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NHL Fines Washington Capitals $100K For Violating COVID Protocol

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UPDATE: For some context as to why the league took the Capitals’ violation so seriously, just look at the caliber of the players at fault. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin, and Ilya Samsonov appeared on the NHL’s COVID Protocol Related Absences list today, implying that the group including the captain and starting goalie were the perpetrators of the COVID violation.

The Capitals have released a statement lamenting the actions of their players. Ovechkin himself also released a statement of regret that he and his teammates socialized in their hotel room rather than in approved locker room areas.

 

The NHL is not fooling around when it comes to protecting its players and staff as well as its 2020-21 season from the Coronavirus pandemic. The league has announced this evening that the Washington Capitals have been fined $100K for violations of the NHL COVID-19 Protocols. The Capitals are the first team to face discipline related to the league’s COVID policies.

As might be expected, the perpetrators in this case were the Washington players. The league reports that the Capitals were cited for “social interaction among team members who were in close contact and who were not wearing face coverings.” While the players obviously interact with one another on the ice and on the bench during games and practices, the league has asked that all additional exposure be limited – a request that the Capitals did not adhere to.

Especially in a season in which revenue will be slashed considerably due to the lack of fans in the stands, a $100K fine is no small thing for owner Ted Leonsis and his team. The NHL has made an example of the Capitals to show that there will not be any leniency, even for a first offense, when it comes to COVID protocol. The hope is that this message comes through clearly around the league as the NHL hopes to get through the current season without issue in the midst of an ongoing public health crisis.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/20/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Other than the Montreal Canadiens, listed as TBA, and the Dallas Stars, the other 29 teams are covered on today’s list:

Carolina – Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri
Florida – Juho Lammikko
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Jesper Bratt*
NY Islanders – Josh Bailey*
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay –  Curtis McElhinney
Washington Capitals – Evgeny Kuznetsov*, Dmitry Orlov*, Alex Ovechkin*, Ilya Samsonov*
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg, Tucker Poolman

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Eric Comrie, New Jersey Devils; Blake Coleman, Tampa Bay Lightning.

As for the missing teams, the Canadiens are on the road in Vancouver and have until 5:00pm local time to report, but are not expected to have any players in the protocol. As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

*denotes new addition

Craig Anderson Officially Signs With Washington Capitals

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Now that he has cleared waivers, Craig Anderson’s contract with the Washington Capitals has been officially announced. The veteran goaltender has inked a one-year deal worth $700K and will be immediately assigned to the club’s taxi squad.

Anderson, 39, comes to Washington as a pseudo-replacement for Henrik Lundqvist, after the latter was forced to sit out the season due to health concerns. Though their ages may be similar, the Capitals’ expectations of them are not. While Lundqvist was set to partner with Ilya Samsonov in the NHL, playing regularly, Anderson will slot in as the third option behind promoted Vitek Vanecek and be insurance for injury or inconsistency.

That means there is a lot riding on Samsonov, who certainly showed he could be one of the league’s best in his debut last year. Through 26 NHL games the 23-year-old goaltender has a .913 save percentage and a 16-6-2 record. Samsonov will take the lion’s share of the starts for the Capitals this year, with Vanecek, who is a strong goaltending prospect in his own right, slowly working his way in as a rookie.

Anderson meanwhile is mostly expected to watch from the sidelines, though it is quite the luxury for the Capitals to have a veteran of 648 NHL games waiting in the wings. He posted a .902 save percentage in 34 appearances last season, better than many backups around the league.

Seven Players Clear Waivers

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Jan 14: All seven players have cleared waivers and can report to a taxi squad or the minor leagues.

Jan 13: The first day of the hockey season is upon us and waivers are still jam-packed. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Par Lindholm (BOS), Devin Shore (EDM), Dmytro Timashov (NYI), Boo Nieves (TBL), Craig Anderson (WSH), Rodrigo Abols (FLA), and Kevin Connauton (FLA) are on waivers today.

Of course, several of these players did not have official contracts filed before today, meaning they now do.

Washington Capitals reporter Mike Vogel tweets that the team has signed Anderson to a one-year deal after bringing him into camp on a professional tryout. The deal will carry an average annual value of $700K. He will report to the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers. The Capitals have already announced that the team will go with Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek to start the season, but Anderson certainly provides a lot of experience at the position if anything goes sideways. The 39-year-old goaltender has 648 games played in his long career and carries a save percentage of .913.

Shore and Nieves are both brand new signings that their teams announced, both two-way contracts worth around $700K. Nieves’ deal was announced yesterday by the Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Edmonton Oilers announced Shore’s deal earlier this morning.

Timashov and Connauton were also both unsigned as of today, though it was clear that both had earned contracts already. The New York Islanders have been very coy with all of their training camp deals, while the Florida Panthers had kept Connauton with the group on a professional tryout. Their official contracts should be announced at some point today, given they are now on waivers.

Training Camp Cuts: 01/12/21

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It’s the last day before NHL hockey returns, so teams will have to finalize their rosters and get ready for action. Though most of the heavy lifting was done yesterday, there will still be some cuts made today. We’ll keep track of them right here. This page will be updated throughout the day as more releases come in.

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Arttu Ruotsalainen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Jacob Bryson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Mattias Samuelsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

F Jeremy Bracco (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jason Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Seth Jarvis (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jamieson Rees (to Chicago, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Chicago, AHL)
F Drew Shore (to Chicago, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Chicago, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F John Quenneville (to Rockford, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (to Rockford, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Pat Nagle (released)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release):

F Brandon Baddock (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (to Laval, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (to Laval, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Laval, AHL)
F Jacob Lucchini (to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Jordan Weal (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
D Gustav Olofsson (to Laval, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Laval, AHL)
G Vasili Demchenko (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Laval, AHL)

 

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release):

F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Linus Sandin (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Tyson Foerster (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Chris Bigras (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Max Willman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Roddy Ross (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Kurtis Gabriel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Fredrik Claesson (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release):

F Sam Anas (to Utica, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Utica, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Utica, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Utica, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Utica, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to Utica, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Utica, AHL)
F Nathan Walker (to Utica, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Utica, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Utica, AHL)
D Tyler Tucker (to Utica, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to Utica, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Utica, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Utica, AHL)
F Matthias Laferriere (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):

F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Will Lockwood (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
D Jett Woo (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Phillippe Maillet (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Hershey, AHL)

Training Camp Cuts: 01/11/21

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Camp cuts will come fast and furious today, with the waiver wire taking dozens and dozens of names in the final day before taxi squad assignments must be made. Remember, just being placed on waivers does not necessarily mean you’ve been cut from the team. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of the team-announced cuts right here:

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Brandon Biro (to Rochester, AHL)
F Steven Fogarty (to Rochester, AHL)
F Brett Murray (to Rochester, AHL)
F C.J. Smith (to Rochester, AHL)
D Casey Fitzgerald (to Rochester, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Rochester, AHL)
D Ryan Jones (to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (to Rochester, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F Andrei Altybarmakian (to Rockford, AHL)
F Evan Barratt (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matej Chalupa (to Rockford, AHL)
F MacKenzie Entwistle (to Rockford, AHL)
F Reese Johnson (to Rockford, AHL)
F Cam Morrison (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tim Soderlund (to Rockford, AHL)
F Michal Teply (to Rockford, AHL)
D Chad Krys (to Rockford, AHL)
D Alec Regula (to Rockford, AHL)
F Michael Krutil (released)
G Cale Morris (released)

Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release):

G Veini Vehvilainen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Angle (released)
F Justin Scott (released)
D Thomas Schemitsch (released)
G Brad Thiessen (released)

Los Angeles Kings (via team release):

F Aidan Dudas (to Ontario, AHL)
F Mikey Eyssimont (to Ontario, AHL)
F Samuel Fagemo (to Ontario, AHL)
F Boko Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Rasmus Kupari (to Ontario, AHL)
F Tyler Madden (to Ontario, AHL)
F Akil Thomas (to Ontario, AHL)
D Daniel Brickley (to Ontario, AHL)
D Sean Durzi (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (to Ontario, AHL)
D Markus Phillips (to Ontario, AHL)
G Jacob Ingham (to Ontario, AHL)
G Matt Villalta (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (via team release):

F Mitchell Chaffee (to Iowa, AHL)
F Joseph Cramarossa (to Iowa, AHL)
F Connor Dewar (to Iowa, AHL)
F Brandon Duhaime (to Iowa, AHL)
F Gabriel Dumont (to Iowa, AHL)
F Mason Shaw (to Iowa, AHL)
D Calen Addison (to Iowa, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (to Iowa, AHL)
G Dereck Baribeau (to Iowa, AHL)
G Hunter Jones (to Iowa, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team release):

F Nate Schnarr (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Brett Seney (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Kevin Bahl (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Nikita Okhotiuk (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Reilly Walsh (to Binghamton, AHL)
G Evan Cormier (to Binghamton, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release):

F Josh Currie (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Radim Zohorna (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Kevin Czuczman (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Cam Lee (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Nathan Legare (to Val d’Or, QMJHL)
F Samuel Poulin (to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
F Jordan Nolan (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Lean Bergmann (to San Jose, AHL)
F Alexander True (to San Jose, AHL)
F Joachim Blichfeld (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jaycob Megna (to San Jose, AHL)
D Ryan Merkley (to San Jose, AHL)
G Josef Korenar (to San Jose, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release):

F Alex Barre-Boulet (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Ross Colton (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jack Finley (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Gage Goncalves (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jimmy Huntington (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Boris Katchouk (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Taylor Raddysh (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Sean Day (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Alex Green (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Dmitry Semykin (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Daniel Walcott (to Syracuse, AHL)*
F/D Luke Witkowski (to Syracuse, AHL)*
G Spencer Martin (to Syracuse, AHL)*

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team release):

F Kenny Agostino (to Toronto, AHL)*
F Joey Anderson (to Toronto, AHL)
F Pierre Engvall (to Toronto, AHL)
F Nic Petan (to Toronto, AHL)
D Mac Hollowell (to Toronto, AHL)
D Teemu Kivihalme (to Toronto, AHL)
D Timothy Liljegren (to Toronto, AHL)
D Martin Marincin (to Toronto, AHL)*
D Calle Rosen (to Toronto, AHL)*
G Michael Hutchinson (to Toronto, AHL)
F Justin Brazeau (to Toronto, AHL)
F Rourke Chartier (to Toronto, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to Toronto, AHL)
F Scott Sabourin (to Toronto, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release):

F Jake Leschyshyn (to Henderson, AHL)
F Lucas Elvenes (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jack Dugan (to Henderson, AHL)
F Ben Jones (to Henderson, AHL)
F Peyton Krebs (to Henderson, AHL)
D Kaedan Korczak (to Henderson, AHL)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to Henderson, AHL)
D Brayden Pachal (to Henderson, AHL)
D Connor Corcoran (to Henderson, AHL)
G Logan Thompson (to Henderson, AHL)
G Dylan Ferguson (to Henderson, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Kody Clark (to Hershey, AHL)
F Brett Leason (to Hershey, AHL)
F Garrett Pilon (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Riley Sutter (to Hershey, AHL)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (to Hershey, AHL)
F Hendrix Lapierre (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via team release):

F Joona Luoto (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Skyler McKenzie (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Kristian Reichel (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Declan Chisholm (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Luke Green (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Johnathan Kovacevic (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Mikhail Berdin (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Jimmy Oligny (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Cole Kehler (released)

*Must clear waivers first.

Zdeno Chara Signs With Washington Capitals

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In perhaps the most shocking turn of events in an already bizarre offseason, Zdeno Chara will not be re-signing with the Boston Bruins. Chara confirmed his departure with a long, emotional message to Boston fans on his Instagram. Instead, the 43-year-old will be joining the fourth team of his decades-long career, signing a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals worth $795K. CapFriendly adds that the deal also includes an additional $730K in bonuses: $230K for ten games played, $250K if the Capitals make the playoffs, and $250K if the Capitals win the Stanley Cup.

Chara will once again be the oldest player in the NHL, continuing his climb up the all-time games played leaderboard. The gigantic defenseman currently sits 15th with 1,553 regular season matches, trailing only Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton among active players. That career, which started in 1997-98 with the New York Islanders, has also included nearly 200 playoff games and a Stanley Cup championship in 2011 with the Bruins.

Even though the writing seemed to be on the wall—including some recent comments from team president Cam Neely—Chara’s departure from Boston seems unthinkable at this point. Though he didn’t arrive in Boston until 2006, more than 500 games into his NHL career, he will be forever linked to the historic franchise as one of its greatest and most memorable players of all-time. Even now into his forties, Chara is still an exceptional penalty killer and can perform well in the defensive end, though his foot speed and offensive ability have greatly diminished.

In Washington, he would be able to provide leadership, physicality, and depth to a team that is looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. The team is getting a lot closer to the end of their championship window and had already tried to bring a legend from a rival Eastern Conference team when they signed Henrik Lundqvist. Though Lundqvist won’t play for the Capitals this season, Washington will get to enjoy Chara on the ice every night.

Where he fits into the Capitals lineup is not clear, though the team’s defensive group was leaning to the right side as the season approached. John Carlson, Justin Schultz, Nick Jensen, and Trevor van Riemsdyk are all right-handed options, meaning Chara can perhaps give some balance to the left side alongside Brenden Dillon, Dmitry Orlov, and Jonas Siegenthaler.

Amazingly, in this unique season, Chara will actually be battling the Bruins on a regular basis. Washington and Boston are both part of the East Division and will play each other eight times in the 56-game season. Even if the veteran isn’t in the lineup every night for the Capitals, it seems likely he’ll be on the ice for each of those occasions.

Of course, not only is Chara a big leadership add for the Capitals, but he also comes at a very reasonable price. He’ll come in with a lower cap hit than both van Riemsdyk and Siegenthaler, meaning anything he brings to the table is a positive. His low price could even mean that Washington moves someone else out, though depth will be even more important this season.

For the Bruins meanwhile, they’ve now watched both Chara and Torey Krug leave in one offseason, dramatically changing the look of their defense. Sure, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk are very strong players that perhaps can handle even more responsibility, but Chara and Krug were the obvious leaders on Boston’s blueline. They’ll also now have to decide on a new captain, with Patrice Bergeron the obvious choice.

Washington wasn’t the only team after the veteran, once the chance of him leaving Boston became a reality. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that two-thirds of the league checked in on Chara, while Eric Engels of Sportsnet tweets that he was told the Montreal Canadiens had an interest. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise, especially from teams that have had to try and deal with the 6’9″ legend.

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News was first to report that Chara was headed to Washington. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Henrik Lundqvist Will Not Play This Season

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Dec 28: Lundqvist announced on Twitter that he will undergo open-heart surgery to try and fix his health issues. The procedure will include an aortic valve, aortic root, and ascending aortic replacement.

Dec 17: The Washington Capitals’ big offseason acquisition won’t actually get to play for them this season. Henrik Lundqvist announced in an emotional tweet that he will not be able to suit up for the Capitals due to a heart condition. The full letter to fans:

It breaks my heart (literally) to share this news: I will not be joining the Capitals this upcoming season. After many weeks of tests and conversations with specialists around the country, it’s been determined that a heart condition will prevent me from taking the ice. Together, we have decided that the risk of playing before remedying my condition is too high, so I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action.

For the past two months I’ve been so inspired by the opportunity to play in DC and committed to my game, spending every day at the rink to prepare for the upcoming season. The news was very difficult to process but after the last test result earlier this week we knew there was only one way to go from here.

I want to thank the entire Capitals organization for not only giving me this opportunity but also for their support throughout this challenging time. I will take the next few weeks to be with my family and I’ll be back to share the next steps. 

This is such disappointing news for one of the great players of the last generation. Lundqvist, who will turn 39 in March, sits sixth on the all-time wins list with 459, every one of them recorded with the New York Rangers. That era came to an end when the veteran goaltender signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Capitals in October to replace Braden Holtby as the new backup for phenom Ilya Samsonov.

Often considered among the greatest players to never win the Stanley Cup, Lundqvist finished at least sixth in Vezina Trophy voting in each of his first ten seasons, winning the award in 2012 when he posted a .930 save percentage in 62 games. While he hasn’t actually won the thing, Lundqvist’s playoff performances have been among legend, with a .921 through 130 postseason appearances. In Sweden, perhaps he is even better known for his international exploits, which include Olympic and World Championship gold and silver medals.

For those wondering how this affects the Capitals salary cap situation, the team’s best course of action would likely be to place Lundqvist on unconditional waivers and terminate the deal. Though 35-plus contracts usually count regardless of what happens, that is only in the case of multi-year agreements, which Lundqvist was obviously not. If his contract is terminated, it will come off the books completely.

Regardless, the focus now should be on Lundqvist’s health and future. Here’s hoping we haven’t seen the last of the King on an NHL ice surface.

Washington Capitals Sign Craig Anderson To Professional Tryout

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With rumors that the team might be looking for a veteran netminder after the team lost veteran Henrik Lundqvist to injury, the Washington Capitals announced they have signed longtime Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson to a professional tryout.

Washington had high expectations for their goaltending when they signed Lundqvist to help share the workload with young phenom Ilya Samsonov. However, when Lundqvist backed out due to a heart condition, the team was left with very little cap room and two AHL goaltenders, Vitek Vanecek and Pheonix Copley, to fill that void.

That prompted the team to bring in the 39-year-old Anderson to see whether he can fill the void in net for Lundqvist and give the two AHL goaltenders another season to develop. Anderson, who spent the last 10 years in Ottawa, has struggled the last few years with the Senators, albeit behind a terrible defense. He finished last season with a 11-17-2 record with a 3.25 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

His biggest competition will likely be Vancek, who many people feel is ready to take on the backup job after two impressive seasons with the Hershey Bears, including one as an AHL all-star. The 24-year-old Vanecek, however, has no NHL experience (despite being Braden Holtby’s backup in the bubble last year) and with the expectation of many back-to-back games coming this season, it could be a tough situation to put an untested goalie in. However, Anderson will have to prove that he still has it after Ottawa informed the veteran that it wanted to move on from him after his contract expired this past offseason and no other team came calling until now.

Capitals Considering Adding Another Goaltender

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When Henrik Lundqvist quickly agreed to sign with Washington after being bought out by the Rangers back in October, it looked as if the Capitals had their goaltending tandem in place with the veteran set to work alongside youngster Ilya Samsonov.  However, it was revealed last week that his season is over before it even started due to a heart condition.

While several skaters of note have waited to sign new contracts, most of the notable goalie activity in free agency came and went as soon as it opened up so most of the viable options are already gone.  Despite that, GM Brian MacLellan indicated to reporters, including J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington, that they’re taking a look at who’s still out there:

We’ll do our due diligence on the guys who are out there. And if we see somebody that fits, that has experience, that’s willing to accept a certain role, we’re open to adding a guy, too. We’re open-minded, but we also like where we’re at.

Veterans Craig Anderson and Jimmy Howard are the most notable remaining unrestricted free agents still on the open market while Cory Schneider technically remains unsigned although he is expected to eventually sign with the Islanders.  Of course, they could look to the trade or waiver market as well; several veterans will eventually find themselves on the waiver wire in order to be assigned to taxi squads which would present several other options for Washington to choose from closer to the start of the season.

If MacLellan opts to stick with the status quo, the internal options are Pheonix Copley and Vitek Vanecek.  Although Copley was Washington’s backup back in 2018-19, it may be Vanecek’s spot to lose since he served as the backup for them in the bubble after Samsonov was unable to play due to injury.  MacLellan certainly seems to believe that Vanecek is ready for an NHL opportunity:

We’re happy with his progress, we’re happy with his experience. The only thing for us is that he hasn’t played much in the NHL. Had a good showing in the bubble in the chance he got in so I think all along we’ve been hopefully trying to get him some games and he hasn’t gotten them and this should be a good opportunity for him to get some games to see where he’s at.

While Washington will be eligible to place Lundqvist on LTIR, his salary for the upcoming season was just $1.5MM which becomes the maximum that they’ll be able to spend to replace him.  They also have Michal Kempny heading for LTIR as well.  If the Capitals are content going with Vanecek and his $717K cap hit, it would free up a little bit more wiggle room for them to try to add another low-priced veteran skater to the fold or give them enough space to at least recall an extra skater when injuries inevitably arise.  While the Caps are looking at options outside the organization, it certainly seems like Samsonov’s backup spot will be Vanecek’s to lose.

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