Dmitry Orlov

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals

August 20, 2017 at 4:16 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Washington Capitals

Current Cap Hit: $70,910,107 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jakub Vrana ($863K, two years remaining)

This is where the Capitals have gotten themselves into trouble. Playing to win it all for the last couple of years has taken a toll on the depth of the team’s roster as they have chosen to go with veterans rather than allow youngsters to work their way into the lineup. Now that those contracts have become too much and the team has had to purge a number of free agents to stay under the cap, suddenly there is no depth to look to when they really need it.

Vrana, a former 2014 first-rounder returned to his team in Sweden after being drafted, but signed at the end of the 2015 season and joined the AHL Hershey Bears for three games, tallying five assists. He then added six points in 10 playoff games to establish himself as a top prospect. He scored 35 goals over the next two seasons in Hershey before being promoted to Washington last year. In 21 games, he tallied three goals and three assists and appears ready to step in to a bottom line role this year.

There are a number of minor leaguers that may be ready to step into the lineup such as defenders Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos, but none have seen any NHL action so far in their careers and there is no guarantee they will make the team out of training camp.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D John Carlson ($3.96MM, UFA)
F Lars Eller ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Tom Wilson ($2.0MM, RFA)
F Jay Beagle ($1.75MM, UFA)
G Philipp Grubauer ($1.5MM, RFA)
D Taylor Chorney ($800K, UFA)
F Devante Smith-Pelly ($650K, RFA)

The team has already lost several key defenseman in the past few months, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Nate Schmidt and Karl Alzner. Could Carlson be next? While the team still has several veteran remaining on their roster, the team might be hard-pressed to avoid losing another veteran defenseman. Currently penciled in to play next to Orlov, at 27 years old, he would be a big loss if the team is unable to bring him back. However, the team will be paying Orpik, Niskanen and Orlov, more than $16MM combined next year. Will Washington find the money for Carlson?

Wilson is a player who the Capitals have high hopes for. The 23-year-old wing is a former 2012 first-rounder and has played four years with the team already, usually among the bottom-tier lines. However, with smoe of the team’s losses on offense, including Marcus Johanson and Justin Williams, this might be the year that Wilson breaks out. He is currently penciled in on the team’s second line and while he managed just seven goals a year ago, he did put up three playoff goals, showing he might be ready for an enhanced role. As a restricted free agent in 2018, the team will have some control on managing his salary.

Perhaps one of the more interesting decisions the team must make is what they plan to do with their backup goalie. Grubauer is considered to be one of the top-young goaltending prospects and while he was not chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, many feel that he could be a solid starting goaltender. However, with Holtby in front of him and locked up for three more years, that role would not likely be given to Grubauer in Washington. With minor leaguer Pheonix Copley looking ready to become the team’s backup and the presence of 2014 second-round prospect Vitek Vanacek and 2015 first-round prospect Ilya Samsonov, the team is loaded with goaltending talent. It seems far more likely the team will move Grubauer at some point, maybe at the trade deadline next season to add much needed depth.

Eller is at best a third line center, who averages between 10 and 15 goals per season. Barring a breakout year and he’s already 28 years old so that seems unlikely, Eller at $3.5MM might be too expensive to bring back in a year, but it’s too early to tell. Beagle did have a career year last year and should challenge Eller for that third-line center job with the loser likely to man the fourth line. Beagle, a faceoff specialist, scored 13 goals last year. If the team can bring them back on relatively cheap deals, they might be able to retain them.

Chorney was used primarily as an extra defenseman last year and only managed 18 games last season. With the team’s lack of depth after their top four, Washington may have no choice but to give Chorney a chance to win one of the last spots. The 30-year-old did manage to get into 55 games a year ago. Smith-Pelly, a quiet free agent acquisition this offseason, scored four goals in 55 games for New Jersey last year. Their futures will be decided by whether they make the team and how they perform.

Two Years Remaining

D Brooks Orpik ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Andre Burakovsky ($3MM, RFA)
F Brett Connolly ($1.5MM, UFA)

At 36 now and 38 years old when his contract expires, Orpik’s days could be numbered. While he’s never been a major offensive presence, his defense has helped anchor a Capitals team for several years since coming over from Pittsburgh, but his skills are already beginning to diminish and this deal is considered by many to be one of the worst deals the Caps have made over the last few years.

The player to keep an eye on is Burakovsky, who many believe might have a breakout season now that the team has lightened their forward depth. Burakovsky, a first-round pick in 2013, has 38 goals and 95 points in three seasons and is currently expected to move onto the team’s second line. In two years, he should be a restricted free agent and could ask for quite a contract if he can put together a couple of big seasons for the Capitals. Connolly is another player for the team to keep their eyes on. While the 25-year-old wing had a career year with Washington this year (15 goals, 23 assists), but the team will need to see what he does over the next two before awarding him another deal.

Three Years Remaining

F Nicklas Backstrom ($6.7MM, UFA)
G Braden Holtby ($6.1MM, UFA)

Both players would seem like obvious candidates to be brought back in three years, but there are a lot of factors that determine that. Backstrom will be 33, while Holtby will be 30, so both should still be in their prime. Backstrom’s 23 goals and more importantly, 63 assists were critical to the Capitals success this last year, while Holtby is the cornerstone in goal. There is no guarantee that any youth will step in and supplant them although the Capitals are strong in goaltending depth.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Alex Ovechkin ($9.54MM through 2020-21)
F Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8MM through 2024-25)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM through 2024-25)
D Matt Niskanen ($5.75MM through 2020-21)
D Dmitry Orlov ($5.1MM through 2022-23)

The Capitals have a great core and the team has obviously planned to put most of their money and years towards Kuznetsov, Oshie and Orlov as well as Ovechkin and Niskanen.

The team’s success has revolved around Ovechkin since the day he was drafted and little will change. He is locked up for another four seasons and no one would be surprised if they brought him back after that at age 35. Even though there was some trade chatter about moving on from their star, Washington will likely do everything it can over the next four years to compete for a championship. However, Ovechkin didn’t fare as well this year. After three 50-goal seasons, the 31-year-old wing dropped to a 33-goal season. Still great, but not his usual standard. Can he take his game back to that previous level?

The team then inked three of their stars to long-term deals this offseason. Kuznetsov is just 25 and should be solid for years, but was he worth $7.8MM per season? That’s a lot of money for good, but not great production. He suffered a down year compared to his 2015-16 season, but he’s coming off a 19 goal, 40 assist season, the Capitals have to hope he can take his game to the next level and fill in the offense they will lose this year. Otherwise that’s a lot of money spent on an average center.

Orlov also was extended this offseason. The 26-year-old defenseman signed a six-year, $30.6MM deal to remain with Washington. He finished the season with six goals and 33 points and may be ready to take over the defensive reigns. Many people thought Oshie would leave during free agency due to the Capitals’ cap issues, but the team found a way to keep the 30-year-old forward, signing him to an eight-year extension at $5.75MM. Whether he will be worth that much in his late 30s is unknown, but his 33 goals last year was a career high.

Niskanen remains solid on defense and will be needed even more with some of the offensive losses. The 30-year-old defenseman put up another solid season, scoring five goals and 34 assists for 39 points.

Buyouts

None

Best Value: Backstrom
Worst Value: Kuznetsov

Looking Ahead

The Capitals are a well-run franchise that has done an excellent job of spending money on their core of stars, while drafting well enough to have talent ready to go. They may have overreached themselves this past year as they lost quite a bit of talent and have several gaping holes on defense, but the team seems to have put together a great team that just has not been able to get themselves to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ovechkin still has a number of years left, so expect the Capitals to be aggressive and make moves to add more scoring and more defense over the next year or two. Don’t be shocked to see a goaltender get moved to make room for their prospects, but also to find new talent they can plug into their lineup.

Capitals Notes: Carlson, Defensive Depth, Arena

August 12, 2017 at 7:27 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson will have his work cut out for him this coming season. The Capitals which had one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league had no choice to break up their team due to salary cap issues. The team was forced to say goodbye to several players on their defense, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, and Nate Schmidt, leaving Carlson to take on an even bigger role next year.

The defense does still have some of their high-paid defensemen remaining on the roster, including 30-year-old Matt Niskanen, who has four years remaining on the contract he signed in 2014 at $5.75MM AAV. Brooks Orpik, 36, still has two years remaining on his deal which pays him $5.5MM annually. The Capitals also locked up 26-year-old Dmitry Orlov to a new six-year, $30.6MM deal this offseason.

Carlson, who may have been one of the least noticed defenseman on his team, is currently fourth among the highest paid Capitals’ defenders at $3.96MM for one more year. He put up solid numbers of nine goals and 28 assists in 22:43 average minutes of ice time. He will likely have to do that again as the depth ends there.

Carlson said he has always been used to youth in the clubhouse with last year being an exception, so the 27-year-old veteran is not surprised the Capitals are trending in that direction, according to Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic. Carlson said he wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up playing with a rookie next season.

Currently, fifth on their depth chart is 30-year Taylor Chorney, who played in 18 games last year. AHL defenders Christian Djoos (58 points in 66 games) and Madison Bowey (14 points in 34 games) are currently penciled on the defensive depth chart. There is even some talk the Capitals might entertain promoting 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen from the WHL.

The team still has time to make some additions as they still have more than $4MM in cap space. They could attempt to sign a free agent like Cody Franson to a minimal deal or attempt to broker a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights for one of their many defenders, but the Capitals have other holes to fill on offense as well, so in the end, they may go with what they have.

Gone unnoticed was that the Capitals changed the name of their stadium last week. Previously known as the Verizon Center since 2006, the new stadium will be called Capital One Arena, according to NHL.com. Originally opened in 1997 as the MCI Center, and while the connection between Capital One and the Capitals is a clever one, the arena is also home to the Washington Wizards of the NBA, the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and Georgetown University basketball.

2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker

July 1, 2017 at 11:50 am CDT | by natebrown Leave a Comment

Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.

Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.

July 1st:

Dmitry Orlov Signs Six-Year Deal With Washington Capitals

June 30, 2017 at 9:02 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 8 Comments

The Washington Capitals continue to lock up their players long-term, this time inking Dmitry Orlov to a six-year contact. The deal will pay him $30.6MM ($5.1MM AAV) over its duration, making the 25-year old Orlov the third highest paid defender on the team. Orlov was a restricted free agent, but now will be part of the team’s plans for the next half dozen years at least. The contract will be broken down as follows:

2017-18: $6.5MM
2018-19: $6.5MM
2019-20: $6.5MM, 5-team no-trade list
2020-21: $4.5MM, 5-team no-trade list
2021-22: $3.3MM, 5-team no-trade list
2022-23: $3.3MM, 5-team no-trade list

A second-round pick in 2009, Orlov has developed into one of the premiere young two-way defenders in the league. His 33 points last season ranked him within the top 50 among defensemen, and both possession metrics and traditional scouting has him as a plus player in all ends of the rink. His smooth skating and control of the puck helps the Capitals exit the zone with ease, and with a little more experience on the powerplay he could become a big point producer. He even received a single fifth-place Norris Trophy vote this season as one of the league’s best defensemen.

Orlov’s deal comes in just ahead salary wise of Toronto’s seven-year extension for Nikita Zaitsev, a similarly efficient two-way defender. Zaitsev has much less experience in the NHL, but actually outpaced him in points this season. The Toronto defender will average $4.5MM throughout his contract. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post points out Nick Leddy’s deal with the New York Islanders, a contract that he signed at just 23. In that deal, Leddy will earn $5.5MM per season over seven years (five remain) though he had a longer track record of success than Orlov does.

For the 25-year old, this deal comes as nice security after suiting up in all 82 games the last two seasons. Incidentally, the Capitals have won the President’s Trophy as the best regular season team in both those years, not in small part to Orlov’s contributions. He’ll join partner Matt Niskanen as long-term pieces for the Capitals, who will have a decision to make on John Carlson next summer. The 27-year old Carlson is an unrestricted free agent next year, and could potentially work out an extension with the team starting tomorrow. It’s unclear how much they’d want to commit to Carlson though, as they currently still have Brooks Orpik on the books for two seasons at $5.5MM.

With new contracts due for Andre Burakovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Philipp Grubauer it will be a tight fit for the Capitals this summer. They have just under $12.5MM left on the cap, which is expected to be almost entirely eaten up by extensions for those three. If the team wants to play in free agency, they’d have to find room somewhere else. If you’re thinking an Orpik buyout, think again; he would have had to been placed on waivers in order to get it in before the deadline at 4pm today. They may get another window later in the summer, but that will be long after most of the free agent frenzy has taken place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Metropolitan Snapshots: Grubauer, Kovalchuk, Ryan

June 25, 2017 at 3:53 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

Not that there are a lot of starting goaltending options available, but the Washington Capitals may have to move their backup Philipp Grubauer after all. With the impending defensive losses of free agents Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner, who the team likely cannot afford after the team locked up T.J. Oshie to an eight-year deal, and the loss of 25-year-old top-four defender Nate Schmidt to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, the team must find a way to replace their blueliners.

With cap room almost entirely used up and with several restricted free agents still to lock up, the Capitals have only two places to look to fill those holes – either from within or via trade, according to J.J. Regan of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The team still retains several key defensemen, including restricted free agent Dmitry Orlov, veterans Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen as well as John Carlson. From within, the team has 22-year-old Madison Bowey on hand, who might be ready to make the jump to the NHL. He was out with an ankle injury and missed a lot of the AHL season a year ago, but still had 14 points in 34 games. Still, he may not be the player you count on to jump onto a playoff team’s defensive line.

Therefore, the lack of depth on defense could easily force the team to move Grubauer, who was often talked about as an expansion candidate for the Golden Knights. However, since Grubauer has little chance to grab a starting gig in Washington and isn’t even the future of the franchise as that role likely belongs to 2015 first-round pick Ilya Samsonov. There are still several teams who need a quality, young goaltender and they may be able to offer an inexpensive blueliner to fill Washington’s needs.

While there have been dozens of teams linked to Ilya Kovalchuk over the past two months since he announced he’d like to return to the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets are one team that have shown interest in the 34-year-old Russian winger. However, while that interest still exists, Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline tweets that the team, as of today, are not in full pursuit of Kovalchuk, and are currently searching for a Top-6 center to fill in the gap.
The Carolina Hurricanes are closing in to signing Derek Ryan to one-year deal, tweets Edmonton Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer. Ryan, was a Masterson Trophy finalist this past year, which goes to a player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey. At age 30, the center finally broke through into the NHL after years of playing in Europe and the AHL, finishing the season with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points and being credited for helping change the culture of the Hurricanes locker room. He is coming off a one-year, $600,000 contract and looks to be getting a solid raise.

Offseason Keys: Washington Capitals

June 24, 2017 at 2:05 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While expansion was the early headline in what will be a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months to come. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Washington Capitals.

2016-17 was largely more of the same in Washington. They were the top team in the regular season but once again came up short in the played after being ousted by Pittsburgh in the second round. GM Brian MacLellan went all in with this group and now faces a summer where nearly half the team needs new contracts even after the re-signing of T.J. Oshie. That’s highlighted in multiple keys for their offseason.

Re-Sign The Russians

Washington has a pair of restricted free agents that have already been speculated as candidates to return home to Russia in center Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenseman Dmitry Orlov. Kuznetsov is the less likely of the two to go but he has suggested in the past that it’s something he would consider if contracts talks don’t go well at the start.

Orlov’s a more intriguing case, however. It took until late September for them to reach an agreement on a one year post-bridge contract worth $2.57MM. He responded with a career season and has arbitration rights. If he wants to secure an NHL deal, going that route seems like a logical outcome. If Orlov is considering playing in the KHL (and in the Olympics) though, this could be one that drags out for a while yet.

As for Kuznetsov, he’s also coming off his bridge deal and is lined up for a significantly larger payday than the $3.4MM salary he received in 2016-17. While his deployment was largely as a second liner thanks to Nicklas Backstrom being in front of him, he has produced like a front line player and will be looking to be paid like one; he too has arbitration rights. There’s a good chance his cap hit of $3MM from this past season will be doubled in this next deal which is something MacLellan will need to keep in mind as he plots out his other re-signings.

Decide On Remaining UFAs

Even after re-signing Oshie, the Capitals have one of the more prominent unrestricted free agents in defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Acquired as a rental player in advance of the trade deadline, it’s unlikely that he’ll be back.

However, beyond Shattenkirk, Washington has a couple of other veteran players who are bound to garner plenty of interest. Blueliner Karl Alzner is a top four stay-at-home player and his market will be one to watch given what happened to Kris Russell last summer. Winger Justin Williams has shown that he’s still a capable second line forward and should have several suitors as well. The Caps would undoubtedly like to keep both of them in the fold but they can’t afford to bring everyone back. MacLellan will need to have a few other plans in place depending on what the market dictates if everyone makes it to July 1st unsigned.

Add Left Side Defensive Help

Alzner has been a staple on Washington’s back end for the past seven seasons, giving them a dependable left side defender who can log top four minutes. Him leaving via free agency would create a big hole to fill. The team was hoping that Nate Schmidt would be able to step in to take that spot but he wound up being selected by the Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft so that option is off the table as well.

Presently, the Capitals have just two left shot defensemen under contract for next season in Brooks Orpik and Taylor Chorney and both of them aren’t ideal candidates for top four roles. Even if the team keeps one of their better right side players on the left, there’s still one vacancy that will need to be filled.

How MacLellan projects out the cap situation may dictate which route he goes to cover that spot. The cap hit will be pricier with a free agent signing and wouldn’t cost them any assets but would they prefer to go the trade route to get a cheaper fit even if the acquisition cost is higher? With so few players signed for next season presently, a lot is in flux with just a week to go until free agency opens up.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Early Expansion Protection News: Capitals, Kings, Flames, Predators, And More

June 17, 2017 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft is an exciting process. If you’re too riled up to wait until the lists are officially submitted in the morning, you’re in luck. As could be expected, information leaks are flooding in on who was and wasn’t protected by their teams ahead of the deadline this afternoon. This list will be updated all night long as more news comes in:

Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post was the first reputable source to release her team’s protection list, as she confirmed the Washington Capitals’ names not long after the 5:00 PM ET deadline. The lists includes the expected names: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Marcus Johansson, Lars Eller, Tom Wilson, Matt Niskanen, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, and Braden Holtby. While not surprising, the list does not include long-time Jay Beagle, promising young players Nate Schmidt and Brett Connolly, and a oft-rumored target of the Golden Knights, backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer.

L.A.-based hockey writer John Hoven got the list of protected players for the Los Angeles Kings, which confirms that they will indeed protect eight-skaters, including four defenseman, rather than the 7/3 protection scheme. Among the safe are Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez, and the key decision, Derek Forbort. Star goalie Jonathan Quick was also obviously protected. While the Kings succeeded in protecting the most valuable players on the roster, they still have left defenseman Brayden McNabb and a large assortment of forwards including Trevor Lewis, Nic Dowd, and Nick Shore open to selection.

Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, who covers the Calgary Flames, has some key names for his team as well. Francis confirmed that the Flames did not protect 2016 free agent acquisition Troy Brouwer, but did opt to save younger assets like Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland, and Curtis Lazar. Although Francis stops there, the rest of Calgary’s list is somewhat self explanatory with newly-acquired goalie Mike Smith, defensive core of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, and Dougie Hamilton, and cornerstone forwards Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Michael Frolik, and Mikael Backlund as obvious choices.

One not so obvious choice has been made in Nashville. Adam Vingan of The Tennessean answered a question on the minds of many, reporting that the Predators did in fact protect forward Calle Jarnkrok. With the rest of the eight-skater list all but set in stone with goalie Pekka Rinne, defensemen Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, and star forwards Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Viktor Arvidsson, the final forward spot came down to Jarnkrok, signed long-term, or James Neal, an elite scorer with just one year remaining on his contract. It seems that Neal will be open for selection, alongside names like Colton Sissons, Colin Wilson, and Craig Smith. Vignan adds that no deal has been struck between Vegas and the Predators to protect any of those players, with Nashville especially liking to retain Neal and Sissons.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that, interestingly enough, young Detroit Red Wings defenseman Xavier Ouellet was not protected by his team. This is the first real surprise of the expansion process and the first protection news that doesn’t match up with PHR’s Expansion Primer projections. The 23-year-old skated in 66 games this season for Detroit, third most among defenseman, and his 12 points tied that of top-pair man Danny DeKeyser. Yet, Ouellett will not join DeKeyser and Mike Green in protection, instead beaten out by another teammate. GM Ken Holland, who has gotten the reputation of perhaps being too loyal, possibly chose aging veteran Niklas Kronwall over Ouellet. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite the rebuilding Red Wings.

Another name confirmed to be unprotected is young Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Gaunce. Vancouver sports anchor Rick Dhaliwal was told that that Gaunce, a 2012 first-round pick, did not make the protection list for the Canucks, expected to be a 7/3 format, meaning that the team saw him as outside the top seven forwards on the team. The 23-year-old two-way specialist has upside, but after registering just five points in 57 games last season, no one will blame Vancouver for that choice.

Snapshots: Orlov, Kuznetsov, Schultz, Patrick

May 31, 2017 at 8:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While Washington GM Brian MacLellan’s suggestion that he’d consider trading Alex Ovechkin if the right ‘hockey deal’ came up down the road dominated the headlines yesterday, there were several other topics that came up during his session with the media.

Among those was a note regarding pending restricted free agents Dmitry Orlov and Evgeni Kuznetsov. There have already been reports that CSKA Moscow has expressed an interest in Orlov while KHL teams in general are making a concerted effort to bring Russian players back home and are hoping that the non-Olympic participation could work in their favor. Despite that, MacLellan noted to reporters, including Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic, that he’s hopeful of getting deals done with both players within the next month and that they’re open to signing both to long-term contracts.

The cap could potentially stand in the way of both getting longer deals though. The Capitals already have $50MM committed in payroll for next season to only 11 players with several prominent unrestricted free agents (including T.J. Oshie and Karl Alzner among others) on top of Orlov and Kuznetsov which means MacLellan will have a lot of tough decisions to make in the weeks ahead.

Other notes from around the league:

Penguins GM Jim Rutherford told Ken Campbell of The Hockey News that a new contract for Justin Schultz is his “top priority” when the playoffs end. Schultz took a $2.5MM pay cut last summer, banking on himself to have a bigger year with a full season in Pittsburgh. That’s exactly what happened as he had a career high 51 points. Pittsburgh’s cap situation could come into play though as Rutherford acknowledged that an arbitration award for Schultz – who sits one year from unrestricted free agency – could come in higher than they can afford. Accordingly, it’s likely that Pittsburgh will hope that Schultz will forego going after top dollar to stick with a system that seems to fit him perfectly.
Top draft prospect Nolan Patrick has been medically cleared to participate in the draft combine that is set to occur this Friday and Saturday, notes NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. He was dealing with a lower body injury sustained just before the WHL postseason. Patrick is ranked first overall for the upcoming draft by NHL Central Scouting and has already met with representatives from the Devils who hold the first overall pick.

KHL Targeting Restricted Free Agents

May 26, 2017 at 8:36 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

CSKA Moscow warned that they’d be after some of their Russian stars, attempting to woo them back with dreams of the 2018 Olympics and a chance to compete for their country. It seems they’ve found two targets, as Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports the KHL club is in contact with Washington Capitals defender Dmitry Orlov, and Philadelphia Flyers forward Roman Lyubimov. Both players are restricted free agents and could leave for their home country should they want to.

News from Russian clubs should be taken with a grain of salt, but this smoke may have a fire attached to it especially in the case of Lyubimov. In April, he side-stepped a question about going home to Russia for a chance to compete in the Olympics, saying it would be a “tough decision”. The Flyers forward did only come over to the NHL this season, and saw less than 10 minutes of ice-time a night in his 47 games. While he wouldn’t be a devastating loss for the Flyers, Orlov’s departure would send shocks through the Capitals system.

Unlike Lyubimov, Orlov has been in North America for several seasons, coming up through the AHL system and only making his presence really felt the past two seasons. The 25-year old puck-mover has turned into an excellent player, able to play almost 20 minutes a night and record 30 points a season. Losing him in the same season as Karl Alzner and the newly acquired Kevin Shattenkirk would hurt the Capitals’ defensive group quite a bit. Orlov also never played for Moscow, and in fact his hometown and former KHL team Novokuznetsk has just been exiled from the league in an attempt to get it more financially stable.

Orlov is in line for a hefty raise should he stay in North America this summer, one that it will actually be quite difficult for the Capitals to afford. With Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly, Nate Schmidt and Philipp Grubauer all hitting restricted free agency as well, the team will have to carefully carve up the cap-space pie to fit them all in. That’s assuming they don’t try to re-sign Alzner, Shattenkirk, T.J. Oshie, or Justin Williams, all of whom are unrestricted free agents this summer.

Finding Room For Oshie And Alzner

May 14, 2017 at 9:12 am CDT | by Seth Lawrence 3 Comments

T.J. Oshie has pretty clearly expressed his desire to remain in Washington, culminating in his most recent statement this Friday where he stated “I’m a Capital, and I feel that’s where I’ll be.” The difficulty for GM Brian McClellan obviously lies in fitting him under the team’s cap ceiling while affording other free agents, notably including RFA Evgeny Kuznetsov. Looking forward to next season, and barring any major trades, the Capitals will likely need to let go of the clutch Justin Williams in light of his impressive outing these playoffs. He will easily command $3 MM or more, and things are tight enough as is. Assuming the Capitals lose a defenseman in expansion, perhaps Dmitry Orlov, and the seemingly inevitable departure of Kevin Shattenkirk, their D-corps will look very different. Because of these losses, they will be pressed to find room for their shutdown defender Karl Alzner, also impending UFA.

If Oshie prices himself out, Alzner is a fantastic consolation prize. The ideal scenario for the team would be re-signing both, but contracts would absolutely need to be moved out. A realistic possibility the Capitals could consider is moving one of Brooks Orpik or Matt Niskanen. Both were signed in the summer of 2014, and both contracts would be difficult to move. Niskanen is undoubtedly the better hockey player at this juncture, but he also is under contract for another 4 seasons. At 30 years old, this is not too great of a risk, but his pricetag of $5.75 MM may prove too steep for a multitude of teams. He also has a limited No-Trade Clause, which would complicate any possible transaction.

The more preferable scenario would be to unload Orpik, but the 36 year old does not look long for the league, especially in this post-season. Although he is only under contract for 2 more seasons, his $5.5 MM would be quite the expense for many teams. Perhaps Vegas or a relatively young bottom dwelling team (Colorado, Buffalo) would be interested in his veteran savvy, but it would be a difficult sell. Orpik should not be considered a core piece, of the defense moving forward, especially with youngsters Dimitri Orlov and Nate Schmidt proving so valuable. His starts in the defensive zone have steadily declined over the past 6 seasons, and for a supposedly shutdown player, his quality of competition has also taken a nosedive. He contributes nearly nothing offensively for a team that thrives off of its offensive creativity, potting only 18 goals in over 1000 games played, including 0 this past season to go with 14 assists. His hitting ability is well-documented, but for a team that employs Tom Wilson, physicality will not be a problem. Finding a way before expansion to unload his contract would be a godsend, but it will take some maneuvering on the part of management.

Assuming the Capitals don’t move a contract out, they still will be left exposing one or both of Orlov and Schmidt. Up front, it’s obvious that Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Kuznetsov, Wilson, and two of the Oshie (if re-signed), Andre Burakovsky(RFA), Lars Eller trio will be protected. (Eller himself could be an option in a move for cap relief) On the backend, Niskanen and John Carlson look like locks, and a decision will need to be made regarding the third protected player. The wildcard for Washington is that, considering his strong play in very limited action, backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer could instead be claimed by Vegas.

It’s difficult to foresee where the Capitals go from here, realizing there will be bidding wars for the two players they are likely to want to retain in Oshie and Alzner. Even in a best case scenario, this Capitals team will not have the strength it did in 2016-17.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines