Capitals: Grading their trades after the NHL Trade deadline

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 20: Brenden Dillon #4 of the Washington Capitals in action against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 20: Brenden Dillon #4 of the Washington Capitals in action against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 08: Ilya Kovalchuk #17 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his overtime goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on February 8, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 08: Ilya Kovalchuk #17 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his overtime goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on February 8, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals were once again very active in the Trade Deadline.

For the sixth season in a row, the Washington Capitals added a defensemen prior to the trade deadline. That wasn’t all.

On Sunday just hours after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins they acquired forward Ilya Kovalchuk and only lost a third round pick in the deal.

The Capitals also made a minor league deal, losing Christian Djoos to the Ducks in a swap for Daniel Sprong. Sprong was once a former Penguins top prospect but it’s highly unlikely you’ll see him in a Capitals sweater this season. He’ll be fun to watch on the Hershey Bears though!

This piece, however, will look at the first two trades the Capitals made. What they got, what they lost, and a grade for the move.

First let’s take a look at the salary cap. Their projected cap space after the deadline is $191,345. Both Dillon and Kovalchuk are unrestricted free agents (UFAs) come July 1. There will be a lot of decisions to make during that time period and they’ll be added to the mix.

Now we’ll look at both players, beginning with Brenden Dillion, and grade the trades. Without further ado, let’s begin.