Washington Capitals: Five Bargain Bin Free Agents To Consider
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The Washington Capitals have had an excellent off-season, to say the least. Not only did they sign former Los Angeles Kings forward Justin Williams to a deal that many consider to be a bargain, they also added a legitimate first line wing by trading for St. Louis Blues forward T.J. Oshie. They also re-signed center and master penalty killer Jay Beagle. This immediately erases all the concerns that the Washington Capitals and their fans had about their forward depth.
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Despite all of these moves, the Capitals likely aren’t done, according to head coach Barry Trotz. At a recent luncheon, Trotz suggested that they are exploring options in case star center Nicklas Backstrom isn’t 100% ready by October 10th when the Caps open their 2015 regular season. Backstrom is recovering from a hip injury that he sustained in the playoffs.
This year didn’t offer that many good options at center to begin with. Now that we’re deep in free agency, a good number of those options have signed elsewhere. Incumbent third line center Eric Fehr has likely priced himself out of the Washington Capitals range. However, there are still several candidates out there in free agency that likely won’t cost much. It’s worth noting that Trotz never said where he’d add that center from, so the Caps might be having trade talks with another team. However, considering the Caps center depth once Backstrom is back, one would think it would have to be a cheap center.
There are five centers out there who I think the Washington Capitals should be looking at. At worst, they would provide depth. At best, they could wind up being the piece that winds up putting the Caps over the top. It’s worth noting though that if you think the Caps are a bargain bin player or two away from being strong Stanley Cup contenders, chances are they already are strong Stanley Cup contenders.
They’ll need cap space to sign pretty much anyone. They can always shop Jason Chimera and sell him to the highest bidder. They could also pursue moving Brooks Laich, though they would most likely need to attach a draft pick to him in order to trade him at this point.
Next: Stephen Weiss
Washington Capitals Should Consider Stephen Weiss
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Stephen Weiss has had trouble staying healthy over the years, hence why he was bought out recently by the Detroit Red Wings. However, if he lowers his price to about a $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 salary on a one year “show me” deal, he could be a great fit for the Washington Capitals. In 52 games last season for Detroit, Weiss scored 25 points (16 at even strength) in 590 minutes of playing time (473.9 minutes at even strength).
On paper, that might not look impressive. However, his rate stats were actually quite good. He averaged 2.1 points per 60 minutes at even strength (0.8 goals with 1.3 assists). That would have actually led the Washington Capitals forward group last season. I think that Weiss could add even more offense to the Caps bottom six.
However, there are some concerns about Weiss. Obviously, there’s his health. The past three seasons, he’s played a combined 95 games. The last time he played over 53 games was in 2011-2012. Secondly, there’s his defense. Weiss has never been that strong defensively. The way Trotz likes to use his bottom six is in more defensive roles, though that will likely change somewhat this season. Weiss’s Fenwick Against and Corsi Against numbers have never been that good. They weren’t even good when he played with Detroit.
Probably my biggest concern with Weiss is his puck possession numbers. The Washington Capitals have to improve as far as puck possession numbers. Signing Weiss, whose teams have had significantly better possession numbers without him on the ice than they did with him on the ice in every season since 2009-2010, would not be wise in that regard.
Next: Mike Santorelli
Mike Santorelli
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Mike Santorelli is a player who I wanted the Washington Capitals to trade for at the trade deadline this year. He’s a great bottom six option as long as the Washington Capitals remember that he is a bottom six forward. He’s proven that he’s not quite top six caliber, though he could probably fill in short-term and not be horrible.
Santorelli isn’t a face-off specialist by any means, but face-offs are much less important than you think they are. He’s been a positive possession player on some pretty awful teams. That’s what matters. He has 61 points over the past two seasons. He would definitely add something to the Washington Capitals in terms of offense.
He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to have a huge impact in terms of puck possession, but he’s the kind of guy who’s not really going to negatively or positively affect your team in terms of Fenwick and Corsi. To me, that’s acceptable from a bottom six forward.
His HERO chart suggests that he was perhaps a bit misused in Vancouver and Toronto. Despite that, he still put up nice numbers.
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I think he’ll command a salary of about $2,000,000 for a one or two year deal. He might come even cheaper than that. I’d much rather have Santorelli than Chimera, so if needed, the Caps should ship Chimera out.
Next: Olli Jokinen
Olli Jokinen
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Olli Jokinen is a veteran center who might be able to help out the Washington Capitals. Depending on how cheap he comes, I think he’d at worst be a nice 13th forward to have around. He’s a 36 year old center who has played in 1,231 NHL games. He has 750 career points. Sadly, he spent some of his best years on some awful teams.
The biggest concern with Jokinen is how much does he have left in his tank. I don’t believe he has much, as he’s coming off a season that saw him get just 10 points in 62 games. That would be acceptable for a fourth line center, but probably not from anywhere else.
In terms of puck possession, over the past few seasons, he’s been in the red. However, he did have unfavorable zone starts. To say he had non-ideal line mates would be an understatement.
Assuming Jokinen comes cheap (and he better), the Washington Capitals could probably get him without necessarily having to trade Chimera (though that’s still a good idea).
Next: Jiri Tlusty
Jiri Tlusty
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Jiri Tlusty has not been signed despite arguably having the most upside of all the remaining centers in free agency. He’s the kind of guy that I’d love to see the Washington Capitals take a chance on. He’s one of the youngest of all the options that the Washington Capitals have in free agency. The only issue: he’s not really a center if you look at face-offs. With that said, the Washington Capitals could just put Marcus Johansson at center. Again, face-offs don’t matter nearly as much as you probably think they do. On paper, his stats are alright. In 416 career NHL games, he has 173 points.
What I really love about Tlusty is that he makes his teammates a lot better. That’s the kind of bargain bin guy that the Washington Capitals should be looking at. They likely won’t even need an extra center for that long anyway.
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I would love to see a third line of Tlusty, Johansson and Tom Wilson. That would give the Washington Capitals arguably the best three forward lines that I’ve ever seen them have. The Capitals would likely have to do a bit of cap maneuvering to get him (which shouldn’t include MoJo) but it could wind up having a huge payoff. Hopefully his price drops enough that they don’t need to move guys, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Next: Matt Cullen
Matt Cullen
Matt Cullen is another free agent center who the Washington Capitals should definitely consider signing. Not only is he still a productive player despite being 38 years old (and turning 39 in November), he’s also quite good in the face-off circle. How good is he at face-offs? He hasn’t had a face-off win percentage below 50% since 2009-2010.
Last season with the Nashville Predators, he had 25 points. Not bad from somebody who averaged just a tick over 13 minutes a game in 62 games. His HERO chart suggests that he tends to have a positive influence on his teammates as well.
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If the Washington Capitals are looking to add a pure center, Cullen is probably their best option. He could also play left wing. I’m not sure what his price would be. Whatever it is, it would most likely be worth it.
Next: Four Players The Caps Can't Afford To Lose
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