Capitals re-sign Brett Leason
The Washington Capitals made their first move of the offseason on Monday morning, re-signing forward Brett Leason to a two year contract extension worth $1.55 million. In the wake of the Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson news, it looks like the Caps are looking in house to fill those voids.
Leason is getting a one way contract that will pay him $750,000 next season and $800,000 the season after. The 23 year old recorded six points with three goals and three assists in 36 games with the Capitals during the 2021-22 season. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 29, 2021 against the Arizona Coyotes.
The six foot five, 218 pound forward finished the season ranked third among Caps rookies in games played. He also made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on May 5 in Game 2 of the first round at the Florida Panthers.
Over on the AHL side of things, Leason recorded 13 points with six goals and seven assists in 31 games with the Hershey Bears. He also appears in two of Hershey’s playoff games, scoring a goal. In 114 career AHL games with Hershey, Leason has 47 points with 18 goals and 29 assists.
Leason was selected in the second round at 56th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Per Cap Friendly, the Caps now have $8,978,334 in cap space. Keep in mind they have yet to move Tom Wilson or Nicklas Backstrom to long term injured reserve. Wilson will be out six to eight months while Backstrom begins a lengthy recovery process following hip surgery. Once they get moved there the Caps will have that over eight million plus over 14 million to spend this offseason.
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Leason was fun to watch last season and should see a much bigger role next season. The Caps decided to move forward with him as he completed his entry level contract and was set to be a restricted free agent. Leason was able to play thanks to a lot of injuries last season but next season the playing time will come from a team just simply trying to get younger.