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Washington Capitals cannot afford to lose Nate Schmidt

By Dave Stevenson

May 3, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period in game four of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period in game four of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Capitals have a good chance of losing Nate Schmidt to the expansion draft. How can they protect him? 

Unfortunately, the Washington Capitals are going to be one of the teams who lose a good player in the upcoming NHL expansion draft. Each team has to surrender one player, whether it be someone signed or a free agent. There was no way the Capitals were going to avoid losing a good player. Such is the curse of being a great team. But now Washington risks losing young defenseman Nate Schmidt.

Losing number 88 would be awful for the Capitals. He’s Karl Alzner’s immediate replacement on the second pairing. A duo of Schmidt and John Carlson could do a lot of damage. Nate showed what he was capable of in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, flourishing after replacing Alzner.

To be fair, the Capitals were stuck in a can’t win situation with the expansion draft. If they wanted to protect Schmidt, they would have had to do one of two things. Either expose (or trade) John Carlson, or protect four defenseman.

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While trading Carlson certainly has its merits, it means punting on the 2017-18 season. There’s no immediate replacement for him. Even if Madison Bowey winds up being a second pairing caliber defenseman, it sure won’t happen next season. Sure, you can trade for one, but that’s a lot harder than it sounds.

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The second option would have involved leaving three of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson unprotected. Eller and Wilson are two obvious options. Whoever the third one is, Vegas wouldn’t pass on them.

Luckily, Washington has options to talk the Vegas Golden Knights out of talking Schmidt. But it will cost them. Their first option is to offer a draft pick. As amazing as Schmidt is, he’s not worth a first rounder, so scratch off the 2018 first round pick. At the same time, the Golden Knights likely want more than a fourth round pick. But the fourth round pick can still be a part of a package to keep Schmidt.

Next: NHL Mock Expansion Draft

The Capitals should call up their old pal George McPhee and offer them their 2017 fourth round pick in exchange for not picking number 88. If that isn’t enough, Washington could tack on a prospect with the fourth round pick. The best prospect I would give up for him? Travis Boyd. A package of a fourth round pick and Boyd ought to be enough to keep Schmidt safe.

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