Washington Capitals: 5 training camp storylines

2 of 6

LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 27: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals look on during practice prior to Media Day for the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on May 27, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#1 Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby’s contracts

Where else would we start? A hot debate going around Washington is whether to keep Nicklas Backstrom or Braden Holtby. An even bigger one, can the team afford Braden Holtby?

Brian MacLellan told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post that they’re “going to play this out” regarding Backstrom and Holtby.

Backstrom signed a 10-year, $67,000,000 that paid him a good $6.5 AAV per season and it’s the $9-10 million AAV range that could do the trick to keeping him.

ARLINGTON, VA – MARCH 02: Jakub Vrana #13 of the Washington Capitals smiles near the bench area as Nicklas Backstrom #19 looks on during the Washington Capitals practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on March 2, 2018 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

One similar player of Backstrom’s skillset as said by Luke Adomanis of Japers Rink as well as our own Andrew Gillis: Joe Thornton signed a three-year deal when he was 32 (Backstrom will turn 32 this season), for a seven-million AAV. Gillis also mentioned Jonathan Toews‘ current cap hit of $10.5 million. Not only are they similar but like Backstrom and Ovechkin, Toews and Patrick Kane are inseparable.

As for Holtby, the big story league-wide was Sergei Bobrovsky‘s seven-year, $70-million contract worth a $10-million AAV. A lot of you know my opinion on how Holtby is worth $11-million. He’ll get the money, no doubt but the question is will it come out of the Caps pockets?gei

With a tight salary cap and Ilya Samsonov coming up the ranks, the decision of whether to give Holtby the raise will lie in his performance. While some think there could be a hometown discount with a tightened cap, I don’t see it happening. But Holtby gave an interesting response to Khurshudyan at media day:

"“There’s always that area where you can work with, but at the same time you have a responsibility to the other players in the league, too.”"

Get your popcorn ready! It’s going to be fun watching Backstrom and Holtby play this season. Regardless of what happens next summer, soak this season in Caps fans. It could be the last time we see the full core on the ice.

Home/Editorials