The Washington Capitals are the top team in the NHL’s Eastern Conference with nine days to go before the league’s March 7 trade deadline. With a 10-point lead over the next closest team in the East, many clubs in the Capitals’ place would be big buyers at the deadline in preparation for the playoffs.
While the Caps have been linked to several noteworthy names, the team’s front office may be hesitant to make too much of a splash given the chemistry of their current roster. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman dove into the possible conundrum on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
“The thing about the Capitals is I really wonder what they’re going to do here on in,” Friedman said Monday. “In terms of, with a week and a half to go before the deadline, they really have a kind of magical chemistry this year, and every move they made in the offseason has been an upper-deck home run — Chychrun, Roy, Logan Thompson, Dubois has even worked out for them where it hasn’t worked out elsewhere. How much do you want to fidget with that?”
Washington was one of the most active teams over the summer, adding eight new faces to their locker room. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun, Logan Thompson, and Andrew Mangiapane were all acquired via trade, while Matt Roy, Brandon Duhaime, Taylor Raddysh, and Jakub Vrana signed as free agents. The team later re-acquired Lars Eller a month into the regular season.
The Capitals could understandably not want to rock the boat further after nearly every one of those additions has fit in seamlessly, helping push them out to their giant leads in both the conference and the Metropolitan Division. Friedman also believes that general manager Chris Patrick and director of hockey operations Brian MacLellan have past precedent with the Capitals that they can point to as evidence in favor of primarily standing pat.
“They had a good team, and all the sudden, they decided to beef it up, and they had too many players, and they got knocked out earlier than they hoped. It was a real disappointing playoff, and they admitted later it screwed up their chemistry. You watch all those Carbery postgame videos, every one of them is better than the previous.”
Friedman is referring to the 2009-10 campaign that saw the Capitals go 54-15-13, set the franchise record for most points in a season (121), and win the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team. Washington added five players to their team that year via mid-season trade, including Jason Chimera, Eric Belanger, Scott Walker, Joe Corvo, and Milan Jurcina.
Washington was then promptly knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens and their star netminder Jaroslav Halak. Other notable trade deadline acquisitions since then — including Jason Arnott, Martin Erat, Dustin Penner, Curtis Glencross, Tim Gleason, Mike Weber, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Ilya Kovalchuk — have also not panned out as expected.
Before winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals added just two players at the trade deadline, Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek. The low-key addition of Kempny proved to be the final piece needed on the team’s defense, which powered them to their championship victory. Friedman believes the club could be looking to do a similar thing this season.
“I think they’re looking at adding another forward,” Friedman said. “Like a third liner, Scott Laughton type, I could see that. But I would be very, very careful about messing with what they have.”
The Caps could also get some added firepower on their roster without having to give up assets in a deal — Ryan Leonard could make his debut for the Caps before the end of the regular season. With 42 points (27g, 15a) in 31 games for Boston College, Leonard has been one of college hockey’s best players and could be a difference-maker this spring.
If they do opt to make a trade, the Capitals have been previously rumored to have interest in forwards like Laughton, Nils Hoglander, Brandon Tanev, Trent Frederic, Jake Evans, Brock Nelson, and Yanni Gourde.
