Photo: LVRJ

The Washington Capitals signed forward Brendan Leipsic to a one-year, one-way contract worth $700K on Monday, according to the team’s senior writer Mike Vogel.

Word on Leipsic’s deal with the #Caps: it’s a one-way, one-year deal for $700K. Leipsic and Hathaway certainly give the team’s fourth line a fresh new look, flanking Nic Dowd.

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) July 1, 2019

Leipsic, 25, was not qualified from the Los Angeles Kings as a restricted free agent before the deadline to submit qualifying offers on June 25 after posting seven goals, 23 goals, and a -14 rating in 62 games with the Kings and Canucks this past season.

The Kings claimed Leipsic, the 89th overall selection in the 2012 NHL Draft, off of waivers on December 3. The Nashville Predators drafted him with the pick but he never played a game for them.

In 126 career games with the Kings, Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights, and Toronto Maple Leafs, Leipsic has recorded 13 goals, 48 points, and a -9 rating. The Golden Knights selected him as their pick from the Maple Leafs in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

He posted back-to-back seasons with at least 33 assists and 50 points in each of his final two seasons in the AHL from 2015-17.

Leipsic is fourth-line another option for the Capitals after they signed forward Garnett Hathaway to a four-year, $6 million contract on Monday. The team made it an offseason priority to improve their fourth-line after it combined for just one goal (which came on a penalty shot) in their seven-game exit in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes.

While averaging 13:47 per game last season, Leipsic recorded 28 blocked shots, 56 hits, 22 takeaways, and 21 giveaways. He also averaged 1:47 worth of ice-time per game on the power-play, though both power-play units that he played for finished 22nd and 27th in the NHL, respectively.

By Harrison Brown