Chris Patrick on if he expects any of the Capitals’ pending free agents to return: ‘We’ve talked to pretty much all of them and I don’t know’

Heading into July 1st, the Washington Capitals have over a dozen pending unrestricted and restricted free agents in the organization that could hit the open market if they don’t re-sign before then.

Several roster players, including Anthony Beauvillier and Taylor Raddysh, are in need of new contracts. Prospects Hendrix Lapierre and Pierrick Dube are also restricted free agents.

While the writing is on the wall for guys like Andrew Mangiapane (UFA), Lars Eller (UFA), Alex Alexeyev (RFA), and Ethan Bear (UFA), other Caps’ unrestricted free agents may be hoping to land lucrative deals with the NHL salary cap rising from $88 to $95.5 million, complicating a potential return.

“We’ve talked to pretty much all of them, and I don’t know,” Capitals GM Chris Patrick said on Saturday. “Right now, I think a lot of players are looking for significant raises because they see the cap going up. They have cap guidance for the next three years. So, we’ll continue to talk and see if things make sense economically for us. And if they don’t, we’ll have to go a different direction, keeping in mind also we’ve got some young players knocking on the door too that need opportunity.”

When asked to clarify if he thought all the Caps’ pending free agents would hit the market, Patrick replied, “Not necessarily, no, still talking.”

Heading into free agency, the Capitals have $8.55 million to spend with 21 of 23 current roster spots filled, assuming Justin Sourdif starts the year in the NHL. Patrick said that the team could potentially use the money to take a big swing at one player or spread it out among two or three others. But the uncertainty created by the rising cap is requiring things to play out before the team makes any big decisions.

“It feels like you call an agent and he tells you, ‘This is where we’re at,'” Patrick said. “So okay, that’s the number, are we going to pay it or not? But yeah, it’s kind of a, I guess, a natural evolution, a little bit. What’s a team willing to pay for a certain guy? If they view that guy as a second-line player, and then that sets the market for the rest of the league.”

Patrick believes that some high-end UFAs like Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Brock Boeser could potentially get bigger paychecks due to the rising cap, but was unsure how it’d play out further down the depth chart.

“I do think there’ll be some players that get raises, but I don’t know if it’s going to be across the board just because you’re making X last year, now you automatically make X plus 10 percent,” Patrick said. “And it’ll also be demand. I think there’s not a lot of options available in the forward market and in the D market if you’re looking for higher-end players. So then there’s a trickle-down effect, right? You miss on the first guy, you go for the second guy. You miss on the second guy, you go for the third guy. And if you’re starting to get a little desperate, then you’re willing to pay the higher price to get that guy.

“I think we all have to maybe change our gauge on what a second liner used to make in the old cap, now is going to be a different number. Because we’re going to be at $95 (million), we’re going to be at $103 (million), we’re going to be at $115 million. So we’re going to see some higher prices for sure.”

Other UFAs the Capitals have at the minor league level include Riley Sutter, Luke Philp, Alex Limoges, and Hunter Shepard. Now it’s just a waiting game to see who returns and who doesn’t.