Here are the latest news and rumors roundup for the Washington Capitals leading up to the expansion draft tonight.
T.J. Oshie
From Elliotte Friedman’s “30 Thoughts”, At his season-ending media conference, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan indicated a $77-million cap would give them a shot at keeping UFA T.J. Oshie. What about $75 million? Word is: that makes it tight, but not impossible.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Evgeny Kuznetsov, who enters this summer as a restricted free agent, was offered a KHL deal, according to rSport.ru. The report also stated that the contract, three years for $6 million per year, was turned down by Kuznetsov. According to Alvin Kanis, SKA traded for the rights to Evgeny Kuznetsov for 150 million rubles from Traktor.
Nate Schmidt
As per Elliotte Friedman, McPhee also told reporters, “We’re going to have to move some defensemen because we’re going to claim a bunch.” That’s a bad omen for Washington’s chances of keeping Nate Schmidt.
Todd Reirden
Also from 30 thoughts, Reirden received a promotion to associate coach with the stipulation that he could not talk to other teams. That wasn’t public at the time. With Barry Trotz heading into the final year of his contract, it takes on added significance. We wonder what else were included as “stipulations” for the promotion.
Ilya Samsonov
Assistant GM Ross Mahoney said that Ilya Samsonov will spend at least one more season in Russia before coming over to North America. Mahoney projects he’s still on a timeline to get here (Capitals) at some point during the 2018-2019 season, and there’s “no need to rush him”.
Pheonix Copley
Assistant GM Ross Mahoney commented on a potential backup goalie should the Capitals lose Philipp Grubauer in the expansion draft. “I think [Copley] definitely has the upside here to be able to take a shot at filling that role if Philipp does leave and moves on,” Mahoney said. “We think we’ve got some quality goalies coming through the system right now, but we have to see what happens here with the expansion draft.”
By Jon Sorensen
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