Here Comes Another NHL Trade Deadline
Washington is in sell mode again, but with an eye toward staying competitive.
While there might be 22 games remaining in the National Hockey League’s regular season schedule for the Washington Capitals, a 5-2 loss at home on Sunday night to the Arizona Coyotes seemed to be a signal to General Manager Brian MacLellan that it was time to start working on building a competitive roster for next season.
The day before that Sunday afternoon game, MacLellan placed center Evgeny Kuznetsov on waivers, prefatory to loaning him to the AHL’s Hershey Bears after he and his $7.8 million salary went unclaimed by the other 31 NHL clubs. On Monday, I wrote that if Kuznetsov wanted to speed his departure from the Capitals organization, it would be wise for him to report to Hershey in time for practice on Tuesday, and that’s exactly what he did.
Whether Kuznetsov ever appears in uniform for the Bears or simply uses the time remaining in the AHL’s regular season and playoffs to get back into game shape, his acceptance of getting demoted to the minor leagues without complaint is the right move if he wants to join another team in time for the 2024-25 NHL season and help the Capitals remove some of his salary burden from next year’s cap through a buyout.
With the Kuznetsov issue put to bed for at least a while, MacLellan got to work paring his roster of tradable assets with expiring contracts. He provided some insight into his thinking on Saturday when he met with the local press to talk about placing Kuznetsov on waivers. The message: while there will be deals, we’re not rebuilding, but we need to get young and stay competitive — which is more or less the same message we got from the team coming out of last season’s deadline moves.
The first player to be shipped out of town was forward Anthony Mantha. He was dealt to the Las Vegas Golden Knights yesterday in exchange for a 2024 second round pick and a 2026 fourth round pick. Washington will retain half of Mantha’s salary.
Mantha deserves a round of applause. While his total body of work in what amounts to about three seasons in Washington has been disappointing, especially when compared to what the organization gave up in order to acquire him, he was very public about wanting to repair his game as last season came to a close. After scoring 20 goals in just 56 games, it’s clear he succeeded. He’s saved his career, earned an opportunity to snag one last big contract, and landed himself a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup with the defending champs.
In professional sports where it’s all too common to see careers crash and burn, we ought to feel good when someone is able to change that trajectory. Good luck to him in Las Vegas and wherever he lands next season.
With Mantha gone, MacLellan has some interesting chips remaining, none seemingly more valuable than center Nic Dowd. He anchors Washington’s 4th line, and has proven his worth time and again as a checking center since he was brought in to replace departing free agent Jay Beagle after the 2017-18 Cup-winning campaign. It’s amazing to think how quickly those five seasons have passed, but Dowd has used them to hone his game and turn himself into one of the most valuable types of players in a salary cap era: one who does his job at a price that teams can reasonably afford.
I keep seeing reporting that the price for Dowd is a first round pick, but I’ll believe it when I see it. I think it’s more likely he’ll fetch a second round pick that can be packaged for another player or even a promising prospect from a playoff contender. Until then, according to SportsNet’s Eliotte Friedman, the Caps are keeping Dowd in “bubble wrap,” though the team has indicated he may be able to play on Thursday night vs. Pittsburgh.
As for the rest of the expiring contracts, winger Max Pacioretty and defenseman Joel Edmundson are clearly available, though both players will have a say as to where they go thanks to no-trade and no movement clauses. We’re also now reading rumors that teams are taking a closer look at defenseman Nick Jensen as well as checking wing Beck Malensteyn. The Caps have control of both beyond this season to varying degrees and I wouldn’t have thought either would be available, but at this point, just about anyone could go if the price is right.
Which leaves us talking about goalies. Earlier in the season, I was told that teams were inquiring about Darcy Keumper. But given the results this season, now the talk is about moving Charlie Lindgren, who by the dint of his play has turned the goaltending situation into a de facto tandem. Down in Hershey, goalie Clay Stevenson has posted seven shutouts and looks ready for the NHL. Lindgren, who has one year remaining on his contract, has trade value, but it could be higher at the NHL Draft this Summer, where MacLellan may have lots of extra picks to work with.
It will be an interesting few days, and MacLellan has the will, skill and assets to make things happen. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: After I drafted this last night, Kuznetsov opted to travel to Charlotte to play two games this weekend with the Bears. Meanwhile, back in DC, the Capitals have signed defenseman Rasmus Sandin to a five-year contract extension.
Last October, I took note of ex-MLB first baseman Steve Garvey’s first foray into elective politics when he announced he was running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in California, a seat that was held by the late Senator Diane Feinstein. After yesterday’s jungle primary in California, Garvey has survived, and will face Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for the seat in November’s general election.
Though Schiff edged Garvey in the popular vote, one would assume that voters who cast a ballot for the other Democratic candidates in the primary would pull the lever for Schiff in November. In campaign ads, Schiff cast the race as one that pitted him against Garvey, ignoring the others as his team believed he’ll have an easier time beating Garvey statewide than another Democratic opponent. The Republicans haven’t won statewide since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, so the odds for Garvey are still very long. Stay tuned.
At the start of the NHL season, I thought the Capitals had made a reasonable bet when they signed free agent forward Matthew Phillips, a former AHL All-Star who hadn’t been able to crack the NHL roster with the Calgary Flames. Early on, Phillips impressed when he tallied a goal and an assist vs. his former team, but he didn’t follow that up with much success, and the team waived him in February. He was picked up briefly by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who waived him after a couple of games.
Washington picked Phillips up again and loaned him to the Hershey Bears, where he’ll be a boost to that team’s quest for a second AHL championship in a row. Phillips is a restricted free agent at the end of this season, and if he comes back, it’ll be on a two-way contract, rather than one that pays him an NHL-level salary. For now, Phillips is still a “tweener,” the sort of player who you can stash in the minor leagues and call up in pinch when a regular gets injured. That was more or less the way that Calgary General Manager Craig Conroy evaluated Phillips when he declined to sign him to an NHL contract after last season. You have to feel for players like Phillips, who in baseball are often referred to as “AAAA” talents, dwelling in the twilight between riding buses in the minors and flying charters in the majors.
He’s the sort of guy I root for, and I hope he earns another chance in “The Show.”