Photo: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Capitals announced on Thursday night that they have acquired 2023 first-, 2025 second-, and 2024 third-round picks, and right-wing Craig Smith from the Boston Bruins in exchange for pending unrestricted free agent right-wing Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov.
Washington retained 50% ($2.55 million) of Orlov’s cap hit while the Minnesota Wild got a fifth-round pick for eating 25% ($1.275 million) of it. Minnesota sent forward Andrei Svetlakov to Boston.
NEWS | The Washington Capitals have acquired a 2023 first-round pick, 2025 second-round pick, 2024 third-round pick and forward Craig Smith from the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway.
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 23, 2023
“We would like to thank Dmitry and Garnet for their contributions to our organization,” said GM Brian MacLellan in a press release. “Dmitry has been with our organization for almost 14 years and was a key contributor in helping us win the Stanley Cup in 2018. Garnet has been an important part of our team and a role model off the ice for his contributions to our community. We wish both players all the best with Boston.”
“This trade allows us to acquire draft capital, infuse youth and restock our system. While this season has proven challenging with injuries to our significant players, we are in a position to use some of our current assets to retool our club and build a competitive team moving forward.”
Orlov has earned three goals, 19 points, a +2 rating, 51.45% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage, 50.83% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage, and 50.13% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage in 43 games this season. He carries a $5.1 million cap hit.
Washington and Orlov reportedly struggled to come to terms on a contract extension before the trade.
Hathaway, who comes with a $1.75 million NHL salary cap charge, has tallied nine goals and 16 points in 59 games this season.
#Caps now have six picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, including two first-round picks and three total picks in the first two rounds. Washington owns their first, second, fourth, fifth and seventh-round picks, as well as Boston’s first round-pick in 2023. https://t.co/dupTLGUU2I
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 23, 2023
Washington, who entered Thursday as losers of five straight in regulation, is two points back of the Florida Panthers for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.
Hathaway and Orlov were set to be scratched for Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks (7 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market) due to “trade-related reasons.”
Boston leads the NHL with a 43-8-5 record this season, seven points better than anyone else.
The Capitals visit Boston on Tuesday, April 11.
Smith, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, has just four goals and 10 points in 42 games. The 33-year-old carries a cap charge of $3.1 million.
Orlov and Hathaway could make their Boston debuts on Saturday at the Vancouver Canucks.
By Harrison Brown
Big haul! Nice. Me like!
Yes!
I love both players but you have to make that trade when it’s available. Well done, BMac!
Good luck Orly and Hath!
Trade Smith for more futures
The rebuild has begun.
yup
“Rebuild” to me suggests a fire sale, with all, or most of the UFAs going (Eller, TVR, Jensen, Gustafsson, NAK etc). If they deal just the two, that’s more of retool, than rebuild. We’ll see how it pans out this coming week, but I don’t think it’s rebuild territory yet. This may have been more of wanting to get something for Orlov, since he wasn’t gonna resign.
It also depends on how many of the UFA’s still on the team that they resign. I dont think that either player was going to resign with the Caps so trading them made sense. Also Smith will not be here next year as at 30 and making #3.1m and a UFA not worth the raise needed to keep him. So yes you are seeing the start of a rebuild. Just watch who goes next and what the return is. If it is picks and players who are UFAs then its a rebuild as none of the UFAs will be kept.
Sportsnet is reporting the Caps get another player also:
“The Capitals also receive forward Andrei Svetlakov, who currently plays in the KHL, from the Wild.”
26 years old, center, 66 games with CSKA Moscow, 27 pts
I have not seen that. Wasn’t in Caps press release. Checking…
He’s going to Minny.
He was a draft pick of Minnesota. Did Boston have him, and send him back? This is rawther confusing.
From CBS:
“Svetlakov’s NHL negotiating rights were acquired by Washington from Minnesota on Thursday in exchange for Dmitry Orlov.”
https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/hockey/news/capitals-andrei-svetlakov-nhl-rights-moved-to-capitals/
Holy draft pick haul, Batman! I didn’t think the B’s would give up a 1st rounder
why did we give up all of that draft capital for those 2?
Probably going to be one of the last in the first round and the Caps will use it to pick a Russian who is signed to play in the KHL for the next 4 or 5 years. What another wasted pick.
If the Caps draft a Russian and have to wait three years to get him, I’d be delighted. That would be Matvei Michkov, who is universally recognized as a Top 3 talent, but may fall, since he’s signed in the KHL till 2026. Would you wait 3 years for the next Patrick Kane? I would.
IF they are truly into a rebuild yes. However as some have suggested they are retooling no. If a rebuild he would be the perfect replacement for Oshie especially on the PP. Just tired of the long line of Russian players being drafted and not living up to their hype
I worry about military obligations, visa availability, NHL sanctions.
I wonder what the Caps were offering Orlov as an extension. I’ve always liked him a lot.
Me too. I think they were expecting him to give them a discount but in my opinion as he is 31 this may be his last contract and I think he is looking for that big payday in $$$ and length.
Jon, do we have another (our own) 1st round pick this year?
We do. We have six picks in this draft (so far), including two first rounders. Root for the Bruins to sink, for better pick.
I’d root against the Bruins, even if we didn’t own their pick. My least favorite team, save the Penguins, Rangers, Flyers, Devils, Islanders….
I’m not Jon, but yes, we have all of own picks this year, save for 3rd (traded for Johan Larsson) and 6th (traded for Mojo)
I wonder what plans are for 33 year old Smith.
I’m really surprised Eller is STILL here.
Still almost 8 days left… I have to believe offers are being taken for all the UFAs, and GMBM will wait until he absolutely has to pick the lucky(?) winners in the auction.
Jon, Im not. I think that if he is going to go it was not going to be until the GM got an experienced center to take Ellers place to appease the HC. Now the trade for Eller is on the clock!
He plays out the year here I bet.
novafyre, I think that at his age and that he is a UFA and also that he is currently making $3.1m and will want a raise he is either part of another trade or plays out the season here an is gone over the summer.
Thanks. I know nothing about him. Right age for Lavi but wondered if DC could be a quick stop, as in another trade.
We can only hope that it is a quick stop or if he stays the rest of the season not resigned for next year. I guess a lot has to do with are they going into a rebuild or just retooling?
What I have read since posting that is of a player who could never fit into Boston’s lineup. Passed waivers once. At his age, I’m hoping he moves on.
The sell off has began. Should be interesting. A lot of younger fans have never experienced a situation like this.
I was a STH during the early 2000s when the Caps went from supposed contenders to tanking for Ovechkin very quickly. It was sort of a good, bad, ugly situation for me as a fan.
The good was that tickets got really cheap in the Caps’ defending end zone. I was paying ~$25/game for lower bowl seats for several years. And the team played hard every night, so it was entertaining even when they lost, in part because you didn’t expect them to win, so you weren’t disappointed in the results no matter what.
The bad was that you knew going in that they sucked, and so couldn’t get excited about any particular game as being critically important.
The ugly was some of the play. The Caps did not draft well in the late 90s/early 2000s, so most of the players they brought in were really marginal NHL players at best.
That isn’t really the situation for the Caps this time. The core will still be there, if old, and there are some quality young players — real NHL players — like Wilson, Fehervary, Strome here, along with a very good group in Hershey and some potential gems in other parts of the system. Add in a couple of first picks this year, and room for several good veteran free agents for next year and beyond, and this could be a very quick turnaround.
Or not…
Really 425 tickets, you get them from scalpers? I have season tickets in the lower bowl from ’95 to ’02 and they were $98 in ’95 and over $100 when I stopped getting them on ’02.
When they tanked they wanted to keep butts in the lower bowl seats so the arena wouldn’t look empty, and couldn’t sell the seats in the end where the Caps defend twice. So they dropped the price to $25 each for several seasons. I was in 116 and 117, first up near the top, then when they put in the netting which was distracting for me, I moved down to G or H (below the top of the glass), I can’t remember which. Great seats, particularly since I was more interested in watching the defense anyway… well at least what passed for defense in those days.
Then when they drafted Ovechkin and Backstrom and started to sell tickets again, they started raising the prices of those seats by large amounts each year. When it got too rich, I moved to the upper deck corner seats, front row, which are still pretty good, and were in the range of $30 or so each at that point, if I recall correctly.
In any case, for $25/seat, I could enjoy watching hockey in person and close up for 40 or so games per season, and as you know hockey seen in person is different — and I think much better — than it is on TV, particularly on the standard def TV available in those days.
The fact that the Caps sucked was a bit of a downer of course, but they still played hard, and I could still cheer for guys like Chris Clark or Jeff Halpern who weren’t superstars but gave it their all.
Plus I hoped that they would eventually turn it around and that I would appreciate the winning even more after having experienced the bad years — which is what happened.
So cheer up Caps fans, tanking does not mean becoming Arizona… It means getting a chance at drafting superstars and quickly getting back to winning if your management is even marginally competent.
Despite all the folks who like to complain about current Caps management, they are competent. They kept this team competitive for far longer than most teams have been able to manage in the modern, salary-cap era. They’ll be back…
Don’t understand trade as a Bruins fan,Orlov is on fumes in his career & Hathaway has been consistently inconsistent! Yeah Bruins dump 3 million + contract but will unless winning cup are not going to resign players obtained! Really don’t be to excited for Bruins first rounder because if they go long in playoffs it will be very late first round.Don Sweeney as bad a GM as BM!!
The rumor mill says it’s a pure rental on their part.
It’s a deep draft. Even a late 1st rounder should yield a pretty good player. Plus a 2nd, and a 3rd. Good haul!
Typical Laviolette though: Team is in sell mode, playing a bottom-feeding team, chooses to play Irwin instead of Alexeyev. We know Irwin is a #7 defenseman who is not going to be around long. He’s not even decent trade bait, so there’s no sense in showcasing him.
Alexeyev needs to play, to improve if possible, and to demonstrate whether he is a legit NHL D-man.
Grumble….
When draft day comes, will we have all those draft choices? Or will we have bundled them together with players like Eller to sweeten deals?
it’d just be the Caps luck to actually sneak into that WC spot…only to play Boston in the first round, where Orly and Garny tear it up or something! 🙄
Hate seeing Orly go, but he’s a valuable asset to bring something back in return. It needed to be done since there is no cap room to sign him, right?
There could be cap room, depending on their plans for the rest of the roster (they only have 12 players under contract for next year) but he reportedly wanted a longer term than the Caps were willing to give him. The Caps need to avoid signing any more players who will be well past their prime by the end of their contracts, particularly good-but-not-great players like Orlov.
Great haul. I agree with Kim, not a rebuild yet and I don’t think there will be as for me a rehaul is waiving Oshi, backy and maybe others and I don’t think that will happen…we’ll see, I also don’t think they should get rid of either.
Tank hard for Bedard!
Great trades for 2 UFA that they probably could not afford to resign. Getting a !st round, 2nd round and 3rd round pick for them was good and Smith is a UFA after this year and at $3.1m a year not going to be resigned. So who next: Jensen, TVR, Eller or maybe Kuemper? Maybe Smith gets turned around and is also gone.
Now to just get rid of the HC and most of the coaching staff and the Gm and most of his staff. The rebuild has taken its first step!!