NASHVILLE — The 2023 NHL Draft is in the books, and the Capitals return to D.C. with six new prospects added to their organizational depth chart. After a busy start to their offseason that included hiring a new head coach and signing defenseman Alex Alexeyev to an extension, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan can now turn his attention to addressing their roster.
As he shared at his end-of-season press conference, MacLellan’s primary focus this offseason is addressing the team’s top six forwards. Outside of Alex Ovechkin (42 goals, 33 assists) and Dylan Strome (23 goals, 42 assists), the Capitals were looking for more consistent production out of their first two lines.
“We’re still trying to make a change or changes in our top six or find a way to create something,” MacLellan said following the draft Thursday. “We’ll see if we can make it happen or not [through] trades or free agency. We look at both opportunities.”
Though MacLellan shot down any speculation that Tom Wilson — who’s eligible for a new extension this offseason — might be dealt, the Capitals are heading into the start of free agency Saturday looking to shake things up. Perhaps the biggest obstacle standing in their way is the salary cap, which is increasing by only $1 million this offseason up to $83.5 million.
Over the last five seasons, the NHL salary cap has gone up just $2 million including three years during the coronavirus pandemic when the cap didn’t change at all. The flat cap has already played a role in several early offseason moves such as the Nashville Predators’ trade of center Ryan Johansen.
The Predators got half of Johansen’s salary off the books by shipping him to the Colorado Avalanche. They received the rights to pending UFA Alex Galchenyuk in return, but the real benefit to making the deal was salary relief. Nashville isn’t alone, either. The Boston Bruins swung a similar trade that sent left wing Taylor Hall to Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers had to retain 50% of right wing Kevin Hayes’s salary just to flip him for a sixth-round pick.
“There’s a lot of chatter but I think there’s a lot of frustration with — seems like a lot of teams have players but no space and money,” MacLellan said. “It’s not really hockey trades that are being discussed. It’s ‘how to create space’ trades. It’s frustrating, I think, for managers in that way.
“Ideally, I think everybody would like a little room to play with and you’d probably see more action then.”
According to Spotrac, the Capitals enter free agency with just over $7.3 million in cap space, 11th fewest in the NHL. With five players set to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, they’ll have spots on the fringes of their roster to fill in addition to figuring out their top six. They also will need to make a decision on restricted free agent Martin Fehervary, who they issued a qualifying offer Friday.
Free agency opens at noon Saturday. The Capitals are looking to make some changes in a few key spots. Given the financial landscape of the league, MacLellan and the front office will likely have to get creative in order to do it.
