Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan noted in his end of season press conference on May 16th, that the he felt the Caps still haven’t adequately addressed the teams’ need at the third line Center position. So who will be available during this summer’s Free Agency?
The Capitals will potentially look to the free agency market to fill the need at third-line center, with speed and youth the driving criteria. In addition, the Caps will probably look to fill the void with a salary in the $2-4 million range. With that, the following is a break-down of all of the 2016 free agents (UFA and RFA).
Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) – Centers
Restricted Free Agents (RFA) – Centers
So who meets the criteria?
Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA)
Kyle Chipchura (AZ), Shawn Matthias (CO), Darren Helm (DET), Trevor Lewis (LAK), Cody Bass (NAS), Jiri Tlusty (NJ), Tyler Kennedy (NJ), Frans Neilsen (NYI), James Wright (NYI), Ryan White (PHI), Nick Spaling (SJS), Michal Haley (SJS), Jayson Menga (NYR) and Jonathan Marchessault (TB).
Restricted Free Agents (RFA)
Potential available RFA’s are bit trickier, as the current team has the negotiating advantage, and it’s less likely these players will become available.
Other Candidates
The listing does not currently include Free Agents that may be currently on a team’s minor league squad. (Only NHL Free Agents).
Continued Analysis
In the coming days, NoVa Caps will begin to provide analysis and reduce the candidates list as the Free Agency period approaches.
Mathias is pretty enticing
i would love it if the caps could sign Backes for the third line center role. Offer him 2 years at 5.5MIL AAV. He is the type of player the caps need; a physical player with lots of heart and great leadership.
I like him too, but that may be over Caps budget.
Too bad Stamkos is so pricey. He’s only 25
Yeah, he would be perfect
Andrew Shaw if they could pry him away from Chicago would be a fit. He will get dirty in front of the net!
I like that idea.