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Trade Deadline Summary: East Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the East Division.

Boston Bruins
Status: Buyer

In – F Taylor Hall, F Curtis Lazar, D Mike Reilly
Out – F Anders Bjork, 2021 second-round pick, 2022 third-round pick

Buffalo Sabres
Status: Seller

In – F Anders Bjork, 2021 second-round pick (BOS), 2021 third-round pick (FLA), 2021 third-round pick (MTL), 2021 fifth-round pick (MTL), 2021 sixth-round pick (COL)
Out – F Taylor Hall, F Eric Staal, D Brandon Montour, F Curtis Lazar, G Jonas Johansson

New Jersey Devils
Status: Seller

In – D Jonas Siegenthaler, F A.J. Greer, F Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick (NYI), conditional 2021 fourth-round pick (NYI), conditional 2022 fourth-round pick (EDM)
Out – F Kyle Palmieri, F Travis Zajac, D Dmitry Kulikov, 2021 third-round pick

New York Islanders
Status: Buyer

In – F Kyle Palmieri, F Travis Zajac, D Braydon Coburn
Out – F A.J. Greer, F Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick, conditional 2021 fourth-round pick, 2022 seventh-round pick

New York Rangers
Status: Neutral

In – 2021 fourth-round pick (LAK)
Out – F Brendan Lemieux

Philadelphia Flyers
Status: Neutral

In – 2021 fifth-round pick (VGK via WAS), 2022 seventh-round pick (STL via MTL)
Out – F Michael Raffl, D Erik Gustafsson

Pittsburgh Penguins
Status: Buyer

In – F Jeff Carter
Out – conditional 2022 third-round pick, conditional 2023 fourth-round pick

Washington Capitals
Status: Buyer

In – F Anthony Mantha, F Michael Raffl, conditional 2021 third-round pick (ARI/NJ)
Out – F Jakub Vrana, F Richard Panik, D Jonas Siegenthaler, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, 2021 fifth-round pick

Capitals, Red Wings Make Mantha-Vrana Trade

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The Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings have made the biggest trade of deadline day. The Capitals have acquired Anthony Mantha in exchange for Richard Panik, Jakub Vrana, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick.

The Red Wings had been rumored for the last few weeks to be listening on players like Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, but no one was expected such a huge package to be coming back. In Vrana, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman has landed a player that has produced more offense (on a per-game basis) than Mantha so far in his career, with 76 goals and 157 points in 284 games.

Lately, Vrana found himself in the coach’s doghouse, even being made a healthy scratch at times. His game is inconsistent, but he still has 11 goals and 25 points in the 39 games he has played this season. That’s still more than Mantha’s 21 points in 42 games, though obviously, the Capitals believe the big winger will fit their lineup better.

If you’re thinking “but the Capitals also gave up a lot more,” you’re not wrong. Part of the draft capital the team gave up is because of Panik though, who Washington wanted to get off the books. Panik is signed through the 2022-23 season at a $2.75MM cap hit but had played himself right out of the lineup and cleared waivers recently. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic points out, that likely accounts for one of the picks in the deal.

Of course, Panik isn’t likely to be just a taxi squad player for the Red Wings, who are still deep in a rebuild. It wasn’t so long ago that Panik was a 14-goal scorer for the Arizona Coyotes, and if he can find some production with an increased role in Detroit perhaps they can flip him too down the line. Even if they don’t, Vrana and two high picks is a huge haul.

Mantha, 26, is a tantalizing package of size and skill, but there’s no guarantee he ever puts it all together. The Capitals obviously believe in the 6’5″ forward, and perhaps for good reason. Even in Detroit where he has been surrounded by poor talent, Mantha has still averaged 25 goals over every 82 games and puts up very strong possession numbers relative to his teammates. Perhaps when he gets into a system with All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions those offensive numbers will explode.

It’s important to also remember that the Capitals believe their picks will be near the end of each round, but right now they aren’t running away with the East Division. In fact, Washington is tied with the New York Islanders for first place and just two points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. While they are pretty much locked into a playoff spot, there’s certainly no guarantee they make a deep run.

Kevin Weekes of NHL Network was first to break the deal.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Washington Capitals Acquire Michael Raffl

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The Washington Capitals have acquired Michael Raffl from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers will receive a fifth-round pick (VGK) in return and will retain 25% of his remaining cap hit.

It’s not quite the Anthony Mantha trade, but the Capitals still add some physical forward depth by bringing in Raffl, who has played all 504 of his career games with the Flyers. A one-time 20+ goal scorer, the 32-year-old forward has just eight points this season in 34 games this season.

He won’t be playing big minutes in Washington, but Raffl does replace the depth that went out the door when Richard Panik was cleared off the books. The difference is that even before the salary retention, Raffl carries just a $1.6MM cap hit through the end of this season and is then an unrestricted free agent, not affecting the Capitals salary structure down the road.

For the Flyers, adding a fifth for a player that wasn’t making much of an impact is a win, even if the playoffs aren’t necessarily off the table at this point.

East Notes: Lundqvist, Hischier, Johnston, Devils

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While veteran Henrik Lundqvist was hoping to return to the NHL for the playoffs, the 39-year-old veteran announced via Twitter that those hopes will not be possible. The goaltender, who signed with the Washington Capitals in the offseason only to have to sit out the year after learning that he required open-heart surgery to fix issues with his heart, has been back on the ice for almost a month in hopes of joining Washington. However, he announced that inflammation around his heart requires more time for rest and recovery.

“Last week’s checkup showed some inflammation around the heart that now requires a few months more of rest and steady recovery,” wrote Lundqvist. “While it’s not what I hoped for, I know this is all part of the process of getting back to 100%.”

While a return to the NHL this season seemed highly unlikely, it’s disappointing for Lundqvist, the Capitals and fans who would have loved to see the veteran back on the ice.

  • The New Jersey Devils could be close to getting back their No. 1 center as head coach Lindy Ruff said that Nico Hischier is “very close to playing, he’s closing in on that date,” according to NHL.com’s Amanda Stein. The 22-year-old has struggled staying in the lineup due to injuries. He was forced to sit out for the first month of the season with a leg injury and after appearing in five games, he suffered a facial fracture that required surgery. He practiced with the team Sunday, working with the penalty killing unit and is expected to rejoin the team’s No. 1 power play once he returns.
  • The New York Islanders have placed forward Ross Johnston on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. That will allow the team to recall Oliver Wahlstrom from the taxi squad. The 27-year-old Johnston hasn’t seen too much time with the Islanders this season, appearing in just nine games. He has no points, but has 35 penalty minutes. Wahlstrom will likely have to battle with Leo Komarov for playing time.
  • Chris Ryan of NJ.com reports that the third-round pick sent to the Washington Capitals for Jonas Siegenthaler is technically still conditional. The Devils sent the Arizona Coyotes’ third-round pick to Washington, which was acquired in the Taylor Hall trade. However, there was a condition to the deal in which New Jersey would actually get Arizona’s second-round pick if Hall re-signs with the Coyotes. Of course, that condition is extremely unlikely considering that Hall is now in Buffalo. Unless the Sabres trade him to Arizona and Hall signs an extension with them before the draft, that condition wouldn’t happen. However, in the unlikely circumstances that did happen, the Devils would then opt to send their own third-rounder to Washington for Siegenthaler.

Washington Capitals Trade Jonas Siegenthaler To Devils

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The Washington Capitals traded from their defensive depth, as they announced they have sent Jonas Siegenthaler to the New Jersey Devils for the Arizona Coyotes’ 2021 third-round pick (acquired in the Taylor Hall trade). The move should free up some salary for the team to add a depth piece before the trade deadline.

Last year it looked as if Siegenthaler had won himself a full-time role with the organization as the 23-year-old played 64 games for the Capitals in 2019-20, posting two goals, nine points and a plus-11 rating. However, things had changed under new coach Peter Laviolette, who chose to play veterans over him as the blueliner has seven games this season with no points.

For Washington, the team which is into LTIR and had just $375K in available cap space, this move opens up some extra space as Siegenthaler carried an AAV of $800K, giving the team ample room to bring aboard a cheap veteran for their stretch run before tomorrow’s trade deadline. The team had eight defenseman on their roster, which means they don’t have to replace Siegenthaler on the roster with another defenseman.

For New Jersey, the team brings in a young defenseman to join their rebuild. The team will have to hope that he can fit in somewhere in their lineup, but with the potential of a trade of either Sami Vatanen or Dmitri Kulikov, Siegenthaler is a solid addition. The blueliner also reunites with countryman Nico Hischier as both come from Switzerland and are quite familiar with each other.

 

Trade Deadline Primer: Washington Capitals

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We are now just days away from the NHL Trade Deadline and a few moves have already been made with more to come. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Washington Capitals.

Washington has been solid all year long and as their window for a second Stanley Cup is beginning to close, the team is expected to be active adding more veteran talent to their team to give Alex Ovechkin and company another shot. The real question is what the team has left in reserve to trade for any talent and how they might be able to squeeze anyone into their cap situation.

Record

26-11-4, tied for 1st in East Division

Deadline Status

Buyer (if they can create the cap space to do so)

Deadline Cap Space

$0MM in regular cap space, $375K in LTIR space, 0/3 retention slots used, 49/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: WAS 1st, WAS 2nd, WAS 4th, WAS 5th, VGK 5th, WAS 6th
2022: WAS 1st, WAS 2nd, WAS 3rd, WAS 4th, WAS 5th, WAS 6th, WAS 7th

Trade Chips

The team’s greatest assets are likely their draft picks. The team has both their first and second-round picks over the next two years and are only short a third and seventh-rounders in 2021. So, the team could conceivably move a top draft pick to bolster their roster for the stretch run. Of course, it should be noted that the team’s prospect system is pretty weak and could use all those picks. Washington has not moved a first-round pick since 2017 as they are acutely aware of a lack of young talent. So, it might be more conceivable the team would be more willing to move a second-round draft pick for slight upgrades. Of course, with little to no cap space, the team might have to move some picks to fit anyone into it.

The team’s one strength in their system is quite a bit of young defensemen as the Capitals have several blueliners sitting in wait for spots to open up in Washington, some with NHL experience already, including Jonas Siegenthaler, Martin Fehervary and Alexander Alexeyev, who recently returned to the organization after playing on loan in the KHL. The team would prefer to keep all three, but could one be made expendable?

Others to Watch For: D Paul Ladue; F Brett Leason; F Daniel Sprong

Team Needs

1) Veteran Goaltender – While the combination of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek has been solid this season, the one issue that many have brought up is that the pair of young netminders have zero playoff experience. Samsonov was hurt during last year’s playoffs, while Vanecek is a rookie, so no is is sure how either goaltender will perform under the tremendous pressure of the playoffs. That leads many to suggest the team should add a veteran third goaltender, someone who can step in and hold their own during those tough times.

2) Forward Depth – While the Capitals have fared reasonably well with their forward group, the team could always use a veteran forward to add their bottom-six. The team could use some extra depth in case of injuries during their playoff run.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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April 8: All three players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

April 7: Three players have been placed on waivers today, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Richard Panik of the Washington Capitals, Nick Merkley of the New Jersey Devils, and Martin Frk of the Los Angeles Kings all find themselves available to the rest of the league.

Panik was scratched again last night for the Capitals, the third time he had been out of the lineup in the last five games. That is what happens when you are brought in for secondary scoring and record just three goals and nine points in 36 games. Panik hasn’t been close to effective enough in his role this season, failing to record a point in his last eight and only generating five shots on goal during that stretch. Remember that the 30-year-old forward is on a four-year contract he signed with the Capitals in 2019 and carries a $2.75MM cap hit. $1.075MM of that can be buried by putting him on the taxi squad, giving the Capitals a little more cap flexibility as the deadline approaches.

Merkley is in a nearly opposite situation in New Jersey, where he is still just trying to establish himself at the NHL level. The 23-year-old actually has six points in 13 games this season but doesn’t have a consistent enough effort at the defensive end of the rink. A first-round pick in 2015, there is obvious offensive skill locked away in Merkley, but it’s hard to rely on him in a top-six role at this point in his career. The bottom-six isn’t a great fit for the 5’10” forward, meaning he’s stuck in a difficult situation. Just like New Jersey did when they included him in last year’s Taylor Hall deal, perhaps another team believes they can unlock the next level for Merkley and grabs him off waivers. Given he cleared in January though, that seems unlikely.

If Panik is an overpaid veteran and Merkley is a young player trying to find his way, Frk falls somewhere in the middle. The 27-year-old has been given countless opportunities to really establish himself at the NHL level and despite being an elite minor league contributor, can’t seem to keep his head above water when he moves up. Armed with an incredibly hard shot, Frk scores goals on a consistent basis in the minor leagues but has just 18 in 118 NHL contests. He’s played just one game for the Kings this season after spending most of it on injured reserve, and is likely headed for the taxi squad if he clears.

Alexander Alexeyev Assigned To AHL

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Now that his KHL season has come to an end, Alexander Alexeyev is coming to join the Hershey Bears once again. The Washington Capitals have assigned the young defenseman to the AHL club, returning him to the place where he played so well last season.

Alexeyev, 21, recorded 16 points in 55 games for Ufa Salavat Yulayev this season in the KHL, averaging nearly 18 minutes a night. The 6’4″ defenseman was selected 31st overall by the Capitals in 2018 and had 21 points in 58 games for Hershey last season. Those are both strong campaigns for the mobile Alexeyev, especially given he was drafted more for his polished, calm defensive game than his offensive upside.

So good in fact that just today, Max Bultman of The Athletic included Alexeyev as a reserve in his projected 2022 Russian Olympic roster. While that may still be an optimistic take on a young defender that hasn’t proven anything against NHL talent, it speaks to just how much positive momentum Alexeyev has built since his draft. If he continues to show that he has taken another development step, perhaps he can even push for playing time in Washington this season.

Signed to an entry-level deal just after his draft, the 2020-21 campaign will be his first of three years under contract for the Capitals regardless of where he finishes the season. He’ll be in the mix for a role right out of training camp next season if he doesn’t earn one down the stretch.

Washington Capitals Sign Zach Fucale To Two-Year Extension

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The Washington Capitals have strengthened their goaltending depth for the next couple of years, as the team announced the signing of Zach Fucale to a two-year, two-way deal. The deal is worth $1.5MM with an AAV of $750K. Fucale will receive $150K in the AHL during his first year and $160K in the second.

Once considered a superstar goaltending prospect, Fucale has struggled significantly since going pro. The 25-year-old has spent much of his playing time in the ECHL and has struggled to get an NHL contract until recently when the Capitals signed him to a one-year deal in August. Fucale was still expected to spend the season in the ECHL with a loaded system that was supposed to include Ilya Samsonov, Henrik Lundqvist, Vitek Vanecek and Pheonix Copley, leaving Fucale as the extra netminder.

Instead, Fucale has spent most of his time in the AHL and has fared well in six games with the Hershey Bears, boasting a 1.93 GAA and a .942 save percentage, potentially suggesting that Fucale might finally be figuring things out in net. Fucale would have been a Group 6 free agent, but will now hopefully find some stability after several years of moving around. He is a likely candidate to share the Hershey net with Copley next season as well before Copley becomes a free agent himself in 2022.

Capitals Sign Trevor Van Riemsdyk To Two-Year Extension

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Despite not seeing a significant amount of ice time this season after signing a one-year deal in October, the Washington Capitals still liked what they’ve seen from defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and have extended him for two more years at a $950K AAV, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

The terms of the deal (according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman) are:

2021-22: $900K
2022-23: $1MM

Van Riemsdyk was brought in and signed in October as a depth piece for $800K. The team had bigger plans for him until they were able to pry 43-year-old Zdeno Chara away from Boston, knocking van Riemsdyk down the depth chart. The 29-year-old has only appeared in nine games for the Capitals this year with one goal, but has the ability to be a solid third-pairing defenseman in the NHL. In fact, he received some top-four minutes years ago with the Chicago Blackhawks and was selected by Vegas in the expansion draft in 2017, but was shortly after flipped to the Hurricanes.

The blueliner got plenty of action in his three previous years with the Carolina Huricanes where he played 206 games. However, the Capitals may need him in the future as the team continues to work the salary cap to bring in top-end talent and always needs players on good deals to fill out their roster.

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