Photo: @shtyrkhunov
The Washington Capitals offseason is (unfortunately) now in full swing, as most of the players and their families have made their way to their favorite vacation spots. The next key date on the Capitals offseason calendar is the Seattle expansion draft, which will take place on July 21. All current teams must submit their protection lists on July 17. In the mean time, here are a few notes from the past week.
Salary Cap Advantages
Not all salary caps for playoff teams are equal. That’s because Tampa Bay and Vegas play in places without state taxes. The Islanders and Canadiens do not play in a no-tax province/state.
Using the tool provided by the financial management firm, Gavin Hockey Wealth Specialists, the Lightning begin with the equivalence of an approximately $10.3 million head start on the Islanders, and the Golden Knights begin with an equivalent edge of $13.3 million over the Canadiens. More here.
2021-22 Season Schedule
The 2021-22 schedules have been drafted and are being distributed to the teams for final review and approval.
The NHL will be sending a draft of the new schedule to all teams this week. Season in planning to start on October 12th.
In fact, they will be sending 2 drafts. One with Olympics in… and one with Olympics out.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) June 21, 2021
The final schedule is anticipated to be released to the public in the next two weeks. The season will start on October 12.
No Development Camp
A source with the Capitals confirms to NoVa Caps that there will be no prospect development camp once again this summer. The shortened offseason and continuing issues related with the pandemic are likely the reasons. This is the second consecutive offseason that the annual camp has been cancelled.
Ovechkin In Turkey
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and his family were joined by former Washington Capital Dmitrij Jaskin and his wife for an extended vacation in Turkey. Here are a few pics of the trip and a few pics from the resort, the Titanic Mardan Palace.

Spencer Carbery
Last Friday Washington Capitals forward prospect Axel Jonsson-Fjallby sat for an interview with Swedish media outlet HockeySverige.se (more here). In the interview Axel raved about his head coach in Hershey.
“Spencer Carbery is the most ambitious coach I have met. He is a “workaholic”. My girlfriend talked to his wife at a game. She said he was on the rink at four in the morning to check every detail on video.”
“I do not know how much of it is true, but I noticed that he works really hard, really wanted a lot and to make everyone on the team better. I think he’s good.”
You can see why we think Carbery is primed for a future job in Washington.
It’s An Oshie World After All
The Oshie family wrapped-up their trip to Disney World on Sunday. One fortunate vacationer had a chance to rub elbows with Osh while he was also in the Magic Kingdom.
I met my favorite player of all time, @TJOshie77 . He and his family could not have been nicer people. Thanks again champ! #ALLCAPS #capscapscaps #capitalshockey #washingtoncapitals #letsgocaps @Capitals @NBCSCapitals @NoVa_Caps pic.twitter.com/bOqNiBEs3k
— TJtwosweaters (@TJtwosweaters) June 20, 2021
T.J. received a couple of awesome gifts from his family on Father’s Day.
Daily Links
- The Capitals main goals this offseason are to make salary cap space and get younger. Here are five candidate trades to address those issues and make the blueline better. (NoVa Caps)
- He had a pretty good season, when he did get ice time. As a result he earned a two-year extension, but can Trevor van Riemsdyk find a starting role on the Capitals blueline? (NoVa Caps)
- The rumors say Matthew Tkachuk wants out off Calgary. (St. Louis Game Time)
- Gerrard Gallant is facing a win-now environment with the Rangers. (NBC Sports)
- On this day in 2003, the Florida Panthers tried to pull a fast one and draft Alex Ovechkin a year early. (NoVa Caps)
- According to Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman, most teams have checked in with the Carolina Hurricanes regarding Dougie Hamilton.
Elliotte Friedman on SN590 about Dougie Hamilton , Oliver Ekman-Larsoon & Seth Jones. pic.twitter.com/cFLAWvQoZ6
— David 🔹 (@DaveyUpper) June 22, 2021
By Jon Sorensen
Love this ‘Daily Links’ feature! Very cool!