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

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Michal Kempny, Washington Capitals (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

#9 Michal Kempny

Michal Kempny missed all of last season with an Achilles injury that required surgery but did appear in some Hershey Bears games in the AHL until a freak accident sidelined him again. Still, Kempny is ready to return to the ice this season and if he were to get taken by the Kraken, the Caps would lose a quality left handed defensemen.

Kempny was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2018 NHL trade deadline and played top pairing minutes with John Carlson. It was this trade that helped the Caps shut it down on the way to winning the Stanley Cup.

Kempny had three points in 22 games during that 2018 regular season home stretch with two goals and one assist and was re-signed that offseason. Kempny followed that up with a six goal and 19 assist season in 2018-19 before finishing the second to last season with three goals and 15 assists for 18 points.

The Caps were able to load up on defense last offseason by putting Kempny’s contract on long term injured reserve. Now he looks to come back into the Caps lineup next season if the Kraken don’t select him. Like Chara, this is highly unlikely too but as the slides go on it’ll start getting more and more likely.

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