Justin Williams – Washington Capitals – two years, $3.25 million cap hit
For years the Washington Capitals have been an excellent regular season team that has failed to translate their success into the Stanley Cup playoffs. A big reason for that has been a lack of meaningful contributors surrounding Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Co.
That doesn’t figure to be a problem this season – or going forward – and Justin Williams is a big reason why.
Williams has fit in like a glove with Washington playing primarily on the 2nd line along side Evgeny Kuznetsov. To date Williams has tallied 21 goals and 49 points, while also driving possession and playing meaningful minutes in all situations of the game.
What’s encouraging about Williams’ production is that a good portion of it has come at 5 v 5. Given most of every game is spent in that game state – especially in the playoffs – that’s very important.
Williams ranks top-50 in 5 v 5 points per 60 minutes played and sits ahead of some excellent players like Max Pacioretty, Brad Marchand, Artemi Panarin, Henrik Sedin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Evgeni Malkin, among many others.
Factor in that he has a ton of playoff experience (and has fared exceptionally well there) and there really isn’t anything Williams doesn’t bring to the table for the Caps.
All things considered a case could be made he’s worth double what he is making; especially on a short-term deal.
Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.
