5 Capitals who won’t be back in 2023
Yesterday we took a look at the Washington Capitals unrestricted and restricted free agents. Today we’ll take a more in depth look at who will not be back on the Capitals next season.
Now most of these players will be free agents anyway. They’ll either be old or unaffordable or close to retiring. In our first one you see on this slide it won’t be much of a shock to you.
But as the slides go on the names will get more jaw dropping, I promise. Anyway let’s begin this always fun exercise.
#5 Carl Hagelin
This shouldn’t surprise anybody. Carl Hagelin spent the entire season on long term injured reserve and it’s unlikely the Caps will bring back the veteran as the team tries to get younger. He took a stick to the eye in practice a year ago and hasn’t played since.
Hagelin had a cap hit of $2.75 million and I just don’t see the Caps spending that much for a player that’s 34. But he had one hell of a career and it was fun to have him in Washington.
Hagelin got a lot of heat on offense but he was well known for his defense and penalty kill.
#4 Craig Smith
Craig Smith was part of the trade from the Boston Bruins that sent Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov over there. Now Orlov and Hathaway will take part in what should be an epic Game 7 tonight against the Florida Panthers. Smith though is also up there in age at 33 years old that’s why moving on from the unrestricted free agent makes sense.
The Caps are after a young top six forward that can play wing. At least that’s what I would go for if I was GMBM. Smith had a $3.1 million cap hit and will likely command more money to finish out his career. Money that the Caps don’t have and if they do they need to spend it on youth.
After his trade from the Bruins, Smith had five goals and one assist for six points. In the season finale against the New Jersey Devils he faked out Jack Hughes by calling for a pass in which the Devils 2019 number one draft pick fired right to him.
Smith spent the bulk of his career with the Nashville Predators for nine years after spending the previous three seasons with the Bruins. Where could he wind up next? We’ll find out this summer.
#3 Matt Irwin
I don’t think there’s room on a now crowded defense for Matt Irwin. Especially after the Capitals just recently signed Hardy Haman Aktell. It could be a sign the defense is trying to get younger too instead of calling Zdeno Chara to come out of retirement but props to Chara for running the Boston Marathon!
Irwin is 35 years old and although his cap hit last season was just $750K he is an unrestricted free agent. The one good thing about him is he can play on the left side or the right side.
It looked like based on this tweet from our friend Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington that Irwin won’t be apart of the Caps defensive plans.
Capitals’ defenseman depth chart as it currently stands:
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) April 27, 2023
LEFT SIDE
Martin Fehervary (RFA)
Rasmus Sandin
Alex Alexeyev (RFA)
Gabriel Carlsson (RFA)
Hardy Häman Aktell
Lucas Johansen
RIGHT SIDE
John Carlson
Nick Jensen
Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Vincent Iorio
Yeah that’s going to be a little hard to make the team. But Irwin would be a good veteran plug for anybody. He still has stuff left in the tank. In 61 games this season for the Capitals, Irwin had two goals and three assists for five points.
#2 Conor Sheary
Now here is where things get interesting. I think the Caps tried to deal Conor Sheary at the trade deadline but he wasn’t a hot commodity as he suffered a scoring slump after a hot start to the season. He had a cap hit of $3.1 million and if he gets that $3.5 or $4 million from another team he’ll be ready to prove to be more consistent.
Even though his numbers could have been better, Sheary still finished with 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points. It could’ve been a lot worse. Still though that’s a step back from his 19 goals the previous season and his 14 goals the season before was due to that COVID shortened season.
The 30 year old said recently that progress on a new deal hasn’t been made. He also was in the middle of trade deadline rumors just weeks prior that kept him from sleeping at night.
Sheary recently told Sammi Silber of The Hockey News before the season ended:
“I obviously want to play, do well and produce and help the team and all that, but I don’t think two games is going to change the fate of what might happen this summer. Maybe at this point, people probably know what they’re going to get.”
#1 Evgeny Kuznetsov
The number one player was going to be the big surprise but I think this year is the summer they finally trade Evgeny Kuznetsov. I feel like although Anthony Mantha could go too they likely give Mantha one more chance.
Kuznetsov took just barely under a month into the season before he finally scored his first goal of the season. He wasn’t noticeable on the ice a lot of the games and if you’re paying a guy $7.8 million a season the least that person can do is be noticeable.
Kuznetsov finished with 12 goals and 43 assists for 55 points. In terms of goal scoring that is half the amount he had the previous year as Kuzy had 24 in 2021 22. This was not a good way to follow up that bounce back season and alas here we are again.
More. Bears take Game 2 over Checkers. light
I don’t think MacLellan cares how we as fans feel or how even Alex Ovechkin feels. He doesn’t seem happy with Kuzy and if he doesn’t give him ONE more chance expect a deal that could happen this summer.