Washington Capitals: Top 10 best players heading into the Expansion Draft

Vitek Vanecek, Washington Capitals (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Vitek Vanecek, Washington Capitals (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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Alex Ovechkin, Zdeno Chara, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

This has been an NHL offseason like no other and this is indeed the nuttiest time of the year. Whatever the Seattle Kraken will do tonight, it’ll impact the next steps in the Washington Capitals offseason retool plan.

We’ve already looked at potential options for the Seattle Kraken to take. Now let’s rank the top 10 best players available. You can catch the Seattle Expansion Draft tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN 2. Over these next 10 slides we’ll show you who would be a good fit for the Kraken and what they could bring to the table.

Zdeno Chara, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Zdeno Chara, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

#10 Zdeno Chara

This is highly unlikely to happen but if Zdeno Chara decides to end up playing for one more season he could bring two decades plus worth of leadership to the Kraken. Chara had two goals and eight assists for 10 points with the Caps last season and is an unrestricted free agent who controls his hockey future. He is right now pondering retirement or running it back for another season, though if he came back it would be highly unlikely he re-signs with the Caps.

The Caps basically got him last season after the Boston Bruins didn’t see a fit for him on the team anymore. He helped make the locker room better and he would do the same thing with the Kraken.