Washington Capitals Should Give Stan Galiev A Chance

The Washington Capitals have a highly-skilled Russian forward in Stanislav Galiev. Will he get a chance to prove his worth next season, or is he trade bait?

Heading into another long offseason, it appears that the Washington Capitals will have a need for speed heading into next season.

This is because they battled, and lost, in the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who boast one of the fastest lineups in the entire NHL.

Speed isn’t the only factor, however, and the Washington Capitals will certainly need to inject some skill into the lineup along with that as well. While it is possible that the team can look to free agency or the trade market, they might want to give one of their own another opportunity.

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Stan Galiev, eater of cobra hearts and scorpions, is a 24-year old winger and former third round draft pick, took a while to get his feet under him as a professional.

After emerging as a dynamic scorer with the St. John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, he struggled to replicate his success for two seasons with the Hershey Bears. He was occasionally sent down to the East Coast Hockey League’s Reading Royals, where he did find success.

It wasn’t until the 2014-15 season that Galiev established himself in Hershey. In 67 games, he scored 25 goals and added 20 assists, shattering his former career-highs at the American Hockey League level. His resurgence earned him a two-game stint with the Washington Capitals in the team’s final two games that year, where he scored his first professional goal and, more importantly, didn’t look out of place against the big dogs.

He signed a two-year extension with the Washington Capitals following that season, and spent the better part of the year with the big club in 2015-16. He did play in five games with the Bears, where he recorded a trio of goals.

Despite being with the Capitals, much of Galiev’s time was in the press box. He only played in 24 games, recording three assists. Not very impressive on paper.

Once the Washington Capitals acquired Mike Richards, it was pretty much a guarantee that neither Galiev or Michael Latta would see the ice much more, if at all, for the rest of the season. Alas, that is exactly what happened.

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But now, with Richards and Jason Chimera unlikely to be back, it could open a spot for a guy like Galiev. In all likelihood, if in fact he does return to Washington next year and isn’t traded this offseason, he will get his last shot at the NHL level with the team that drafted him next season.

It isn’t as if he has been a complete non-factor, however. Galiev posted a 51.4% Corsi For at even strength last season, so despite his lack of production (and the small sample size), the fact that he is a positive possession player on the fourth line leaves some hope that he can get it all together.

Along with that, despite his limited ice time, he ranked fourth on the Washington Capitals last season in shots per 60 minutes with 8.67 shots. He was just behind both Jason Chimera and Justin Williams in that regard. Again, you are working with a small sample size here, but it would be interesting to see Galiev in a third line role to see what he could do with a few more minutes on the ice every night.

It is very possible that Galiev will never pan out the way that the organization probably envisioned at one point. With that in mind, he likely doesn’t have much trade value, either. If he was two or three years younger, it might be a different story, but teams simply will not value a 24-year old who hasn’t done much of anything to this point, regardless of what his potential is or was.

With one more year left on a very cheap contract, it simply makes the most sense to give Galiev one more chance to see what he can do with a full offseason and a full training camp. At worst, he can’t solidify a spot and you get what you can for him or part ways.

At best, he continues his trend of being a late-bloomer and turns into the top-nine scoring threat that many hoped he would become.

Next: Is Former Cap Cody Eakin A Possible Trade Target?

Stanislav Galiev has the size and skill set to be a productive player in the NHL. What remains to be seen is whether or not he can begin to find consistency, and the Washington Capitals should give him one more shot to do so.