Washington Capitals Gauged Market On Orlov And Hathaway For Them
Sammy Sliber of Washington Hockey Now: Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said that Dmitry Orlov wanted to test the free-agent market. Also, that was the impression he received from Garnet Hathaway as well.
These were two players who simply wanted to see what they were worth on the open market. That was well within their right. It was clear the general manager acted on an opportunity to recoup some value before there was none.
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MacLellan knew teams were very keen on both players and even a few suggested a package deal. One of them happened to be the Boston Bruins and they presented the best deal for the Washington Capitals. It became a no-brainer especially compared to the other potential offers.
The general manager said as such.
“it changed what was going on and we proceeded from there. They’re very good players very well respected and they get a lot of action .”
Both players have thrived in Boston not surprisingly and Orlov is getting time on the top power play.
Washington Was In Jakob Chychrun Sweepstakes Till End
Sammi Sliber of Washington Hockey NOW: Looking at some of the crazier rumors out there turned to reveal some not so crazy things.
For one, it turned out that Brian MacLellan was indeed interested in Jakob Chychrun. Actually, he was in it right until the very end for the former Arizona Coyotes defenseman. Ultimately, he went to the Ottawa Senators.
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“We were involved pretty much the whole deadline right down to the end on Chychrun. He fit the profile and the type of player we were looking for,” MacLellan said on EITM. “I think in the end, it ended up going the other way on us, but we hung in there as long as we could in trying to get him.”
After it became clear that Dmitry Orlov wanted longer term and be able to test the market, MacLellan was aggressive on Chychrun. This turned out to be more substance than most expected. Also, it turned out Washington and Orlov were not close on money. Chychrun had team control for a few seasons built in.
It could have been quite a deal, but not the deal that won.