We are well into free agency. Perhaps the Washington Capitals already added Alex DeBrincat or are working on a deal.
If and I mean a big IF, they are able to pull this off, it’ll be huge for the Caps top six. It would bolster their speed by adding a 25 year old right wing woes only five foot eight and 178 pounds.
DeBrincat was once a second rounder at 39th overall in 2016, being selected by the Chicago Blackhawks. He had just played one season in Ottawa with the Senators where he had 27 goals and 39 assists for 66 points.
In his final season with the Blackhawks the season before where he tied a career high with 41 goals and 37 assists for 78 points. The previous time he scored 41 goals was his second season in 2018 19.
Elliotte Friedman talked about DeBrincat in his 32 Thoughts podcast. While the Detroit Red Wings started out as the front runner that’s no longer the case. In addition to the Caps, his name is linked to the Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders and Dallas Stars.
It could come at a high price as his arbitration salary is $9 million. It’ll be tough for the Caps to pull off as they enter today with $7.3 million to work with in cap space. Not impossible though.
The Caps have reportedly tried to shop Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha but have had trouble finding teams willing to take on their salaries.
Kuznetsov’s cap hit is $7.8 million over the next two seasons. Mantha’s is just over five million. They’ve both struggled to find consistency last season.
If GMBM somehow got both contracts off the books then it’ll be an easy move. But the fact it hasn’t happened will make it difficult.