Five players that could leave the Capitals in offseason

#4 Justin Schultz

It is highly unlikely that the Caps will re-sign Justin Schultz. Nothing against the guy he just has a four million dollar cap hit that could be used elsewhere. The Caps have a fascination with signing former Pittsburgh Penguins players and Schultz was good on some Penguins Cup winning teams.

Schultz had four goals and 19 assists for 23 points last season. There was a small rumor that he was brought in by the Caps a few years ago just so he could get selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. We all know what happened instead so if that was the case that meant the Caps were stuck with Schultz and his four million cap hit for another season.

Schultz spent most of the season on the third pair. His ice time declined to 16:55 minutes per game. That was sixth on Washington’s defense. The Caps also have young defensive prospects who are poised to make the jump to the big leagues. In particular they got Alex Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen.

Those guys will likely compete for a spot on the roster next season which makes it easier to part ways with a veteran defenseman who turns 32 in July.