Washington Capitals: Recapping all trade deadline moves

The 2016 NHL trade deadline came and went quietly on Tuesday, but the Capitals were active prior to the final day in efforts to bolster their roster.

In pursuit of their first Stanley Cup, the Washington Capitals are having a historical season. With 94 points through 61 games, and their deepest team ever, there weren’t many perceived needs heading into the trade deadline.

General Manager Brian MacLellan made it clear on several occasions that he was happy with his team, most notably his top nine forward group. While many fans were rooting for one more big splash to put this team over the top, it was never a realistic one.

The Washington Capitals did, however, make several depth acquisitions. Unfortunately, one of those acquisitions came at the price of the longest-tenured athlete in D.C. sports as well as one of the team’s top prospects.

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Their first move came through on the 23rd of February.

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The Washington Capitals paid a bit of a high price here, but it was likely worth it. This is because they acquired a serviceable NHL defenseman for a run through the playoffs where injuries are very likely to occur at some point.

Mike Weber is a lower-key version of D Tim Gleason, who the Caps acquired before last year’s trade deadline. He provided a physical net front and net clearing presence, which is exactly what Weber will do when he is on the ice.

Weber will likely find himself as the #8 defenseman on the Washington Capitals once John Carlson returns from injury. Taylor Chorney is currently filling in with Carlson out, though he will likely be the first choice out of the press box come playoff time.

Their next move came through late Sunday night under 24 hours from the deadline.

In what was more or less a change of scenery trade for two mid-twenties players looking to break into the NHL, the Caps acquired the speedy Ryan Bourque who happens to be the brother of current Hershey Bears player Chris Bourque. Chris Brown received a few stints in the NHL in his time with Washington, but he was injured prior to the this season and never found consistency under Barry Trotz.

Bourque is a player who could theoretically be considered for a call up in the event of an injury, but this was mostly an AHL trade. This trade worried Washington Capitals fans simply because they thought MacLellan was done after this one.

That was not the case, as one of the more devastating but important trades in recent years for the Washington Capitals soon followed.