- Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is leading a group that is reportedly the front-runner to purchase Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals, per reporting from The Athletic’s David Aldridge, Brittany Ghiroli, and Ken Rosenthal. Leonsis has been the owner of the Capitals since 1999 and would become just the second owner of teams in three of the four major U.S. professional men’s sports leagues. For more information on Leonsis’ potential purchase, we refer you to the more extensive coverage over at MLB Trade Rumors.
Capitals Rumors
Connor Brown Out Long-Term; Washington Capitals Recall Beck Malenstyn
With Evgeny Kuznetsov serving a suspension and Connor Brown unavailable due to injury, the Washington Capitals were forced to recall a forward. They have chosen Beck Malenstyn, who played 12 games for the team last season.
It is not clear yet how long Brown will be out, but the team told reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that it will be long-term. That isn’t an ideal situation for the team to be in, especially after losing Axel Jonsson Fjallby and Brett Leason to a roster crunch just a few days ago. That was a lot of the team’s depth, though they did add Sonny Milano on a one-year deal to help fill the cupboard back up.
Malenstyn, 24, has just 15 NHL appearances to his name and isn’t exactly an offensive force. The fifth-round pick scored just ten goals and 16 points in 65 games with the Hershey Bears last season but does offer a big body for the bottom-six. As everyone slides up, the Capitals have inserted Connor McMichael into the third-line center role for tomorrow’s game, while Conor Sheary jumps up to the top unit across from Alex Ovechkin and beside Lars Eller.
The team knows Kuznetsov will be back after his one-game suspension, but Brown’s absence will be noticeable. The versatile winger had averaged over 18 minutes through his first three games, most importantly as the team’s top penalty-killing forward. In fact, Kuznetsov was second on that list, meaning others will have to pick up the slack tomorrow night.
Evgeny Kuznetsov Suspended One Game
The Department of Player Safety has decided to suspend Evgeny Kuznetsov for one game for his high stick last night. The Washington Capitals forward will be held out of the team’s Thursday night match against the Ottawa Senators. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that this is not a careless use of the stick. Rather, this is an intentional stick swing toward an opponent that makes high contact. While we recognize Kuznetsov’s assertion that he did not mean to hit Burroughs so high, players are accountable for their stick at all times. What causes this play to rise to the level of supplementary discipline is the purposeful nature of the swing, and the location where it lands on the opponent.
When discussing Kuznetsov’s history, the video does not include his suspension for off-ice incidents, as expected. Interestingly though, it also references only one fine in his 603-game career. That is likely last season’s high-sticking infraction against Noel Acciari and means his previous fine for diving/embellishment was not taken into account as part of his relevant supplementary discipline history in this case.
After earning just a two-minute minor penalty on the play, the Capitals forward will have to sit and watch the team’s next game. With Connor Brown also missing practice with a lower-body injury, Washington could have a very different lineup on Thursday night.
Evgeny Kuznetsov To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
We could have our first suspension of the regular season, as Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Washington Capitals will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety later today. The incident in question was a high stick on Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kyle Burroughs, as he got to his feet following a scoring chance.
As Kuznetsov drives across the net with the puck, Burroughs moves across the crease and collides with the Capitals forward. As they are getting up, Kuznetsov delivers a forceful, two-handed swing that appears to connect with the Canucks defender’s face.
Not only does the video evidence look bad, but Kuznetsov also has a history of supplementary discipline, including a fine for high-sticking just last season. His only suspension, back in 2019, was for off-ice conduct that will likely not be taken into account. Still, given he has two on-ice fines and was only given a minor penalty, a suspension, in this case, seems likely.
Connor Brown Leaves Game
- Also done for the night is Washington Capitals forward Connor Brown, who suffered a lower-body injury, said the team. Brown was the recipient of a big hit from Vancouver Canucks defenseman Noah Juulsen. According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, Brown immediately grabbed at his right knee before leaving the ice without putting any weight on it. For the Capitals, who are carrying 14 forwards and have roughly $2MM remaining in LTIR space they can utilize, managing their roster should Brown miss any bit of time won’t be the challenge it has been for other teams this season, but that of course doesn’t account for the talent Brown himself brings to the lineup. Through three-plus games this season, Brown had yet to register a point, but did have 39 points over 64 games last season with the Ottawa Senators.
Sonny Milano Signs With Washington Capitals
10/16/22: The Capitals have now officially announced the deal. Per the announcement, it’s a one-year, $750k deal, and it was confirmed that Milano will be hitting waivers today for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Hershey.
10/15/22: The Washington Capitals are expected to sign Sonny Milano, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The deal will be a one-year, one-way $750K contract but Friedman notes that Milano will be starting in the AHL. That would require him to clear waivers, meaning there’s at least a chance that another team could claim him for their NHL roster right away.
Milano, 26, failed to earn an NHL contract the summer or with his professional tryout this fall. That was with the Calgary Flames, where he struggled to fit into the team’s system or provide much offensive spark.
That’s the key with Milano, who has always been exceptionally skilled but has struggled to play a consistent role in the NHL. The 16th overall pick in 2014, he has 197 games under his belt, 66 of them coming last season with the Anaheim Ducks. That was easily his best season, finding early chemistry with Trevor Zegras and racking up 14 goals and 34 points.
Notably though, that included just five points in his final 27 games, the kind of inconsistency that has plagued him his whole career.
Perhaps the Capitals will be able to coax that out of him, though there appears to be no guarantee of playing time if he’s starting in the minor leagues. Washington has lost some serious forward depth in recent days, with Axel Jonsson Fjallby and Brett Leason both claimed on waivers.
Those two combined for 59 games for the Capitals last season, moving up and down when needed.
Extension Talks Are Believed To Have Started With Peter Laviolette
There are currently four NHL head coaches in the final seasons of their contracts. Avoiding the ‘lame duck’ situation is something teams try to do and on that note, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported on the latest TSN Insider Trading segment that extension discussions are believed to be underway between the Capitals and bench boss Peter Laviolette. The 57-year-old is in his third season behind the bench in Washington with the team playing to a .636 points percentage in his 140 games at the helm. With GM Brian MacLellan admitting to LeBrun in a piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that a rebuild is basically off the table with their commitment to their veteran core, it makes sense that they’d want to keep Laviolette, whose reputation is that he’s a win-now coach, in the fold.
Carl Hagelin, Kody Clark Undergo Surgery
It’s tough news for veteran forward Carl Hagelin, as the Washington Capitals announced today that he underwent arthroscopic surgery to address a chronic left hip injury. Hagelin is out indefinitely, after missing a chunk of last season with an eye injury.
That’s not all, though, as the Capitals also announced surgery for Kody Clark to address a chronic condition with his left quad tendon. The prospect will miss six to eight months following the procedure.
Hagelin, 34, has made a career out of his skating ability, bursting up and down the ice with ease to put pressure on opposing players. That speed, defensive awareness, and versatility has made him an outstanding role player for great teams, and helped take the Pittsburgh Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships.
While some players struggle to reach the postseason at all, Hagelin has played 141 playoff games in his career and was rewarded nicely for that experience with a four-year, $11MM contract in 2019. That deal will expire after this season, meaning a serious hip issue might be spelling the end for the Swedish speedster.
Clark, meanwhile, is just starting on his professional journey. The 22-year-old winger was the 47th overall pick in 2018 and played his first full season for the Hershey Bears last year. In 63 games he managed to score eight goals and 19 points while racking up 53 penalty minutes. Losing key development time like this is never a good sign for a prospect’s long-term outlook.
Ducks Claim Brett Leason Off Waivers
While Anaheim lost a player on waivers today, they also picked one up as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed winger Brett Leason off waivers from Washington.
The 23-year-old split last season between the Capitals and their AHL affiliate in Hershey. With Washington, Leason played in 36 games, recording three goals and three assists while averaging just under nine minutes a night. He was a bit more productive with the Bears, however, tallying six goals and seven helpers in 31 contests down there. His career-best in points in the minors is only 20 despite finishing up his junior career with a dominant performance in 2018-19 that saw him put up 89 points in 55 games with WHL Prince Albert, helping to make him a second-round pick in his final year of draft eligibility.
This was Leason’s first year of being waiver-eligible and he came up just short of making Washington’s opening roster and will now try to earn himself a spot in Anaheim’s lineup over the coming days. He’s beginning the first season of a two-year, one-way contract that carries a cap hit of $775K.
Jets Claim Axel Jonsson Fjallby Off Waivers
Winnipeg’s bottom six forward group has undergone some changes over the offseason and one more change has been made as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed winger Axel Jonsson Fjallby off waivers from Washington.
It’s the second season in a row that the 24-year-old has been claimed off waivers as Buffalo scooped him up a season ago only to waive him less than a week later with a visa issue playing a role in that. Washington reclaimed Jonsson Fjallby at that time and sent him to the minors where he had a productive season with Hershey, notching 16 goals and 18 assists in 44 games. However, he also got his first taste of NHL action, picking up two goals and two assists in 23 games while logging over 11 minutes a night with the Caps.
Jonsson Fjallby is in the final season of a two-year, two-way deal that pays the league minimum at the NHL level and will need to have much more of a regular role in Winnipeg for him to play enough games to avoid being eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency next summer. He’ll take the place of Jansen Harkins on the roster for the Jets after Harkins cleared waivers earlier today.