In a release, the Washington Capitals announced that they have acquired center Tyler Graovac from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2018 Draft.

The 24-year-old native of Brampton, Ontario is listed as 6’5″ and weighs 212 pounds. He’s played parts of three seasons with the Wild, also seeing action with their AHL club, the Iowa Wild. In 57 total NHL games, he’s recorded seven goals and two assists.

#Caps engineer swap with Wild for center Tyler Graovac to aid their situation leading up to expansion draft: https://t.co/O1iMg1XpDw

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) June 15, 2017

Prior to joining the Wild, he played five seasons in the OHL, four with the Ottawa 67’s and the final one with the Belleville Bulls. His first NHL goal came against the Dallas Stars.

According to the release, the 7th round pick (191 overall by the Wild in the 2011 Entry Draft), made his NHL debut December 29, 2014. It remains to be seen where he will fit into the organization’s depth chart and what that means for the likes of Chandler Stephenson and Travis Boyd. His low cap hit ($625,000) may mean the Caps are making room for some higher-value contracts.

EXPANSION DRAFT ANGLE

However there is another possibility – Washington needed to add another forward who meets the exposure requirements for the Expansion Draft in order to protect Wilson, Beagle, or Eller. Without Graovac, two of the three would be exposed. Now it seems the Caps may be adding a cushion to protect two. Either way, here’s a bit about Graovac.

By Julie Beidler
Follow @juliebeidler