Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic: (mailbag part 1) At this point, can’t see the Washington Capitals entering next season with the tandem of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. They need to decide which one to keep, then look to add a goalie who is in his 30’s and could be a No. 1 option as well as a mentor to either Samsonov or Vanecek.
Samsonov could be the goaltender they trade.
Get the sense that 2018 fourth-round pick, goaltender Mitchell Gibson will finish his schooling at Harvard before signing his entry-level deal.
Two potential trade targets are Los Angeles Kings Jonathan Quick and New York Islanders Semyon Varlamov. Haven’t heard the Capitals being linked to either of those two goalies. but they are the types that they could look at.
Don’t believe goaltender Clay Stevenson is NHL ready. He’ll need some time in either the AHL or ECHL.
How Samsonov and Vanecek finish off the regular season and in the playoffs will go a long way in who stays and who goes.
There were the Samsonov rumors to the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline but could not confirm them. Believe that if Samsonov is the player the Capitals look to move, there will likely be several teams interested.
The Jets are on the road in Montreal and are
-145 on the moneyline with Betway
Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic: (mailbag part 2) Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller has another year on his contract at $3.5 million. Would have said at the start of the season that he’s likely not back next year but it may not be a slam dunk like it once was. They have Connor McMichael at $863,333 for two more years, so they will likely test the trade market for Eller.
If the Capitals don’t re-sign defenseman Justin Schultz, they may look to bring in someone to replace him. They could look to fill the position internally and use the cap space to address their goaltending situation. They could look to trade for someone like Jonathan Quick or Semyon Varlamov.
