- Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post: The Capitals had been looking to find a No. 2 center for awhile, but early offseason thoughts have them thinking that Evgeny Kuznetsov could fill that hole. UFAs Eric Fehr’s third line center role could be filled by Jay Beagle, Marcus Johansson, Brooks Laich or possibly Andre Burakovsky. But, the Capitals aren’t closing the door on bringing in help down the middle.
“I think we’re going to let it play out,” MacLellan said. “We could address it internally, the third-line center spot, and also depending on how the contract situation plays itself out, there’s a couple options in the free agency market that we see, and we’ll explore the trade market up until training camp. There might be something in that venue.”
First line center Nicklas Backstrom had offseason hip surgery and could be sidelined into training camp. Head coach Barry Trotz on their center situation.
“We have some options, but at the same time I know we’re not done looking and we don’t have a lot of room,” Trotz said. “We’ll look internally within our own group first, and if something is the right fit, I know Mac will go out and do an excellent job like he has and fill a hole if we feel we have one.”
The Capitals have about $10.9 million in cap space with RFAs Braden Holtby and Marcus Johansson left to re-sign.
- Chris Daniels of King 5 News: Three sources said yesterday that potential Seattle NHL owner Victor Coleman won’t apply for an expansion team by the first “phase” deadline of July 20th, which included a $10 million deposit, with $2 million non-refundable. Source was saying that Coleman wanted to finalize the arena site before submitting an application. Coleman had been wanting to build in the SoDo neighborhood.The delay could open the door for Connecticut-based investment banker Ray Bartoszek, who has the option to buy a some land in Tukwila for a more privately financed NBA/NHL arena. It’s not known if Bartoszek will apply by Monday.
- David Pagnotta: Curious if Portland applies for an expansion team. Las Vegas and Quebec City are all but certain to apply, and Seattle is a possibility (Tukwila option).
- David Pagnotta: Have been told the NHL would prefer a downtown option in Seattle, but would seriously review Tukwila if an application is submitted.
