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With the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline just a little more than three weeks away, NoVa Caps’ Jon Sorensen, Justin Trudel, and Harrison Brown provide their thoughts as to what the perfect trade deadline would look like for the Washington Capitals.
Harrison
This team doesn’t need much. With their forward group overflowing all the way to the AHL, as center Aliaksei Protas was re-assigned to the Hershey Bears after center Nicklas Backstrom and right-wing Tom Wilson were activated from long-term injured reserve, Washington should look to dump two of its forwards for more salary cap flexibility.
The two most likely candidates are left-wing Anthony Mantha (who carries a $5.7 million cap hit through next season) and center Lars Eller ($3.5 million through this season). Washington may not fetch a huge return for either player but each player has been a healthy scratch in the past month and both have had underwhelming (at the very least) performances this season.
With John Carlson out, Washington could use another right-handed defenseman but that could be tricky if the team expects the 33-year-old to return during the regular season. The Los Angeles Kings reportedly are looking for a center and willing to give up one of Matt Roy (six goals, 16 points, -3 rating, 50.31% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 49.8% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, 50.12% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 53 games), 27, or Sean Walker (two goals, nine points, -7 rating, 51.08% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 51.28% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, 49.84% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 49), 28. Either could be solid options but Washington would likely have to add a pick(s) with Eller to make Los Angeles bite.
Other than that, the team has strong goaltending, defense, and offense overall. If there are opportunities to improve at a reasonable cost, they should certainly entertain it but there is no reason to give up a first- or second-round pick, especially with the 2023 NHL Draft class expected to be deep.
Jon
I agree that the Capitals don’t need to add much. However, what they do need to achieve at the trade line should be significant. Yes, the blueline would benefit from the addition of a solid right shot defenseman, preferably with some scoring ability. Even if Carlson returns for the postseason, it’s questionable as to what level of play he will be able to achieve by the postseason. However, with just one defenseman signed after this season, Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan should use the deadline to begin restructuring the team’s defensive unit for the remainder of “The Alex Ovechkin Years.”
The trade deadline is the last chance for MacLellan and the Capitals to obtain any value for players that will likely depart this summer in free agency. I think we see Eller dealt for whatever Macllelan can get (third round pick?). Eller will be a legend in DC for a long time, but the business side wins here.
I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Capitals move on from Mantha as well. He’s the same player he was in Detroit, the player that frustrated Detroit fans and GM Steve Yzerman.
With the signings of left-wing Sonny Milano and center Dylan Strome, the Capitals solidified their forward group and sent a strong message to Hershey. As a result, the Capitals now have some significant trade value in their prospect pool (something that wasn’t the case in recent years). In fact, there are a number of middle-tier prospects, in addition to top-tier prospects Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, that should be strongly considered for a stalwart blueliner and/or future draft picks. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not we’ve seen enough of Alexander Alexeyev, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he is part of a trade.
MacLellan has stated publicly that there will be no rebuild with Ovechkin in town, but what is he supposed to say? I would prefer the team take a hard look at their chances for this postseason, and restructure for a better run over the next three seasons.
Justin
The Capitals might not have a ton of holes in their roster currently, but the group that could use a bit more depth and experience to the defensive corps. To pave the way for acquiring a defenseman, ideally, the Capitals sell Eller at the deadline to open up a bit of cap room. You could look at a team like Los Angeles who could use some center depth on their roster. Moving out Eller will create the necessary cap space to be able to activate Carlson off of if and when he returns later this season.
There are two routes that the Capitals could take with a defensive acquisition: a pure rental player, or a player with some term. Adding a player with term would effectively ensure Washington is entering the offseason with four defensemen they can count on being in the lineup come this upcoming fall (Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary are restricted free agents). Jake McCabe of the Chicago Blackhawks is a defenseman that could make sense here, since he has two years remaining after this season with a $4 million cap hit. More salary would have to be moved out to be able to acquire McCabe.
A true rental would probably be more in the vein of Jake Walman from Detroit, who has a cap hit of $1.05 million. A player like Walman with a more affordable cap hit might be a bit more attractive to the Capitals and likely won’t be as expensive to acquire like McCabe would be. Washington would have a bit more depth defensively after a trade, and likely wouldn’t need to see Matt Irwin skate important minutes in important games down the stretch.