The Washington Capitals have a major offseason looming after 2022-23 with only one defenseman signed for the following campaign and a lot of their bottom-six forward group up for a new contract. NoVa Caps sees who is entering their contract year and assesses whether to extend them now, wait, or let them go in July.
FORMAT
In this piece, I’ve categorized all of the Capitals players by current contract status at the end of this season. At the end of each paragraph on each player, I have assigned a preliminary action label as;
-
- Extend – extend current contract now,
- Cut – let them go at the end of their current deal,
- Trade – before trade deadline, or
- Wait – see how player does in first half of season at least,
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
RW Connor Brown — The 28-year-old was just acquired from the Ottawa Senators on July 13. Though the Capitals did not pay a cheap price to acquire him (a 2024 second-round pick), they will likely see how the marriage goes before making this decision. Wait
C Lars Eller — After signing Dylan Strome, the 33-year-old’s role in the organization appears to be uncertain with the need of getting Connor McMichael (and perhaps Aliaksei Protas) regular NHL roles as soon as this season. Eller’s days as a Capital appear to be numbered. Trade/Cut
RW Garnet Hathaway – The 30-year-old is a key part of the Capitals’ strong fourth-line, which is used to shut down other teams’ top players, and added offense with career-highs in goals (14), assists (12), points (26), and plus-minus (+19) in 76 games last season. The team needs to get younger but for a defensive role, some veteran presence may be needed. His role in the community and low milage (373 career regular-season games) could be other reasons to retain Hathaway. Extend
LW Conor Sheary – The 30-year-old can play any role for the Capitals, is cheap, and can produce as he tallied 19 goals and 43 points in 71 games last season. Those players are hard to find. Extend
RW Marcus Johansson – The soon-to-be 32-year-old played well after being acquired from the Seattle Kraken on March 21, tallying three goals and six points in 18 regular-season games with the Capitals. The team awarded him with a one-year contract. While letting Johansson go would pave way for Protas or another young player, we cannot 100% decide on this when he has yet to play a game since he signed his current deal. Wait
LW Carl Hagelin – The 33-year-old’s game turned around for the worse last season as he saw his responsibility on the penalty kill, where he averaged 1:54 on the penalty-kill (second among Capitals forwards), decline and did not produce much offense with three goals and 14 points in 53 games before undergoing surgery on his left eye on March 6. Hagelin did not play after February and his status for this season is still up in air. Even if he is an option, it is hard imagining the Capitals re-signing him. Cut
D Dmitry Orlov – The 30-year-old was arguably the Capitals’ best defenseman last season when he set career-highs in goals (12) and points (35) in 76 games. Orlov also turned in a +25 rating, 52.42% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 52.02% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 52.18% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage. While he is on the wrong side of 30, Orlov has been fantastic over the past two seasons and losing the top-pairing blueliner would be a tough one for the Capitals to overcome. Extend
D Nick Jensen – The 32-year-old also turned in a strong season, earning five goals, 21 points, a team-best +32 rating, 50.16% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 51.76% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 49.82% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 76 regular-season games. Jensen is getting up there but only has 407 career regular-season games under his belt. Wait
D Trevor Van Riemsdyk – The 31-year-old had another solid season as he posted a goal, 17 points, a -3 rating, 49.44% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 51.20% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 50.92% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 72 games. Like Jensen, Van Riemsdyk does not have a lot of mileage on him as he has appeared in 456 career games. Unlike him, he is younger and plays a smaller role. Van Riemsdyk also provides excellent value for what he has made on his last two contracts. Extend
D Erik Gustafsson – The 30-year-old earned three goals, 18 points, a -4 rating, 50% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 47.07% expected goals-for percentage, and 47.71% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 59 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season before signing a one-year contract with the Capitals. The hope is that Alexander Alexeyev or Lucas Johansen will be ready for a full-time NHL role by then. Wait
D Matt Irwin – The 34-year-old excelled when given an opportunity last season when he tallied a goal, four points, even rating, 56.01% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 59.32% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 54.55% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 17 games. His play warranted a one-year contract extension. Perhaps having Irwin as the seventh blueliner is a good fit and he has a great relationship with head coach Peter Laviolette. Wait
Non-roster: C Michael Sgarbossa, C Mike Vecchione, D Dylan McIlrath, D Bobby Nardella, G Hunter Shepard, G Zach Fucale
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
C Dylan Strome (arbitration eligible) – The 25-year-old put up 22 goals and 48 points in 69 games with the Blackhawks before the team did not qualify him as a restricted free agent and the Capitals signed him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. Strome gives the Capitals what they need with another young, productive center who can play in the top-six but we will have to see how the fit is for both player and team. Wait
LW Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (arbitration eligible) – The 24-year-old earned two goals, four points, an even rating, a 47.26% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 49.94% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 49.7% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 23 NHL games. While with the Capitals, he averaged 42 seconds per game on the penalty-kill, where he is strongly utilized with the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Jonsson-Fjallby also tallied 16 goals and 34 points in 44 AHL contests. Extend
D Martin Fehervary – The 23-year-old finished his freshman NHL season with eight goals, 17 points, a +15 rating, 49.1% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 47.57% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 48.19% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 79 games. Fehervary is the youngest defenseman on the Capitals’ roster and has a bright future ahead of him. Extend
Non-roster: RW Kody Clark, RW Riley Sutter, C Henrik Borgstrom (arbitration eligible), C Garrett Pilon (arbitration eligible), D Alexander Alexeyev, D Gabriel Carlsson (arbitration eligible)
ELIGIBLE FOR EXTENSIONS – WAIT OR SIGN
LW Anthony Mantha (UFA after 2023-24) – The 27-year-old tallied four goals and eight points in 14 games in 2020-21 after getting acquired from the Detroit Red Wings. Mantha missed 44 games after undergoing surgery on his shoulder on November 5 and wrapped up his first full season in Washington with nine goals and 23 points in 37 regular-season games. He has six assists in 11 postseason games over two seasons since joining the Capitals. The team values his size and skill but a limited sample size has made this decision too early to call. Wait
C Connor McMichael (RFA) – The 21-year-old had a solid rookie season with nine goals and 18 points in 68 regular-season games and one helper in four postseason outings. McMichael excelled at creating scoring chances and could vie for a bigger role this season. The verdict on him and what action to take on his next deal will get clearer at the end of the season. Wait
RW Tom Wilson (UFA) – The 28-year-old finished last season with career-highs in goals (24), assists (28), points (52), and plus-minus (+13) in 78 regular-season games. Wilson provides a physical element, can sway momentum in a game in his team’s favor, and even dictates other rivals’ roster moves. He scored a goal in just 1:31 during the postseason before tearing his ACL in Game 1 of the team’s first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Florida Panthers, which forced him to miss the rest of the tournament and will keep him out of the lineup until around December. Since Wilson is viewed as the Capitals’ next captain, the team will likely put a strong effort together to keep him unless his game deteriorates to a certain degree once he returns. Extend
The Capitals will have a busy offseason after this upcoming season, which means that the team’s Stanley Cup window could be shutting for good then. While there are a lot of factors at play for a few of these players, we have some idea as to who the team will or won’t prioritize. However, this upcoming season could change any (or all) of that. Stay tuned.
We will revisit and update around December or January, just prior to the trade deadline.
By Harrison Brown
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August 19, 2022 at 03:51AM
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Extend, Cut, Trade, Or Wait?: A Look Ahead At All Of The Capitals Entering Contract Years - NoVa Caps
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