Washington Capitals: Potential right wing free agency targets

After the Andre Burakovsky trade sent a third-line winger to Colorado, the Washington Capitals found themselves in need of a third-line right winger.

Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said as much this morning, and if history has told us anything, MacLellan is a straight-shooter and will do exactly what he said he would.

Now that we’ve got an idea for the Capitals plan for free agency, let’s look at some of the options available to the team in free agency.

According to CapFriendly, Washington has just over nine million dollars in cap space to spend in this free agency period. A significant chunk, however, will be spent on Jakub Vrana and Christian Djoos. Then, the Capitals will have to fill out the rest of the lineup, likely with league minimum — or close to it — players.

With MacLellan now working on a bridge deal with Vrana, expect him to sign a one or two year deal for around 3.5 million dollars. For Djoos, he’ll likely come in around a million dollars per year on a shorter term contract.

If we assume the above, and fill out the fourth line and extra skater with Shane Gersich (at $700,000) who impressed at Development Camp, and Nathan Walker (at $750,000), the Capitals will have about $3.285 million dollars to spend on a third line right wing according to CapFriendly.

While that takes them out of the running for the big name free agents like Artemi Panarin or Anders Lee, there’s still a quality level of forwards the Capitals could target. Here’s some options that realistic for the Capitals this offseason.

Option 3: Joonas Donskoi

Joonas Donskoi is perhaps one of the more notable names of potential signings for the Capitals. A reason he’s third on this list, though, is that he might have priced himself out of the Capitals range of ~3 million dollars.

He’s coming off a 37-point season, where he scored 14 goals and notched 23 assists in San Jose last season. In four seasons in the NHL, Donskoi has hit 30 points in three seasons and would perhaps even be an upgrade over Connolly in the long run.

Last season, Donskoi had a Corsi percentage of 54.46, a High-Danger chances percentage of 56.05 and Fenwick percentage of 55.18. Donskoi would be yet another offensive-minded forward with skill.

He also had the second-highest Expected Goals percentage on the team with 57.33 percent, meaning he’s another winger who is sharp on both ends of the ice.

Option 4: Corey Perry

This is by far the most splashy signing the Capitals could realistically make, though the likelihood isn’t favorable.

At 34-years old, Corey Perry is clearly on the downside of his career. He hasn’t scored 30 or more goals since the 2015-16 season and hasn’t been a positive possession player in each of the last two seasons.

But it’s worth noting that the former Hart Trophy winner could try and rekindle some magic in D.C. on the cheaper side of things.

Perry will be paid two million dollars per year for the next four seasons by the Ducks and was due to make 12 million dollars in the next two years on his original deal. With eight million of that on the way from Anaheim in the way of buyout payments, he needs just four million dollars to make back what he would have made at the start.

A two-year, two-million dollar deal might make sense in that regard for the former standout goal-scorer to give the Capitals some pop on their third line.

A look at history:

None of the Capitals options will shock the NHL landscape, but there’s some signings that could really impact next year’s team.

In the last two years, Washington has made a positive turn towards making moves with an analytical mindset. With Nick Jensen, Carl Hagelin and Michal Kempny‘s acquisitions and re-signings, the team has clearly made trades and signings with some advanced possession metrics in mind.

Before Brett Connolly was brought to Washington, he wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer by the Bruins and signed in Washington for $850,000. He re-signed after the season on a two-year deal worth 1.5 million per year.

Connolly entered the 2016-17 season, his first in Washington, having never scored more than 12 goals or topped more than 25 points. In the five seasons prior, however, he was a positive possession player.

Should the Capitals take the same gamble on a player in free agency, specifically with some possession metrics in mind, there could be a diamond in the rough to be had on the Capitals third line.