Washington Capitals: Early expectations for Michael Raffl
The Washington Capitals final trade of the day came from acquiring forward Michael Raffl from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a fifth round pick that was previously acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights. Philadelphia will retain 25 percent of Raffl’s salary.
The 32 year old is a native of Villach, Austria. He recorded eight points with three goals and five assists in 34 games with the Flyers this season. The six foot, 200 pound left wing led Philadelphia forwards with 23 blocked shots and was tied for fifth on the team with 50 hits.
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Raffl ranked sixth among Flyers forwards with 37:24 penalty kill minutes. He is on pace for 19 points and has recorded at least 20 points in five of his last seven seasons. In 504 career games with the Flyers, Raffl has recorded 160 points with 81 goals and 79 assists.
In 28 career playoff games, Raffl has collected eight points with five goals and three assists including two game winning goals. He ranks third in NHL history among Austrian born players with 160 points and will become the first Austrian born player to play for the Caps.
He has represented Austria internationally in six World Championships recording 16 points with 11 goals and five assists in 30 games and during the 2014 Winter Olympics, recording three points in four games with a goal and two assists.
The Caps decided to keep who they got in goal and went with two forwards at the trade deadline. The other one being Anthony Mantha in a bigger deal that saw them lose Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, a first rounder and next year’s second rounder.
Caps general manager Brian MacLellan said Mantha will be available tomorrow night against the Flyers while Raffl won’t be. The Caps landed Raffl right at the 3 p.m. buzzer.
Raffl will be good for bottom six depth. He spent his entire eight year career with the Flyers in a bottom six role. Don’t expect him to be a big point getter. His last season with double digit goals came in 2018. He is mostly a fourth line player and a mainstay on the penalty kill, averaging 13 minutes a night.
Raffl’s $1.6 million deal with the Flyers expires this summer. The Caps had interest in forwards Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno but were unable to land either player.
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The Caps got the Vegas pick from the Chandler Stephenson trade last season. Although Raffl isn’t much of a goal scorer, his addition will give the Caps bottom six more depth heading into the playoffs.