Four Free Agent Goalies The Washington Capitals Should Look At
By CJ Witt
Free agent goalies the Washington Capitals should look at.
While Braden Holtby hasn’t officially turned and started going towards the door, most people that follow the Washington Capitals seem to be waving goodbye to the long time Caps goalie. The Capitals are in a cap crunch. They have guys they need to re-sign in the very near future and they need to decide which bigger names will need to leave.
Washington has a young goaltender by the name of Ilya Samsonov. The way he played for most of last season seemed to tell us he was ready for a bigger role. That’s bad news for Holtby. Samsonov is seven or eight years younger than Holtby, and he will be much, much cheaper for the Caps for the next two seasons.
When people say “all signs to Holtby leaving the Capitals” I think that’s usually what they’re talking about. The Caps have a younger, cheaper and capable replacement now. Combine that with the cap situation and it’s hard to imagine the former Vezina winner and Stanley Cup champion returning to D.C.
Samsonov will be the number one goalie going forward. A lot of people, myself included, usually don’t like to see young goalie combinations. I tend to think it’s important, if not vital, that teams sign a veteran goalie to help the younger goalie.
Luckily for the Capitals there are plenty of options to choose from when looking at upcoming free agent goalies. Here are four goalies the Capitals should look at come free agent season.