4 UFA Defensemen Washington Capitals Should Target

Dmitry Kulikov Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Dmitry Kulikov Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
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Tucker Poolman Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Tucker Poolman Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

#2 Tucker Poolman

If the Caps want to go real cheap they can look at players with cap hits of under a million. One such player is Tucker Poolman of the Winnipeg Jets who is a right handed defenseman. His cap hit last season $775,000. That is $20,000 less than the Caps paid for Zdeno Chara.

His numbers won’t make you too excited. The fifth rounder that was selected at 127th overall by the Jets has spent three seasons with them. He had one assist in 39 games last season and finished with a plus/minus of -2 to go along with two penalty minutes while averaging 18:18 minutes of ice time. He has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 120 games with Winnipeg for three seasons.

His advanced stats are OK like the others. Last season Poolman had a Corsi For percentage of 47.33 percent. That is pretty good but his Expected Goals for was a dismal 44.12 percent. So he is more of a defensive guy than an offensive guy which is what the Caps need. The Caps already have plenty of offensive punch in their lineup as it is.

That is three players we’ve mentioned. All different cap hits. That brings us to one more unrestricted free agent.