3 trades that could make Washington Capitals the Stanley Cup favorites

The NHL Trade Deadline is coming up on March 7 and we continue to look at whom the Caps could add

The Washington Capitals are in a good spot. Probably their best spot since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. So this is going to be an all in type of season. At least that's the way the team should look at it from the players to the top up.

Without further ado here are some trades we imagined while looking across the hockey landscape:

3 Scott Laughton for a 2026 1st Rounder

This is something we found via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff and reading into what he said it makes a lot of sense and the Caps wouldn't lose much either. Seravalli would write the following:

"There are more than a handful of teams currently engaged with the Philadelphia Flyers on center Scott Laughton and it's easy to see why. He's a nice fit in just about any lineup around the league. We've heard Toronto and Winnipeg connected, but what are the Metropolitan-leading Capitals cooking up? They have a 10-point lead in the division and they likely want to make a run at another Stanley Cup with Alex Ovechkin. They're in the market for a third-line center to upgrade on Lars Eller and Laughton is a quality fit."

"Perhaps Washington could play the deadline more conservatively than this, but it seems to fit on a number of levels. Laughton, 30, is not a rental. They do not need to have the Flyers retain money - he fan fit this season and next at $3 million."

Frank Seravalli

This would be a big move to shore up the third line center position which is the number one thing on the to do list for new general manager Chris Patrick.

2 Jared McCann for a draft pick... we would hope

According to Sportsnet's Jacob Stoller, the Seattle Kraken could make Jared McCann available before the trade deadline and Sammi Silber of The Hockey News writes that he could be an interesting name the Caps could consider.

Through 57 games this season McCann has 14 goals and 28 assists for 42 points and had three consecutive 50 plus point seasons and back to back 60 plus point seasons prior to this season. It spells consistency which is what the Caps should shoot for if they were to go for a target in this trade deadline and he could also help out the power play.

There are rumors the Caps have been looking into a middle six forward to bolster their offense at five on five and out of the forward lines from top to bottom it's the third line that's struggling to find that consistency and chemistry. The power play has also had it's fair share of ups and downs and power play misses don't fly come playoff time.

This won't be a cheap add on whatsover so this might not work. He carries a cap hit of $5 million through the 2026-27 season and the return could be costly. Costly in the form of a roster player and not a draft pick.

Another issue is the chemistry. The locker room is strong in the Caps end of things so they might be better off staying put. Or at the very least steering clear of this one and going with the last option. Or the next one we talk about here.

Silber also notes that top prospect Ryan Leonard is likely to join the Caps in the spring and that would be a bolster to the offense. Right now he's in the NCAA tearing it up at Boston College in his sophomore season. Wouldn't be surprsing to see a call up once the tournament ends down there.

1 Jake Evans

There have been other names not mentioned in this post that are linked to the Caps in trade rumors including Seattle Kraken's Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev and Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders.

One other name that Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote about is Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans. Seravalli even noted that the Caps are believed to have had past negotiations with the Canadiens for Evans

"Believe the Caps were the team that tried to acquire Evans last summer at the Draft in exchange for a second-round pick, and that makes some sense. They've tried to fill that 3C role this year with Lars Eller, but Evans would be a better fit."

Frank Seravalli

Evans has 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points and is versatile in that he can play both center and right wing. He also doesn't turn 29 until June 2. He has played six seasons with the Habs since being drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He then played with Notre Dame for four years in the NCAA before signing with the Canadiens in 2018.

The center is in the final year of a three year, $5.1 million contract extension that he signed with Montreal in 2021.