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Capitals Notes: Goaltending, Wilson, Laviolette

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Today was exit day for the Washington Capitals, and as part of that, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan spoke with the media. The biggest revelation coming from his media appearance regards the team’s goaltending situation, as he shed some light on how the team views their current tandem of goaltenders and what strategy they will take towards the position in the offseason. MacLellan said, as relayed by Samantha Pell of The Washington Post, that the team’s “top priority” regarding their goaltending is to acquire a veteran netminder. MacLellan also added that it’s “possible” that both of the team’s current goalies, Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek, (who are each eligible to become restricted free agents with arbitration rights) return next season, but that the priority is to add a veteran to the team.

Both Samsonov and Vanecek, who are 25 and 26 years old, respectively, had seasons to forget. For Vanecek, his regular season was solid (42 games played at a .908 save percentage) but he unraveled in the playoffs, not even making it to the end of game two before being pulled for Samsonov. Samsonov, on the flip side, had a poor regular season, posting only an .896 save percentage in 44 games. Although he did better in the playoffs (.912 in five games) he still failed to make the saves required for the Capitals to defeat the Florida Panthers. By virtue of both goalies needing a new contract, this offseason the Capitals are afforded the financial flexibility to choose a new direction in net. The Capitals intend on remaining competitive during the remaining years of Alex Ovechkin’s career, and MacLellan’s statements make it clear that the organization deems a veteran goaltender necessary to give their captain a chance at winning a second Stanley Cup. If their prior courtship of Marc-Andre Fleury is any indication, it seems MacLellan and the Capitals will be going fishing for a major addition to their crease this offseason.

Now, for some other notes regarding the Capitals:

  • Tom Wilson, one of the Capitals’ most important forwards, did not play very much in their short playoff run. He scored a goal but suffered a knee injury that MacLellan today said would have cost him the entirety of the Capitals’ playoff run, should they have made it into the next few rounds. Per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, the team will make a decision in the next few days on whether Wilson needs surgery. Even with a potential surgery in mind, MacLellan did express optimism that Wilson would be ready to play by the start of next season. The Capitals rely on Wilson’s goal-scoring and physicality to win games, so if they want to hit the ground running for next season’s campaign getting Wilson back to full health will be a major priority for the team.
  • This season marks coach Peter Laviolette’s second behind the bench in Washington, and his combined 80-41-17 record over those two seasons is reflective of how well he has done in getting the most out of the Capitals’ players.  But despite that regular-season success, the Capitals have bowed out in the first round in both years of his tenure, and as a result, with Laviolette set to enter the final season of his contract, MacLellan was asked about Laviolette’s future in Washington. Per Gulitti, MacLellan made the point that he wanted to keep conversations regarding Laviolette’s contract situation private, but was complimentary about his coach’s work during this regular season and playoffs. While some more frustrated Capitals fans may want to see a change behind the bench after two straight early playoff exits, it seems that the organization has full faith in Laviolette being the right coach to bring the Capitals their second Stanley Cup.

Carl Hagelin’s Eye Injury Could Threaten Career

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Veteran forward Carl Hagelin was enjoying another solid season this year when suddenly it came to a screeching halt. The Washington Capitals winger suffered a mysterious eye injury at some point in early March, which was only disclosed once he underwent surgery on March 6. He was deemed out “indefinitely” and did not return this season. Speaking at the Capitals’ end of the year media availability today, Hagelin filled some of the gaps in his injury story and provided a glimpse into the future.

According to Hagelin, his eye injury was a “freak accident” that occurred in practice. A high stick caught him under the visor and hit him “right in the eyeball”. The incident ruptured the choroid in the back of his left eye, a collection of blood vessels responsible for the health of the eye. It has taken not one, but two surgeries to repair the injury. However, the repair is not complete. In fact, Hagelin states that he will never get full vision back in his eye and does not know how it will impact his attempt at a return next season.

Hagelin is signed through the 2022-23 season and hopes to honor that contract. He is optimistic that he can overcome his damaged vision and has been receiving support from Detroit Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal in his recovery. Staal, who was teammates with Hagelin with the New York Rangers, suffered a serious eye injury early in his career, but was able to return. Carl Soderberg is perhaps the greatest beacon of hope. The former NHLer suffered an even more serious injury to his left eye while still playing in Sweden early in his career. The injury required numerous surgeries over a months-long hospital stay and left Soderberg legally blind in that eye. Despite all that, Soderberg went on to have a full NHL career. Hagelin noted that he will learn from Staal and Soderberg, including copying their oversized visors if he does return, and hopes to find the same success in his recovery.

Washington Capitals Recall Pheonix Copley

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The Hershey Bears are out of the Calder Cup playoffs after losing on Monday to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, so the Washington Capitals are bringing up another goaltender. Pheonix Copley has been recalled to the NHL, while Hunter Shepard is officially assigned to the Bears, even though their season is over.

Copley, 30, will likely serve as the team’s emergency backup as they try to stave off elimination at home. The Capitals are down 3-2 in the series against the Florida Panthers and will try to force a game seven this evening, meaning any goaltending emergencies will be covered by a netminder with plenty of professional experience. Copley has 31 appearances in the NHL and was excellent for Hershey this year, posting a .913 save percentage in 35 regular season games.

Notably, Tom Wilson was back on the ice this morning for the Capitals as well, though he will not play tonight. The physical forward is dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out since game one when he saw just three shifts before exiting.

Joe Snively was also back with the group but he remains on long-term injured reserve for the time being.

Jamie Benn, Evgeny Kuznetsov Earn Fines

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out a pair of fines today, sanctioning forwards Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Washington Capitals.

Benn earned a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable under the league’s collective bargaining agreement, for high-sticking Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane in the Stars’ 4-2 win last night. The incident in question took place halfway through the second period. There was a scramble for the puck after a Jake Oettinger save, and Mangiapane, who was behind the net, was being held in place by Stars defenseman Ryan Suter. Benn appeared to poke Mangiapane’s face with his stick through the net, and although the incident was a bit difficult to see in the initial broadcast it was clear enough for the Department of Player Safety to fine Benn.

As for Kuznetsov, his fine is also for high sticking, with his victim being Panthers forward Noel Acciari. In his incident, which took place late in the first period, Kuznetsov and Acciari were engaged with one another in a typical after-whistle scrum, and in the incident, Kuznetsov raised his stick and hit the face of Acciari, an action that necessitates a fine.

In both of these instances, the player who was the victim of the infraction was not injured or subject to any major issues as a result of the fined actions. The actions that led to these fines were largely unnecessary and avoidable, so it’s likely that these punishments were handed down as a means of getting two star players to be more mindful of their after-whistle conduct.

 

Washington Capitals Reassign Brett Leason

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  • The Washington Capitals announced that they have reassigned forward Brett Leason to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Leason has frequently transitioned between Washington and Hershey this season, drawing solid performances at both levels. The rookie did make his NHL playoff debut for the Capitals before being sent down. Because Leason was sent to the AHL on March 21st, he is eligible to play for the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Tom Wilson Out For Game Three

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  • The Capitals will be without winger Tom Wilson once again for their game this afternoon against Florida, notes Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Wilson suffered a lower-body injury in the opening period of the series back on Tuesday, a big loss for Washington with the 28-year-old coming off a career year offensively that saw him pot 24 goals and 28 assists in 78 games, good for fourth on the team in scoring.  There will be at least one lineup change for the Capitals, however, as Ilya Samsonov will start in goal for that one.

Washington Capitals Recall Hunter Shepard

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After the team’s 5-1 loss in game two against the Florida Panthers, increased attention has been paid to the goaltending situation of the Washington Capitals. Starter Vitek Vanecek struggled and was eventually given the hook by coach Pete Laviolette after two periods of play in that game. The Capitals have opted to make a move in net, albeit not the one many fans may have been expecting. The team announced today that they have recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the Hershey Bears.

This likely comes as a move to shore up their third goalie spot, given that they sent down goaltender Zachary Fucale yesterday. Shepard, 26, is an undrafted product who has shuffled between the Capitals’ AHL and ECHL affiliates this year. The former Minnesota-Duluth star has had a strong career in the Capitals’ organization since going pro after his 2019-20 campaign. His .917 save percentage in the ECHL this season is his lowest in any year as a professional, and albeit with limited action he has posted above a .920 save percentage in 21 ECHL games last season and nine AHL games this season. Despite that success, though, he was unable to get into more starts than the two goalies above him on the Capitals’ organizational depth chart-Fucale and Phoenix Copley, despite their .896 and .913 save percentages, respectively.

This move is unlikely to be of any major consequence for the Capitals barring any major injuries or extreme underperformance, but it is notable for the Hershey Bears. They are down 1-0 in their first-round best-of-three series against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, and the swap of Fucale and Shepard indicates that the Capitals are willing to have a goalie lower on their organizational depth chart act as their third goalie on hand in order for the Bears to have the goaltending tandem that served them for most of their season.

 

Zach Fucale Re-Assigned To AHL

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  • The Washington Capitals, now at home for the next two games, have re-assigned Zach Fucale to the Hershey Bears. The AHL squad kicks off their first-round series this evening, while Washington doesn’t play again until tomorrow afternoon, meaning he could still serve as the emergency backup at that point. Fucale, 26, had a .896 save percentage in 31 appearances for the Bears this season.

14 Teams Face Bonus Overages For 2022-23

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In the flat cap world, nearly every team in the league is dealing with situations that require every last dollar under the ceiling. More than half the league was using long-term injured reserve relief at some point this season, a decision that sometimes comes with some attached risk. One of those risks is the performance bonuses from entry-level contracts, which can cause overage penalties if achieved by the end of the season, should the team not have the cap space to fit them in. Those penalties are then applied to the following season’s cap, meaning they have less room to work with moving forward.

CapFriendly has calculated the overage penalties for the entire league, finding 14 of 32 teams that will face them next year. Notably, these penalties lower the cap ceiling for a team and therefore cannot be covered up by going into long-term injured relief again. The penalties are as follows:

Carolina Hurricanes: $112,500
Chicago Blackhawks: $237,500
Colorado Avalanche: $25,000
Dallas Stars: $675,000
Edmonton Oilers: $896,000
Florida Panthers: $637,500
Los Angeles Kings: $637,500
Montreal Canadiens: $1,132,500
New York Islanders $245,796
Philadelphia Flyers: $295,000
St. Louis Blues: $1,000,000*
Toronto Maple Leafs: $212,500
Vancouver Canucks: $1,250,000
Washington Capitals: $100,000

*Can still increase

Details on how each number was reached can be found on CapFriendly’s Twitter thread but the vast majority are from Schedule A performance bonuses for time on ice and games played. While some would argue that it is worth the penalty, as it means a young player has been a strong contributor, it can also be quite impactful moving forward. The Oilers, for instance, are facing a cap charge of nearly $900K, significantly more than the league minimum salary. It could very well mean they aren’t able to carry the maximum of 23 skaters for at least parts of next season while they are still trying to compete, thanks to the bonuses owed to Evan Bouchard this year.

It’s the Islanders that are perhaps the most interesting case since they did not finish in LTIR relief and in fact, were more than $2MM under the $81.5MM ceiling at the end of the year. While most of the other bonuses were on entry-level contracts, theirs included games played bonuses for Zach Parise, Zdeno Chara, and Andy Greene. That means despite being well out of the race, the Islanders will have a little less room to work with next season.

The Blues meanwhile could still face an additional overage, as their penalty is based on the bonuses given to Tyler Bozak. He can still earn $100K if the Blues win the first round and another $150K if they win the second round, which each would also be applied to next year’s cap.

Tom Wilson Out For Game Two, Listed As Day-To-Day

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  • Tom Wilson is officially out for tonight’s game, but Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette didn’t want to speculate on the big forward’s availability for game three when he spoke with reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. Wilson, who opened the scoring for Washington in game one before leaving early, is one of the hardest players in the league to replace, given his almost unique mix of size, aggression, skating ability, and skill. Brett Leason, who at least brings some of those things, will enter the lineup on the fourth line after being recalled this morning. Wilson is officially listed as day-to-day.

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