Although Devante Smith-Pelly’s absence from Washington’s lineup so far this preseason has been conditioning-related, Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports that the Capitals won’t be taking the same route that Tampa Bay did with Jake Dotchin by seeking to terminate his contract. GM Brian MacLellan noted last year that Smith-Pelly’s conditioning level wasn’t ideal in his first training camp with the team but the 26-year-old wound up being an important contributor for them in the postseason. It certainly appears that his second campaign with the team will start in a similar manner.
Elsewhere out East:
- The Senators had some trade talks regarding recently-waived center Zack Smith but Ottawa was hoping to avoid taking a contract in the return, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Considering he has three years and $9.75MM left on his contract, it’s understandable to think that teams that have interest would want to offset the money somewhat which has led to the team putting him on waivers in the hopes that a team would assume the remainder of the contract for free. Garrioch spoke with some general managers around the league and they indicated that it’s unlikely that Smith will be picked up.
- Rangers winger Matt Beleskey sustained a shoulder injury in a fight last night against the Devils, notes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. However, head coach David Quinn doesn’t believe it will be a long-term issue but adds that it’s “too early to tell”. Beleskey came to New York as part of the Rick Nash trade but spent the majority of the time at the minor league level. He was already viewed as somewhat of a long-shot to make the team despite his contract and this won’t help his cause.
- Penguins center Riley Sheahan returned to practice after missing the last ten days with a lower-body injury, notes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pittsburgh hopes to get him into at least one preseason game and have a couple of chances to do so with the team playing Wednesday and Friday.