Would it take a three-team deal to get Fleury to the Capitals?
Ken Boehlke of SinBin.Vegas: The Vegas Golden Knights have salary cap issues and have goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Washington Capitals may now be in the market for a goaltender.
The Capitals don’t have much salary cap space but could there be interest? Would it take a third team to get involved?
If they needed to get a third team involved to help with salaries, the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Ottawa Senators have some cap space to work with.
If the Golden Knights retained 50 percent ($3.5 million), then a team like the Red Wings retained 50 percent ($1.75 million), the Capitals would only pay $1.75 million. They’ll get $1.5 million in LTIR space from Lundqvist.
The Golden Knights may not want to go as high as $3.5 million. The Capitals could send them salary in the likes of Carl Hagelin ($2.75 million), Richard Panik ($2.75 million) or Lars Eller ($3.5 million). This route may mean the Golden Knights would have to add more assets to a potential deal.
Options for the Capitals
Tom Gulitti of NHL.com: Before the Washington Capitals signed Henrik Lundqvist to backup Ilya Samsonov, they were considering having soon to be 25-year old Vitek Vanecek as their backup.
One concern is that Vanecek hasn’t played in one NHL game yet. In 31 games last season with Hershey of the AHL, he went 19-10-1 with a 2.26 GAA, and a .917 save percentage.
Capitals assistant GM Ross Mahoney on the idea of the Capitals going with Samsonson and Vanecek.
“I think Samsonov played very well last year given his opportunity (and) Vitek played well,” Mahoney said. “… If that’s the direction it did go, I’d be very confident in both those young players.”
Free agent options include Jimmy Howard, Ryan Miller, Craig Anderson and Cory Schneider. There is a chance that Schneider is going to sign with the New York Islanders on a one-year deal.
The Capitals are tight against the cap. They will gain $1.5 million in LTIR space with they put Lundqvist on it. Trading for a goalie won’t be easy. They may run with Samsonov and Vanecek to start the season and test the trade market in-season.
Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic: Three options for the Washington Capitals to address their goaltending situation.
- Sign a UFA goaltender like Ryan Miller or Jimmy Howard. Miller may not want to go East but maybe a shortened season with a contender might change his mind.
- With being just under the cap ceiling with 22 players under contract, trading for a goaltender could be tough.
- Role with Vitek Vanecek and/or Pheonix Copley as their backups.
The most logical move for the Capitals at this time might be to just start the season with Samonsov and Vanecek and then adjust in-season if need be.