Could Clayton Keller Be An Option For The Capitals?

The Washington Capitals need to get younger. They need to bolster their offense. There may be some players out there that can help the team. There also may be another big option joining that list. That potential option being winger Clayton Keller.

If you are a hockey fan then you likely know about the issues going on in Arizona right now. To sum up, there was a vote for a new arena and even with a lot of important people being confident in that vote winning, they lost. Now we can see the fallout from that loss.

A highly touted prospect in Logan Cooley has decided to go back to school for another year instead of making the jump the the NHL. We have the obvious question of where the heck this team will play hockey, maybe as early as this coming season. Now we also have some players on the team who may not want to stay with the team long term with so much uncertainty. One of those players being Keller.

Now lets get this clear before we say anything else here. A lot needs to happen before we can start discussing this seriously. Keller could easily decide to remain a Coyote. Once that happens everything anyone says is meaningless. All we are doing here is fantasy. I just want to make that clear.

Here is where the fantasy begins. Clayton Keller is a 24-year-old, turning 25 later this summer, he is signed for five more seasons with a potentially brilliant contract, having a cap hit of just $7.150m annually. If he continues to improve, or if he were to move to a more talented team and put up more points he could be one of the most underpaid players in the entire NHL.

His contract also has no protection. He does not have a no move clause, a no trade clause, a modified no trade clause. Nothing. At least not right now. He has a no trade clause kicking in for 24-25 then a no move clause starting in 26-27.

On a bad team last season Keller was able to put up 37 goals and 86 points, playing in all 82 games for Arizona. His season led to him being named a finalist for the Masterton trophy.

Take yourself out of reality for a second and have some fun. If the opportunity presented itself, as a Washington Capitals fan, would you try to trade for Clayton Keller?

Keller has quickly turned into one of my favorite players to watch. To me, he looks a lot like a better skating Patrick Kane from early in his career. Not that Kane was a bad skater, Keller is just faster. He can make some great plays to set up teammates, and as the stats show, he can score goals.

Again, on a team with not a ton of talent he was able to put up a lot of points, tying the franchise record for points in a single season. While the Capitals are not the most potent offense in the league right now they still have plenty of weapons at the same time. Add Keller to Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, Dylan Strome, hopefully Backstrom can continue going and going well. Hopefully Milano can build off a strong season last season. On the back end you’ll have John Carlson and Rasmus Sandin helping get Keller some offense. Adding a guy like Keller could give this offense a big spark.

Then you also have to ask what it would take to get him. This is where I stop. I don’t like playing this game, because I have a lot less then zero information on this kind of stuff, therefore I think it is dumb to even guess. What I do know is Keller would not come cheap.

At the least I would guess a high level prospect, a first round pick, plus.

For the Capitals, I cannot see them getting a player like Keller without giving up McMichael, Lappiere, or Miroshnichenko. They would also likely need to give up a first round pick. Would you be okay if that was this years pick at number 8?

Sports fans love their draft picks. Sports fans really, really love things that are uncertain. Hockey fans are no different. Just look at fan reactions to this years draft lottery. People wanted to go through an entire season of suck for 25% odds of winning something. Every game fans will cheer when their team goes on a power play, even though most power plays fail. A pretty good man advantage would click at 20%. Four times out of five you won’t score, yet fans cheer and beg for power plays.

The point I am making there is simple. Would you trade a high first round pick, eighth to be exact, someone who might, and you need to stress the word might, be a very good player for your franchise in a year or two? Or, would you trade that pick for someone like Keller? A player that we know is good, or great. A point per game player, with a great contract and is still only 25-years-old.

At the end of the day, like we said earlier, this is just fantasy. A lot can change quickly in this situation. But there is a potentially a star on the market in the very near future. If you are the Capitals and you do not at least buy a single ticket in this lottery I think that would be a mistake. The Caps need some help, Keller would be help.

He’d be expensive. Would you do it if you could?