Will the Washington Capitals search for a play making center for Alex Ovechkin?
Tom Gulitti: Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan on if they need to find a playmaking center to play with Alex Ovechkin to get him scoring more often.
“I look at the UFA market, I look at the trade market, and our organization’s goal is younger, too. So, it’s not let’s get older here. So, my hope is our young guys develop into that, provide that for us, and at the same time, we would be looking for opportunities for a young centerman that are out there, too. That would be the philosophy hehind it.”
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The Toronto Maple Leafs will continue to look for right-handed defensemen and a depth forward
TSN: Chris Johnston on TSN 1050 radio when asked if Ilya Lyubushkin‘s potential injury situation will change the Toronto Maple Leafs trade deadline plans.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Host: “With (Ilya) Lyubushkin being a little bit of a question mark here again, just a couple of days after the Leafs acquired him, do you think that changes the way that they’ll approach Friday’s trade deadline?
Johnston: “I don’t think it’ll change it just because I do believe the Leafs have continued to target another defenseman and likely for one that can play on the right side. So you know, I don’t think it shifts the thinking and but, but you know, there’s, there’s still some work to be done and I think they probably will be poking around to trying to get another depth forward if they can.
I mean, obviously, cap space is pretty tight for the Leafs and they don’t have a ton of assets. So I don’t, I don’t see these being sort of big headline additions or, you know, ground-shaking kind of trades.
But, you know, there’s there’s a number of sort of depth players out there. At both positions, I think the Leafs and other contenders will be looking to add just because if anything, all it does is underscore what we all kind of know intuitively, is that this is a sport where you need more than just the 20 players you’re dressing each night because injuries are, are a part of it.
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And we still got, you know, more than, more than a month left in the regular season and the Leafs are open to play two months beyond that.”