The Washington Capitals have had a good offseason. Perhaps probably their best offseason since 2017. We’ll look at two deals they made that offseason plus one they made a couple of years prior that led to the success of the Stanley Cup.
The Caps entered this offseason with a ton of questions just like the way they entered that particular summer of 2017. We all saw what came out of it and hope the same thing happens again this year.
These were the moves that helped the Caps cruise their way to the Stanley Cup. One move they swung for the fences in a trade, the other was a cheap contract that turned to gold and another was an important contract extension.
#3 Extending Evgeny Kuznetsov
One of the most important moves the Caps made in the summer of 2017 was extending the contract of Evgeny Kuznetsov. They signed him to an eight year, $62.4 million deal where he makes $7.8 million a season through 2024-25.
This move paid off and it would show that postseason. Kuznetsov led the team with 32 points and 20 assists to go along with 12 goals. Some of those goals were clutch including one that eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Alex Ovechkin didn’t win Conn Smythe, Kuznetsov certainly would’ve.