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Washington Capitals Goalie Craig Anderson Expected To Retire

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Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said today that goalie Craig Anderson is expected to retire this offseason. 40 years old, Anderson retires after just one season in the nation’s capital.

Anderson leaves the NHL after one of the more underrated careers put together by a netminder in recent history. Playing in the league for 18 seasons, Anderson played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and Washington, but will be most remembered for his 10-year stint with the Ottawa Senators. Anderson, drafted 73rd overall by Chicago in 2001 after re-entering the draft, bounced up and down between the NHL and minor leagues before securing a full-time job as the Panthers’ backup in 2007-08. After an impressive three total seasons in Florida (24-14-7, .928 SV%), Anderson found himself in a breakout situation with Colorado in 2009-10, starting 71 games, posting a .917 save percentage and finishing top-10 in both Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy voting.

He put up another solid season the following year but got off to a shaky start in 2010-11, leading to Anderson being traded to Ottawa. Anderson’s best years came there, including a 2012-13 campaign in which he started 24 games and posted a .941 save percentage to lead the league, leading to him receiving more Vezina Trophy votes. Anderson’s career, however, fell sharply after helping the Sens to a surprise Eastern Conference Final appearance in 2017. Anderson won his only NHL award that season, the Masterton Trophy, after taking a hiatus from the game earlier that year to support his wife Nicholle, who was dealing with and has since recovered from a rare form of throat cancer.

Anderson signed a one-year deal with Washington this past season and served mainly as the team’s taxi squad netminder, posting a 2-1-0 record with a .915 save percentage.

East Notes: Leafs, Hamilton, Ovechkin

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After the conclusion of today’s 2021 NHL Draft, there’s a variety of news and notes from post-draft press conferences emerging quickly. NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger reports from general manager Kyle Dubas’ presser today that the Toronto Maple Leafs are still interested in retaining both Alex Galchenyuk and Frederik Andersen. Now 27, it’s been a long road for Galchenyuk, who was drafted third overall in 2012. After playing for five teams over the past three seasons, Galchenyuk caught what seemed like a new wind after his mid-season acquisition from the Ottawa Senators, scoring 12 points in 26 games with the Leafs. Consistently playing among the Leafs’ top-six forward core, Galchenyuk displayed solid complementary ability when surrounded by better talent. The Leafs will likely hope that he can bring affordable depth scoring again to the team in a middle-six role this time around, hopefully adding another top-end talent in the offseason. And while the team has interest in retaining Andersen in goal, it may not be mutual. Andersen, in any scenario in which he returns, takes a significant cut in both pay and games played, serving behind Jack Campbell. But if Andersen is willing to accept a backup role, the offseason could allow him to return to full health and be a crucial contributor to next year’s Toronto roster.

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Carolina Hurricanes are still trying to re-sign defenseman Dougie Hamilton, but that they’ll need an answer on a deal by the start of free agency on July 28th. TSN’s Darren Dreger follows up, saying that Hamilton is looking at an average annual value between $8MM and $9MM on his next deal. It’s interesting to note here that Hamilton isn’t looking for more money, especially considering the eight-year, $9.5MM AAV extension handed out yesterday to Seth Jones. Hamilton is on a five-year run of receiving Norris Trophy votes, including a career-high fourth-place finish this season. That’s in stark contrast to Jones, who’s coming off a weak season on both sides of the puck. Hamilton’s consistently posted better play-driving and defensive numbers throughout his career, as well. Regardless, Hamilton, who’s part of an elite class of defenders to hit unrestricted free agency in recent years, shouldn’t have any trouble getting his desired compensation, whether it be from Carolina or somewhere else.
  • The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir reports that Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan hopes to have a contract extension with captain Alex Ovechkin finalized by the opening of free agency on Wednesday. It’s once in a blue moon that we see a new contract for one of the best players in NHL history, but this offseason will surely see one for the 35-year-old Ovechkin. What’s not for certain is that Ovechkin sees a raise on his previous deal, one that was paying him $9.5MM per season. Despite still being one of the best goal-scorers in the league, Ovechkin’s now finished under a point-per-game pace in two straight seasons and missed significant time with injury this season for the first time since 2009-10. A decent comparable could be the contract handed out to teammate Nicklas Backstrom, who makes $9.2MM per season. While it likely won’t be as long of a term as Backstrom’s five years, a similar cap hit could be in line for ’Ovi’ this offseason.

Snapshots: Halak, Ovechkin, Koivu, Hudon

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Veteran goaltender Jaroslav Halak and the Boston Bruins are officially parting ways. Halak’s agent, Allan Walsh, confirmed to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter that Halak will reach unrestricted free agency on July 28 and the Bruins are not expected to be a suitor. The news really should not come as much of a surprise. It’s the dawn of a new day in net in Boston, as young goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Daniel Vladar have been excellent in both the NHL and AHL and look ready to take on regular NHL roles. Swayman in fact took the Boston backup job from Halak over the course of this season and into the postseason. The 2020 Hobey Baker finalist and Mike Richter Award and 2021 AHL All-Star  has already shown flashes of NHL starting potential and could secure the role this season. Vladar, who led the AHL in save percentage and GAA in 2019-20, requires waivers this season, so he too looks locked into an NHL role. Between that duo and Tuukka Rask, who will be sidelined until mid-season but is still a candidate for extension, Halak had no place with the Bruins. With that said, there should be plenty of suitors out there. Halak was an ideal Robin to Rask’s Batman over the past three years, taking on a considerable workload and playing at an elite level, winning the Jennings Trophy with Rask in 2019-20. The 36-year-old has shown signs of decline in the past calendar year, but can still be an above average backup for a contender or a 1B mentor to a young 1A.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin is less than two weeks away from reaching unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career but in an interview with Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov, he expressed confidence that he will be able to reach an agreement to remain with Washington. He also acknowledged the possibility of returning to Dynamo Moscow in the KHL for next season which suggests that a new deal with the Caps isn’t finalized and is simply waiting until after the expansion draft to be filed as many expect will happen with several UFAs next week.  Ovechkin has been adamant about his desire to play in the Olympics and with there still being uncertainty about whether NHL players will participate in 2022, going to the KHL would guarantee him the chance to participate.  Having said that, a return to Washington still is the expected outcome.
  • Former NHL center Mikko Koivu has found his first coaching opportunity as Ilta Sanomat’s Tatu Mullykoski relays that the 38-year-old has been named an assistant coach for Finland’s Under-20 team (their World Junior squad). He replaces Tuomo Ruutu who became part of Florida’s coaching staff earlier this summer.  Koivu spent the first 15 years of his career with Minnesota before joining Columbus for this past season.  However, he hung up his skates after seven games with the Blue Jackets.
  • Pending UFA winger Charles Hudon is looking to return to North America, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 27-year-old opted not to re-sign with Montreal as a restricted free agent and instead spent the season with Lausanne in Switzerland where he had 32 points in 33 games this past season.  Hudon has 41 points in 125 games over parts of five seasons with the Canadiens.

Capitals Believed To Have Shown Interest In Vladimir Tarasenko

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  • The Bruins, Rangers, and Capitals are believed to have shown interest in Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko with the Islanders also on the radar, reports Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Of that group, Boston makes the most sense financially as they have the cap space to absorb Tarasenko’s $7.5MM AAV without needing to match money and if they can’t reach an agreement with pending UFA Taylor Hall, they’ll have a need on the wing to fill.  The Rangers also have the cap room but their biggest need is down the middle.  Washington and the Islanders would need to match money as they’re projected to be capped out by the time they re-sign their own pending free agents which would make a deal more difficult.  Tarasenko has requested a trade from St. Louis and is working with the team to facilitate a deal.

T.J. Oshie Hasn't Been Told He's Being Left Unprotected

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  • Capitals winger T.J. Oshie has not been given any indication from the team that he will be left unprotected in the expansion draft, relays J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington. Oshie has long been a speculative target for Seattle although with the year he had offensively – 43 points in 53 games – he’d undoubtedly be a big loss for Washington.  While Oshie doesn’t have a no-move clause and thus doesn’t need to be notified in advance if he was being exposed, Regan suggests this could mean that the Caps intend to have the 34-year-old on their protected list when it’s submitted a week from today.

Washington Capitals Re-Sign Beck Malenstyn

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The Washington Capitals have re-signed one of their depth forwards, inking Beck Malenstyn to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K and pay Malenstyn $90K in the AHL.

For Malenstyn, just getting back on the ice will be a triumph after missing the entire season. The 23-year-old forward tore his Achilles tendon in December during offseason training, and was given a recovery timeline of six to eight months. That means he’ll be competing for a spot next season following a very long layoff and likely will need some time in the AHL to really get his game back on track.

That track had him in the Capitals lineup for three games during the 2019-20 season, though he did not register a point. The 6’3″ winger is likely going to top out as a fourth-line option in the NHL thanks to a lack of real scoring upside, but for the league minimum, he’ll be in consideration for a spot. Selected 145th overall in 2016, he scored 15 points in 46 AHL games the last time he was healthy enough to play.

Cap Overage Penalty For Washington Next Season

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Washington will be facing a bonus overage penalty of nearly $473K for next season, Mike Vogel of the Capitals’ team site relays (Twitter link).  Defenseman Zdeno Chara reached his games played and playoff qualification bonuses while goaltender Ilya Samsonov met his shutout bonus mark as well.  With the team being in LTIR all season long due to injuries to blueliner Michal Kempny and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, they were never in a position to bank any space during the season that could have offset those bonuses.  The Caps already have over $72MM in commitments for next season per CapFriendly and still have to re-sign captain Alex Ovechkin, Samsonov, and round out the rest of their roster.  GM Brian MacLellan will undoubtedly be working hard in the coming weeks to free up some much-needed cap flexibility.

Minor Transactions: 6/23/21

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As we cross the middle of the week, many minor transactions are coming up on the wire. Many teams are trying to solidify depth for the 2021-22 campaign as a return to normal operations is expected throughout the hockey world. You can keep up on today’s slate of minor transactions right here:

  • The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs announced today via their team website that they’ve re-signed goalie Cale Morris to a one-year contract. After four seasons (three as the starter) for the University of Notre Dame, Morris, who went undrafted, signed with the IceHogs prior to the 2020-21 campaign. As Rockford faced goalie uncertainty this year with expected starter Kevin Lankinen working his way up to the Chicago Blackhawks, Morris impressed in a backup role. Playing in seven contests, Morris amassed a .923 save percentage in spite of a 2-3-0 record. The Larkspur, Colorado native will likely split time between Rockford and the ECHL’s Indy Fuel next season as Chicago’s goalie depth chart is replenished.
  • Another AHL club made moves today as well, as the Cleveland Monsters made two additions on offense, announced today on the team’s website. One of them was Justin Scott, who’ll return to the team for a sixth straight season. Signing with Cleveland after his last OHL season, Scott’s been a member of the club since 2016-17. He served as an assistant captain this past season, posting seven points in 18 games. Scott should be a solid voice in the room, as the Blue Jackets will rely heavily on Cleveland in the coming seasons to develop their next generation of players. The team also announced the re-signing of Tristan Mullin, who got into 15 games with Cleveland last year after his college career ended with the University of Vermont. The 6′ 2″ forward showed flashes of potential, scoring three goals, but still might spend time in the ECHL next year with a restocked Cleveland roster.
  • A rather large trade was announced this morning in the QMJHL via the league’s Twitter account. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan acquired Washington Capitals first-round selection Hendrix Lapierre and a 2023 seventh-round draft pick from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in exchange for forwards Julien Bourget and Alexis Dubé along with a myriad of draft selections, including first-rounders in 2022 and 2023. Lapierre was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the 2020 draft before a season laced with injury limited him to just 17 points in 19 games. Lapierre, healthy this season, improved mightily on the scoresheet, scoring 31 points in a shortened 21-game season with Chicoutimi. He’ll now spend his last season in the OHL with Acadie-Bathurst as he continues his development.
  • Teams will be adding a couple of names to their draft boards soon, as CapFriendly clarified the draft re-entry status of two NHL prospects. Mathew Hill, a former sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, and Eemeli Rasanen, a former second-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will both re-enter the draft in July. One of the last selections taken before Kyle Dubas became general manager, Rasanen appealed with his physical presence and 6′ 7″ frame. However, the Finnish defenseman has struggled immensely overseas, posting no points this year with HPK in the Liiga. He’ll re-enter the draft as a 22-year-old overager, and it’s unlikely he’ll be selected at this point. Hill, just 20 years old, has also failed to pan out in the way Anaheim wished. With his Barrie Colts not playing a season this year in the OHL, and Hill seeing just three games of action in Demark’s junior league on loan, his future in the NHL remains extremely uncertain.

Offseason Checklist: Washington Capitals

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The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league missing the playoffs and several more having since been eliminated.  It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Washington.

The Capitals tied for first in the East Division this season, extending their streak of consecutive first-place finishes to six years in a row.  However, they extended another streak this year as they were eliminated in the first round for the third straight season.  The core is mostly signed for 2021-22 and flexibility will be minimal.  Accordingly, it could be a quiet offseason for Washington although GM Brian MacLellan will have a few things on his to-do list.

Re-Sign Ovechkin

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first.  The 13-year, $124MM contract for Alex Ovechkin that seemed outlandish at the time has come to an end and both sides did well with it.  The Caps got an elite scorer for pretty much the entirety of the contract and Ovechkin is now the third-highest paid player in NHL history.  It’s time for him to move higher on the list.

The 35-year-old is eligible to hit the open market for the first time of his career next month although no one expects it to get that far.  There is mutual interest in getting a contract done while Ovechkin will be acting as his own agent in the process.  Talks were put on hold during the season and playoffs but if they haven’t got going underway already, they should soon.

The big question is how much the next deal is going to cost.  A TSN report from Frank Seravalli back in January suggested that Ovechkin was initially hoping to match Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV although that was before the pandemic hit and the financial landscape is much different now than it was projected to be back then.  He’s also coming off a quiet year by his standards; while he was still productive with 24 goals and 18 assists in 45 games, it was his lowest goal and point-per-game numbers since 2011-12.  At his age, there is bound to be a decline.  Was this a blip or the start of that drop?

That makes this contract an intriguing one despite the extreme unlikelihood that he actually gets to free agency.  How many years do they want to do?  It’s worth noting that he’s 164 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record and it will take four or five healthy seasons to get there.  But Ovechkin has indicated that he wants to finish his career back in the KHL so does he want to play long enough to have a shot at Gretzky’s record?  And if Washington feels that the drop off has started, do they want to commit to something that long?  Would they prefer a two or three-year deal with the idea of another shorter-term contract after that at a lower rate?  Doing so would yield a higher AAV now but take away some risk.

There are definitely some questions to answer in this case and while Ovechkin has made it clear that he wants to stay in Washington, it’s a situation that MacLellan should want to resolve sooner than later with the domino effect that will follow once it’s done.

Clear Cap Space

That domino effect is the salary cap casualty that will be required to accommodate Ovechkin’s new contract.  They have just over $72MM in commitments for next season already and Ilya Samsonov is also looking at a raise in his first trip through restricted free agency.  The cap isn’t going up and $9.5MM in cap space isn’t going to be enough to re-sign them and fill out the roster.  It’s fair to wonder if that will be enough to keep Ovechkin alone.

Some trimming needs to be done over the coming weeks but it won’t be easy.  MacLellan will understandably want to keep his core players around (and moving big-ticket deals will be difficult in this market) so the savings may need to come from the depth.  Carl Hagelin ($2.75MM), Nick Jensen ($2.5MM), and Garnet Hathaway ($1.5MM) are all still serviceable players but they are a bit pricey for the roles they fill.  Moving a couple of those for cheaper players would give them some much-needed flexibility.  But even that will be easier said than done in a market where many teams will want to free up money.  Expansion could help if they lose one there but MacLellan will have his work cut out for him here.

Protect The Goalies

Speaking of expansion, the Capitals are a team that looks like they will need to make a side deal with the Kraken.  Both Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek are eligible for selection and there is no protection scheme that allows a team to protect more than one goalie.  One of them will have to be exposed.

Samsonov is coming off a tough sophomore year but is still their goalie of the future (and present) while Vanecek had a nice rookie season and perhaps more importantly, is signed for less than the league minimum for 2021-22.  For a team that is going to be at or over the cap when Ovechkin re-signs, that’s a luxury they need to try to keep.

A side deal could push one of the pricier role players to Seattle as well which would help their cap situation as an extra benefit.  But early indications are that those agreements will carry a hefty price tag, more than what a lot of teams are willing to pay right now.  For Washington, however, this roster composition only works with a very cheap goalie tandem so even if it seems costly, it’s a price they may very well have to pay.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Washington Capitals Re-Sign Shane Gersich

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The Washington Capitals have re-signed one of their minor league forwards, inking Shane Gersich to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K and keeps Gersich away from restricted free agency later this summer.

Now 24, Gersich made his Capitals debut in 2018 but hasn’t made it back to the NHL since. In 33 games for the Hershey Bears this season he managed to score six goals and 14 points, but still hasn’t been able to repeat the offensive performance that made him a star at the University of North Dakota. Drafted 134th overall in 2014, he has settled into a depth role in the AHL and is unlikely to see extended time with the Capitals, but is still a valuable asset for the organization as injury insurance.

Perhaps more important is his leadership role with the Bears, where he wore an “A” as an alternate captain this season. His minor league salary of $187,500 will keep him in the Washington organization and takes another RFA off the to-do list for Capitals GM Brian MacLellan.

Gersich will turn 25 in July, meaning that at this time next year he’ll be preparing for Group VI unrestricted free agency. That is of course unless he gets in 77 games with the Capitals next season, a notion that seems far-fetched at this point.

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