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Washington Capitals Free Agency: Braden Holtby’s Next Contract

By Dave Stevenson

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Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals have some free agents to worry about this off-season. Their most important one is a restricted free agent: Braden Holtby. Coming into this season, the Washington Capitals challenged Braden Holtby to prove to them that he is worth investing in. After a season that saw him snubbed of a Vezina Trophy Finalist spot, I think it’s safe to say that Braden Holtby has proven his worth to the Washington Capitals.

Braden Holtby has done his part. Now it’s time for the Washington Capitals to make a decision on if they want to give Holtby a multi-year extension. There are good reasons to offer him one.

Reasons Why Washington Capitals Should

  1. There’s a pretty high probability that Holtby’s only going to get more expensive from here on out. Holtby is entering his prime. Also, since October 1st 2011, he ranks fifth among all goaltenders (with at least 5000 minutes at even strength) in even strength save percentage. He’ll probably move up a spot on that list with a strong season in 2015-2016. 
  2. If the Washington Capitals give him a long-term extension now, they’ll be able to keep him through his prime and have much more control on when they can let him go. For example, if they offer him a five year deal, that would keep him between the pipes for the Caps until he’s 30 years old. Conveniently, 30 years old is right around when a majority of goaltenders start to hit a decline. Heck, seven years likely wouldn’t be awful because goaltenders are usually at worst still pretty productive once they reach 32 years old.
  3. If the Washington Capitals lock up Braden Holtby now, that should help them negotiate with other restricted free agents, such as Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson.
  4. If the Washington Capitals can get the contract out of the way now, that gives them more flexibility for the future.

The only reason that the Washington Capitals shouldn’t give him one is because he has two years of being a restricted free agent until he’s an unrestricted free agent. The Capitals hold all the leverage in this case. That said, they should absolutely lock up Holtby now.

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What could Holtby’s contract look like? Let me start off by saying that the Washington Capitals dodged a HUGE bullet when Holtby was snubbed out of being a Vezina Trophy finalist. That probably saved the Caps some money. The Washington Capitals have two options as far as Holtby’s contract: short-term (four years) or long-term (five or more). There are arguments for both sides.

Why The Washington Capitals Should Go Short-Term

  1. The Caps would be devoting less years to Holtby.
  2. Goaltenders tend to be pretty fickle and once they start their decline, it usually isn’t too pretty.
  3. A short-term contract would be far less risky for the Washington Capitals.

Why The Washington Capitals Shouldn’t Go Short Term

  1. While they would be devoting fewer years to Holtby, they’d undeniably be giving Holtby more money because they’d be paying for solely his prime years.
  2. A comparable contract to what Holtby might get with a short-term deal is Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky will be carrying a cap hit of over $7,000,000 over his next deal, which starts next season. Granted, Bobrovsky does have a Vezina to his name, so Holtby wouldn’t make quite that much. But you get the idea.

Why The Washington Capitals Should Go Long Term

  1. While the Washington Capitals would be devoting more years to Holtby, they’d also be devoting less money per season.
  2. His contract would likely be more cap friendly if it’s long-term as opposed to short-term.
  3. This is THE perfect time to offer him a five to seven year deal.

Why The Washington Capitals Shouldn’t Go Long Term

  1. Risk. Suppose Holtby’s performance starts declining earlier than expected. Suddenly the Washington Capitals might have a Mike Smith situation on their hands.

Personally, I think the Capitals should offer Holtby a five to seven year deal. If you want a contract that would be comparable to what I would offer Holtby, Cory Schneider‘s is pretty comparable, though I wouldn’t give him $6,000,000 a season. I’d be willing to go about $4,500,000 to $5,500,000 for a seven year deal for Holtby. I’d certainly be willing to take a risk with a long-term contract if it helps the Capitals in the short term.

So what do you think? What kind of contract should the Capitals offer Holtby? Should they adopt a wait and see strategy and avoid a multi-year extension altogether? Be sure to vote in the poll and feel free to voice your thoughts in the comments!

Next: Washington Capitals Must Extend Braden Holtby

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