Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Saturday night during the Washington Capitals Stadium Series game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, news broke on the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. Reporter Nick Kypreos announced that Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan is going to get a multi-year contract extension. 

“Well Ron, I think we can scratch Brian MacLellan off the list of general managers needing new contracts. It’s my understanding that Brian and the Capitals have agreed to a multi-year deal moving forward,” said Kypreos.

While the terms involved in the new contract are unknown, it’s certainly well deserved for GMBM. MacLellan has been the architect behind the success the Capitals have had over the last three seasons, which saw the team make trips to the playoffs all three seasons, with two of those seasons resulting in the Capitals being awarded the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best record.

This past summer was MacLellan’s biggest challenge as GM as he had a number of tough decisions to make. He had to decide which contracts he wanted to renew and who he couldn’t afford to keep. The two biggest contracts signed before the season were T.J. Oshie’s (8-year, $46 million) and Evgeny Kuznetsov’s (8-year, $62.4 million).

The Capitals are currently sitting in first place, despite a different look from the last two years, which could be a big factor in the extension of GMBM’s contract.

Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman also chimed in on Barry Trotz’s future. Trotz is in the final year of his contract and one big topic of discussion is whether or not the Capitals will extend his contract at season’s end.

By Michael Marzzacco