Washington Capitals: Richard Panik clears waivers, heads to taxi squad
The Washington Capitals now have a little bit of money to spend in the upcoming trade deadline. They were able to bury Richard Panik’s cap hit by sending him to waivers. After a 24 hour period and no team claiming him, Panik now heads to the Caps taxi squad.
This move also gave the Caps enough cap space to call up Daniel Carr from the Hershey Bears, per The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell. Chris Johnston was first to report that Panik cleared waivers. Carr will slot into the lineup in place of Daniel Sprong which will drive Caps fans crazy.
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Panik was a healthy scratch in three of Washington’s last five games. He has three goals and six assists for nine points in 36 games this season. Last season he struggled on the thrid line but got better when moved to the fourth line. They were hoping for better production from Panik this season based on the way last season ended.
Panik has only managed one goal in his past nine games. The Caps signed him to a four year, $11 million deal in the summer of 2019. His contract carried an average annual value of $2.75 million. Last season, Panik scored nine goals and added 13 assists in 59 games.
With Panik going to the taxi squad, the Caps are able to clear up $1.075 million of his cap hit. Panik seemed to be the odd man out of the lineup with the hot production coming from Daniel Sprong and Conor Sheary. The former has seven goals and five assists in 28 games.
Panik was out of the lineup when Lars Eller returned from a seven game absence due to a lower body injury. Panik was back in the lineup when Jakub Vrana was a healthy scratch for two games against the New Jersey Devils. Vrana slotted back in the lineup on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders.
Washington Capitals vs Bruins: Returning Home. light. More
The Caps will take on the Boston Bruins tonight at 7 p.m. Washington is tied with the Islanders for first place in the MassMutual East Division