Photo: Washington Post

One of the newest Capitals players you’ll see this upcoming season is center Lars Eller. Eller was acquired in late June from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for second round picks in the 2017 and 2018 NHL Drafts. 

Eller was drafted 13th overall by the St Louis Blues in the 2007 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut on November 5, 2009 where he scored his first NHL goal against the Calgary Flames. During his time with the Blues he was teammates with TJ Oshie. He played seven games in St Louis before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens with Ian Schultz in exchange for Jaroslav Halak over the offseason.

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Past is past for Lars Eller. #larseller #lally #washingtoncapitals #montrealcanadiens #nhl #csn #stillmissyou

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Eller was clutch for the Habs during the 2014-15 season, as he was tied for eighth in the league in game-winning goals with seven. Last season he was ranked sixth on the Canadiens in goals with 13 and tied for eighth in points with 26 in 79 games played. He played his 400th NHL game at Washington on December 26th.

Eller made his Capitals debut on Monday night in their preseason opener vs. the Hurricanes at Verizon Center. He was matched with fellow young guns Stanislav Galiev and Jakub Vrana. Eller got an assist on a third period power play goal by Madison Bowey.

Expect to see Eller occupying the third line center position on the Capitals depth chart. He played 18:27 on Monday night while winning 50% of his faceoffs.

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"We called you Almost Swedish" "That is okay" 😂 #larseller #larry #washingtoncapitals #montrealcanadiens #misshim #nhl #hockeyplayers #csn

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With Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov in front of him, Eller’s third line role will help create scoring chances for the bottom-six forwards. With Washington’s power offense and talent, Eller could certainly score more than 13 goals this upcoming season.

Lars, wife Julie and daughter Sophia live in Arlington, Virginia during the season. Some other interesting facts about Lars:

Favorite food: Mexican
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite TV show: Homeland
Favorite vacation destination: Mexico
Favorite movie: Anything with Leonardo DiCaprio
Favorite athlete: Michael Phelps
Favorite app: Spotify

By Michael Marzzacco

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#Redemption

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