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Capitals: Pending Free Agent Digest, Who to sign and who to let walk?

By David Trice

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals looks on during the pre-game skate before a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals looks on during the pre-game skate before a game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 18: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals cools off during the game against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 18: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals cools off during the game against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Considering the recent move by the Washington Capitals extending Nicklas Backstrom to keep the great centerman in Washington for his career, what are the next contracts that need to be addressed?

Before the start of the regular season there were two very big question marks coming into the season all Capitals fans wanted answered.

It took until more than half the season to get conclusion for at least one answer.

The Washington Capitals extended one of the two big free agents to be in the coming off season, with the contract completed with Backstrom. What contract will be the next to be completed?

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Following the new contract to Nicklas Backstrom, if the salary cap increases by the same amount as the last season ($1.5 million), the Washington Capitals will have approximately $11.9 million in cap space left.

Besides the obvious elephant in the room, Braden Holtby‘s contract, there are a number of restricted free agents to consider for extension and another key unrestricted free agent in defenseman Radko Gudas. What could the best use of the cap space look like moving forward? What players deserve to be extended, or shouldn’t be allowed to reach free agency?

The following will cover the potential contracts each key player could be given, and how that might affect the remaining cap space for the Washington Capitals.

The players age and production will determine their fit into the future plans for the Capitals. The projected contract numbers will relate to these factors, and an estimate of what they might get on the open market.

Finally, this will be done with the understanding that a number of positions will be held down for the foreseeable future. So there are limited spots for players to fill out the roster.

There will be a final roster from the perspective of the Capitals only adding from their own pipeline or existing roster, with how tight they are against the cap it is very unlikely they will add any other free agent targets.

All this will be done under the premise no trades occur to free up space or dramatically change the setup of the team.

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