Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Capitals Rumors

Alexander Alexeyev Loaned To Yulaev Ufa

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Washington Capitals have decided to let Alexander Alexeyev play in the KHL for the next few months, loaning him to Yulaev Ufa to begin the 2020-21 season. Alexeyev is expected to return to North America for NHL training camp, though it is not clear yet when that will actually take place.

Now 20, Alexeyev was the Capitals first-round pick in 2018 following their Stanley Cup victory. Selected out of the WHL, he played another year with the Red Deer Rebels before joining the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the 2019-20 season. Standing 6’4″, the two-way defenseman put up 21 points in 58 games as a minor league rookie.

The Capitals don’t have a ton of high-end prospects thanks to more than a decade of success, but the ones they do are quite interesting. Alexeyev has progressed nicely since his pick in 2018 and could potentially compete for an NHL job at some point next season. Washington does have two defensemen on the roster who are scheduled for unrestricted free agency, but it hasn’t been an easy blueline to crack for young players in the past as the organization is focused on contending.

The Russian-born Alexeyev hasn’t played there since 2015-16 but was routinely included in international junior tournaments while he played in the CHL. This KHL opportunity will be his first and one that he’ll likely try to take advantage of to show the Capitals front office he deserves even more of a shot when he comes back over.

Coaching Notes: Washington, Ward, Tortorella

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals decided to move on from Todd Reirden after just two years as head coach and won’t be taking another risk with their next hiring. That’s what Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic says in his latest column, explaining that the Capitals are focused on bringing in a proven head coach instead of giving another newcomer an opportunity.

That means the names are familiar ones when discussing the Capitals coaching vacancy. Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette and Mike Babcock are the first three names that LeBrun mentions, though even former Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau gets a few paragraphs as well. Washington went 89-46-16 under Reirden since winning a championship in 2018 but were quickly dumped in the playoffs both years. Still in their win-now window with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom leading the way, Washington is also looking for a coach that will “hold the team’s top players accountable.”

  • Geoff Ward spoke to reporters including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet yesterday and explained that he would consider a return to the organization even if the Calgary Flames decided to go in a different direction at head coach. Ward would obviously rather take the head coaching position himself, but declined the opportunity to campaign for it through the media. He took over as head coach when Bill Peters resigned early in the season and led the Flames to a 24-15-3 record, but was also part of the collapse against the Dallas Stars. The Flames allowed seven straight goals in an elimination game and Ward pulled starter Cam Talbot and then reinserted him during the collapse. With substantial changes likely coming in Calgary, they may also want to go with a different face behind the bench.
  • One coach that likely isn’t going anywhere this offseason is John Tortorella, even though his Columbus Blue Jackets failed to advance past the first round. Even getting that far was seen as quite the accomplishment for the veteran coach, but he’ll lose out on a little salary in the process. The league today fined Tortorella $25,000 for his comments (or more specifically his lack of comments) after game five against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tortorella took two questions and then stormed out of the press conference, obviously frustrated with the loss. The penalty is actually a collection of the conditional fine that was assessed on January 1 after a previous incident. This is the 13th time Tortorella has been disciplined by the league.

Capitals Notes: New Coach, Samsonov, Holtby, Ovechkin

at CDT | by 6 Comments

After the Washington Capitals announced they had fired head coach Todd Reirden earlier today, general manager Brian MacLellan answered a number of questions about the team, particularly about the head coaching change. With so much criticism being directed at Capitals ownership and management about their unwillingness to spend money on a veteran head coach (they have hired first-time coaches in five of their last six hires), MacLellan admitted the team will definitely look at a coach with some experience.

“I think we need an experienced coach,” said MacLellan (via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti and ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. “We have an experienced group. I think we had a good culture here and it’s starting to slip … I think we’ve developed a habit of thinking that we can play good when we have to play good, rather than developing good habits.”

That could open up the team to go after one of the many experienced and successful coaches that became available during the 2020-21 season, including Gerard Gallant, Mike Babcock, Peter Laviolette and Bruce Boudreau.

MacLellan also said that he was disappointed two years ago that the Capitals and (former head coach) Barry Trotz couldn’t come to an agreement after they won the Stanley Cup in 2018. He added that the team was willing to pay Trotz market value, but failed to agree on term.

The GM added that the team is in no rush to hire a head coach and will take their time to find the best possible candidate, according to Gulitti. Nothing has been determined regarding Reirden’s assistant coaches either.

  • The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who didn’t go to Toronto with the team due to an off-ice injury, has been getting therapy for his injury for six weeks and the team is expected to evaluate him in two weeks to see how he’s doing. The Capitals expect him to be ready for the 2020-21 season. The 23-year-old looks to be the goaltender of the future after an impressive rookie season in which he sported a 2.55 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 26 games.
  • MacLellan, at the press conference, also admitted that the Capitals chances of bringing back starting goaltender Braden Holtby is “going to be difficult,” according to Wyshynski. However, he also admits that nothing has been decided about the 30-year-old, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Holtby didn’t fare well during the regular season with Washington, posting a 3.11 GAA and a .897 save percentage in 48 games. However, he did fare somewhat better during the playoffs with a 2.49 GAA and a .906 save percentage in eight appearances.
  • Gulitti also notes that MacLellan said that he isn’t that concerned about extension talks with star forward Alex Ovechkin. The GM said he will talk to Ovechkin when players arrive at training camp later this year. The soon-to-be 35-year-old is still playing at top form, scoring 48 goals during the shortened regular season as well as another four goals in the team’s eight playoff games. He has one year remaining on his 13-year, $124MM deal that he signed back in 2008.

Washington Capitals Relieve Todd Reirden Of Coaching Duties

at CDT | by 14 Comments

The Washington Capitals announced they have fired head coach Todd Reirden after just two years as head coach of the team after another disappointing playoff finish.

“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary,” said general manager Brian MacLellan. “We would like to thank Todd for all of his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for more than half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

The move tells a tale of two coaches and is a basic admission that the Capitals made the wrong decision two years ago. The team won the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship under Barry Trotz, with Reirden as its main assistant. However, with Trotz’ contract up, Washington had to decide whether to pay up or let Trotz walk and bring in Reirden to replace him. The team, which has hired first-year coaches in five of its last six hires, decided to go that way with Reirden as well.

Reirden’s regular season record was quite good with a 89-46-16 record in 151 games. However, the team couldn’t win in the playoffs with the team falling in the first round in 2019 to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games and then the team’s dismal performance this year against the Islanders, which included winning just one game of their round-robin matchup in the East, leaving the team facing a quality first-round matchup in New York.

So, it seemed almost fitting that Reirden’s last series was against Trotz, who was paid by the New York Islanders and the head coach has turned the inconsistent franchise around. The Islanders dominated their series with Washington and made it quite clear to the Capitals organization that they made a mistake two years ago.

The team now will have to find a new head coach and with their team aging and little time remaining for their star, Alex Ovechkin, who will be turning 35 in three weeks. The team will likely be forced to pay up and bring in a veteran coach and the team has quite a few options available to them, including Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, Bruce Boudreau and Mike Babcock. If the team doesn’t want to pay that price, there are other former head coaches available as well, including Mike Yeo, John Stevens and Kirk Muller. With a win-now roster, the Capitals could be the prime job opening for those coaches.

As for Reirden, the coach is known to be an excellent special teams coach and likely will return to that role quickly as several teams will be looking to upgrade there. Reirden, who spent four years in Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby, could be a candidate to return there considering their urgency to win next year as well. He had two years remaining on his contract with the Capitals.

Snapshots: Stamkos, Gallagher, Slovakia

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the Tampa Bay Lightning preparing to face the rival Boston Bruins in the second round in a collision of arguably the two best teams in the NHL, the Bolts were hoping to be at full strength with face of the franchise Steven Stamkos back in the lineup. However, that won’t be the case. Head coach Jon Cooper told the media, including The Athletic’s Lightning writer Joe Smith, that Stamkos is still not available due to injury. Rather than reiterating the indefinite timeline of Stamkos’ rehab, Cooper merely stated “It’s pointless to keep asking about it.” Stamkos is still battling a core injury suffered back in March and has far exceeded the initial six-to-eight week timeline with the player and team still seemingly having no idea of when he might be ready to return. If Stamkos cannot return to face Tampa’s potentially toughest test in Boston, the odds are that he may not play in the postseason at all.

  • Fan favorite Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher had his season come to an end prematurely as he suffered a broken jaw on a cross check from Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Matt Niskanen in Game Five of the teams’ first round series. Gallagher only ended up missing one game, as the Habs were eliminated by a Game Six loss on Friday night. Meeting with the media today, GM Marc Bergevin updated Gallagher’s status, announcing that he underwent successful surgery in Toronto and is returning to his home in British Columbia today. Additionally, Bergevin revealed that Gallagher had been injured long before his run-in with Niskanen, suffering a hip tear in Montreal’s qualifying round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, he played through the injury and it was solely that broken jaw that kept him from playing in the Canadiens’ season finale.
  • Several other recently-eliminated players could be back in action sooner rather than later. Sport SK in Slovakia reports that several members of the Slovakian Tipsport Liga are expecting active NHLers to be acquired via contract or loan to begin working out and playing prior to NHL training camps beginning in November. HK Kosice may have the largest haul still to come, with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Martin Marincin and Calgary Flames prospect Martin Pospisil to be loaned to the team and Ottawa Senators RFA Christian Jaros and free agent forward Tomas Jurco expected to sign. Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak also has ties to the club, but with the Lighting still alive in the postseason and hoping to sty that way for a while longer, he may not need the early start for next season. Slovan Bratislava, which has already received a handful of prospects on loan, are expecting another in the more high-profile Martin Fehervary, the promising defenseman from the Washington Capitals.

Zach Fucale Signs With Washington Capitals

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals have shored up their goaltending depth for next season, signing Zach Fucale to a one-year, two-way contract for 2020-21. The deal will see Fucale earn $700K in the NHL and $75K in the AHL.

There was a time when Fucale was one of the top goaltending prospects in the entire world. Selected 36th overall in 2013 (the top goaltender in that entire draft class), the Montreal Canadiens believed they had the next great French-Canadian goalie. Things haven’t gone quite that smoothly since however, as Fucale never did make it to the NHL in Montreal. In fact, the 25-year-old goaltender has spent more time in the ECHL than the AHL over his professional career.

That might be where he is heading in the Capitals organization too, though there will be an opportunity to move up if the team doesn’t bring Braden Holtby back. In any case, it’s unlikely that Fucale will play a role with the NHL team unless injury strikes.

Metropolitan Notes: Capitals, Konecny, Riikola

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Washington Capitals were forced to make some significant lineup changes after several players were deemed out of the lineup for their matchup with the New York Islanders Sunday. The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports the Caps will be without Nicklas Backstrom (concussion) for a second straight game. The team, however, is also expected to be without Travis Boyd and Michal Kempny.

Backstrom missed Game 2 due to being in concussion protocol. He made an appearance at Saturday’s practice with many hoping that he would step in for Game 3 with the Capitals being down 2-0 in their series against the Islanders. However, he is not ready and Lars Eller is expected to move into the second-line center role with Brian Pinho expected to make his NHL debut and step into the third-line center role. Both Boyd and Kempny are healthy scratches with Radko Gudas checking in.

  • While there has been no official word on his status, Philadelphia Flyers fans might be able to breathe easier as forward Travis Konecny was seen at the Flyers’ morning skate, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. The Flyers’ forward was forced to leave Game 2 after blocking a shot with his leg. Konecny, who has scored 24 goals for three straight years, would be a big addition for the team that lost 5-0 to Montreal Friday. If Konecny doesn’t go today, Michael Raffl is expected to go in his place.
  • PGH Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski writes that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Juuso Riikola, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason, isn’t going to be returning to Finland. The 26-year-old stuck around with the Penguins as a seventh defenseman, appearing in 36 games. However, while the team felt he needs more time to work on his defensive game, Riikola will likely battle Pierre-Olivier Joseph for a third-line spot on the team next season.

Capitals Hopeful Nicklas Backstrom Will Be Available On Sunday

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • The Capitals are hoping to have center Nicklas Backstrom back for Game Three of their series against the Islanders on Sunday, notes Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. He missed Friday’s contest as he is currently in concussion protocol.  With Washington down 2-0 in the series already, they could certainly use the 32-year-old who was third on the team in scoring during the regular season with 12 goals and 42 assists in 61 games.

Injury Notes: Pastrnak, Backstrom, Vehvilainen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Boston Bruins dropped a game time bomb on Thursday night, announcing that star forward David Pastrnak had been deemed “unfit to participate” and would miss Game Two. There is no official word on Pastrnak’s condition and whether he will miss any future games with this current ailment. It could be that the Rocket Richard winner simply could not bounce back from a minor injury sustained on Wednesday in just over 24 hours’ time. Pastrnak did appear to be in discomfort following his assist on the game-winning goal in double overtime of Game Two. However, others have noted that Pastrnak also missed practice on Monday and could be nursing a lingering issue. The Bruins certainly do not want their elite scorer to be out of the lineup for too long, so any further clarification on Pastrnak’s injury will be key to Boston’s Stanley Cup hopes this postseason. In the meantime, Anders Bjork has replaced Pastrnak on the team’s top line while Karson Kuhlman has been inserted into the lineup.

  • The Washington Capitals will also be missing one of their stars for Game Two on Friday. First line center Nicklas Backstrom has entered the league’s concussion protocol, reportscom’s Tom Gulitti, and will not be able to return to the lineup just yet. Backstrom was the recipient of high hit from the New York Islanders’ Anders Lee, which cost him two penalty minutes, early in the first period of the Capitals’ Game One loss on Tuesday. Backstrom played through the period but did not return after the break. There is no word on how long Backstrom may be out of the lineup. While Backstrom is certainly a major loss, his absence fortunately lines up with a return for fellow center Lars Eller, who had left the Toronto bubble due to the birth of his son and missed Game One.
  • Veini Vehvilainen has arrived in Toronto to join the Columbus Blue Jackets as their No. 3 goalie, with Elvis Merzlikins still nursing an injury. The Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger notes that Vehvilainen has already officially joined the roster after landing Wednesday, while adding that he will not count against the 31-man maximum bubble roster limit as goalie injuries allow for an exception to be made. In the unlikely event that Vehvilainen has to make an appearance for Columbus, it would be his NHL debut. The well-regarded Finnish product finally made the jump to North America this season, but played exclusively in the AHL.

Metropolitan Notes: Werenski, Murray, Carlson, Kuznetsov, Hamilton

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a tough loss Friday when they blew a three-goal lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final four minutes of the game only to see themselves fall in overtime, giving Toronto a chance to force a Game 5. Many point to the defensive injuries to Zach Werenski, who missed the final nine minutes of the game, as well as the missing Ryan Murray. However, Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella announced today that both Werenski and Murray are expected to play in today’s matchup, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton.

The 23-year-old Werenski was expected to be a major loss to the team, trying to stave off the offensive power of Toronto. He suffered an upper-body injury during the third period and underwent and MRI Saturday. That test must have come back positive as the blueliner is expected to return to the ice. He has averaged 26:42 of ice time for Columbus and should provide a major obstacle for Toronto. Murray was scratched for Game 4, but is also expected to return to the ice. Goaltender Jonas Korpisalo is expected to start in net.

  • The Washington Capitals were without John Carlson when the team took the ice Sunday against the Boston Bruins. The team’s top defenseman has yet to make an appearance in any of the team’s round-robin games with an undisclosed injury, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  There is no word on whether he will be available for Game 1 of the team’s first-round matchup. Carlson was a dominating force, posting 75 points in 69 games during the regular season and is a key piece to the team’s long-term success in the playoffs. Head coach Todd Reirden also noted that forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has returned to his usual place in the lineup after being benched in the third period, according to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. The center only played in three shifts in the third period due to his inconsistent play.
  • NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reported that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that it’s too early to tell whether defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be ready to go for Game 1 of the playoffs this week due to an undisclosed injury. However, Brind’Amour did say that if Hamilton is ready to go, he will play. Unfortunately, the coach did say that defenseman Brett Pesce, out with a shoulder injury, is not expected to play in this next series.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top