The Capitals have added some depth to their group of wingers, announcing the signing of Russian forward Sergei Shumakov to a one-year, entry-level contract. The contract will carry a cap hit of $925K at the NHL level, the maximum amount before bonuses. The maximum minor league salary for this type of deal is $70K. CapFriendly adds (Twitter link) that the contract also has an additional $425K in Schedule A performance bonuses.
It will be interesting to see if this contract contains a European Assignment Clause. Shumakov will be waiver-exempt this coming season and it’s hard to imagine him wanting to spend a lot of time in the AHL knowing that he opted out of a deal back home to join Washington.
The 25-year-old is coming off of a career year in the KHL that saw him collect 17 goals and 23 assists in 47 regular season games; his 40 points ranked in a tie for 19th overall in league scoring. He was expected to remain with CSKA Moscow until early this week when he terminated his contract.
Shumakov will now battle for a spot in Washington’s opening lineup. The team is bringing back virtually the same lineup that won the Stanley Cup back in June but there are some openings in the bottom six following the departures of Jay Beagle and Alex Chiasson. If he can land one of those spots, he should be able to give the Caps some extra scoring punch from their bottom lines.