We don’t know too much about what next year’s Washington Capitals roster will look like but we do know that they’re going to have to fill a void with the absence of Tom Wilson as he’s out six to eight month from ACL surgery. One name that has been floated around in trade rumors is versatile Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander. Should the Capitals pull the trigger.
It will be a bit tricky. Nylander has a cap hit of $6,962,366. He actually makes more than Wilson, who has a cap hit of 5,166,666. The Caps aren’t going to trade Tom Wilson. That’s not happening. But they’ll need someone to fill that void especially on the top line.
Wilson scored a career high 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points. Nylander also had a career high with 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points. So if the Caps were to trade for Nylander who would they give up if they won’t (and shouldn’t) give up Wilson?
One option I’ve been saying is Lars Eller. That could be doable but the Caps may also have to give up someone else. Eller scored just 13 goals and added 18 assists for 31 points but still is a quality third line center. He’s got a cap hit of $3.5 million so the Caps would have to figure out who else they could give up for him.
If I were them I wouldn’t give up two forwards in the package. Nylander just turned 26 so he fits the bill as a young forward and the Caps have plenty in the pipeline who could fill roles in the bottom six. That includes Connor McMichael, who should take over the third line.
Plus a straight up Lars Eller for William Nylander trade doesn’t work. There’s got to be another big name in the deal. That’s where John Carlson comes in. He would give the Maple Leafs an offensive boost (as if they didn’t have enough already) and clear the Caps of a bunch of cap space.
William wouldn’t be the first Nylander to suit up for the Capitals. His father, Michael Nylander spent four seasons with the Capitals including his final two seasons before calling it a career. Back then the older Nylander helped mentor a young Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom even babysat William so his life would pretty much come full circle if he reunited with Backstrom.