Top 5 trades the Capitals need to make in 2022

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Ilya Samsonov, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Capitals are near the top of the NHL standings but that doesn’t mean there’s zero room for improvement. It’s not about the Presidents Trophy, it’s about the chase for Lord Stanley in the spring. Any moves do you think the salary cap strapped Caps could make in the midseason to help put them over the top?

It feels like the lineup is a revolving door with the injuries and the COVID issues. For this exercise I’m going to protect many of our youth and the popular veterans (Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and T.J. Oshie you’re safe). Here are the top 5 trades I would make at the deadline if I was Brian MacLellan.

Carl Hagelin, Garnet Hathaway, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

#5 Carl Hagelin for Trevor Lewis

Carl Hagelin scored last night which was a holiday miracle. We loved having him with the Caps but it’s time to part ways. In return the Caps wold get Trevor Lewis from the Calgary Flames who’s a right winger on the fourth line and also an effective penalty killer. Basically a swap for swap from one teams fourth line and PK to the other.

Lewis carries a cap hit of $800,000 compared to Hagelin’s cap hit of $2.75 million. That would make it a little tricky but it’s certainly not impossible.

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