredrik Olofsson back up from the minors. The 26-year-old has been a frequent call-up as of late, and he’s recorded a goal and three assists in 15 games with Dallas on top of 14 points in 37 games with AHL Texas. Olofsson will draw back into the lineup tomorrow against the Vegas Golden Knights as Luke Glendening and Joel Kiviranta remain sidelined with injuries.
  • The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun covered the Washington Capitals’ trade deadline plans in his latest piece and listed pending unrestricted free agent center Lars Eller as a potential fit for the Colorado Avalanche. Eller’s offense has taken a step back this season, recording just seven goals and 16 points in 58 games, but he’d be good depth insurance for an Avalanche team that’s thin at center. As Colorado begins to string wins together ahead of the trade deadline, they hope some depth additions combined with healthy stars propel them back into the “contending” category of teams.

 

Latest On Nick Jensen, Erik Gustafsson

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The Washington Capitals have some decisions to make regarding their defensive corps, as reported by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun on Twitter. The team has been in contract talks with pending unrestricted free agent defensemen Nick Jensen and Erik Gustafsson; however, given the fact they were in negotiations with Dmitry Orlov before trading him to the Boston Bruins yesterday, it’s no guarantee that Jensen and Gustafsson remain Capitals through the trade deadline.

General manager Brian MacLellan essentially deemed his team a seller with the Orlov trade, as Washington now sits at the back of the pack regarding the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. Jensen and Gustafsson are valuable role players who could fetch decent deadline returns, but they’d also hold value for future seasons in Washington. Injuries have taken an enormous toll on the team, pushing them toward the back of the conference, and they’ve vowed to remain competitive while Alex Ovechkin chases the all-time goals record. With John Carlson being the only defenseman signed for next season, it’s feasible that the Capitals would try to hold onto one or both of Jensen and Gustafsson.

Boston Bruins Acquire Garnet Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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

Washington Capitals To Scratch Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway

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

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

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

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

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