Fansided

3 players who won't be back on the Capitals next season

It's that time of the offseason Caps fans

By Michael Marzzacco |
Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals
Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
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Now that another Washington Capitals season is in the books it's time to put our thinking caps on and address the current salary cap situation as well as assess players who may have played their final Caps game. Without further ado let's begin.

Per Cap Friendly, the Caps have $6,685,000 and the current estimates of preseason long term injured reserve candidates goes as follows: $9.2 million and $15,885,000.

Now lets see which players may have played their last game with the Capitals.

#3 Max Pacioretty

This one is kind of a no brainer for now. Max Pacioretty and his comeback story was inspiring don't get me wrong but because of those back to back achilles injuries he wasn't as fast as Brian MacLellan envisioned when the Caps got him during free agency last summer. On July 1 Patches will be an unrestricted free agent meaning he can hit the market and sign with pretty much whomever he wants.

Being 35 it's easy to see why he wasn't able to put up much production. Fans clamored for younger and faster talent but it's always veteran heavy when it comes to offseason spending for the Capitals.

Pacioretty though is a respected veteran and he has earned that right to be a UFA.

Darcy Kuemper, Washington Capitals
Darcy Kuemper, Washington Capitals / James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

#2 Darcy Kuemper

This is a bold one but that's why we're here. What complicates this situation is that Darcy Kuemper has three years left on his unrestricted free agent deal and it's costed the Caps $5.25 million against the salary cap the last two seasons. What makes the situation even more awkward was the emergence of Charlie Lindgren who has just a cap hit of $1.1 million. The latter be a UFA next summer.

The terms of Kuemper's deal, per Cap Friendly say that he has a no trade clause. That would potentially mean a buyout if the Caps felt the need to go that route. But as we've seen from a lot of goalies the last few years, even the great ones struggle.

While Kuemper did win a Cup in Colorado with the Avalanche, he hasn't been able to replicate the same success DC. But if there's any positive, Kuemper never pouted but offered support for the backup turned playoff starter in Chuck.

If the Caps decide to keep Kuemper, this is a big year for him. The 34 year old has to play up to his contract so that way the Caps can improve as a team.

Trevor van Riemsdyk, Washington Capitals
Trevor van Riemsdyk, Washington Capitals / John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

#1 Trevor van Riemsdyk

I was asked on the Locked on Caps podcast with Dan Holmi about whether I would try to move Nick Jensen or Trevor van Riemsdyk and I went with the latter. Here's why.

The Caps missed Jensen a lot during the playoffs after his injury against the Boston Bruins. They barely squeaked by and made it into the big dance before getting swept due to high flying Rangers offense and a depleated Capitals defensive lineup the entire series.

Jensen at least played in Game 4 but by then it was too late. Trevor van Riemsdyk though is versatile and can play both sides. The Caps can very well get a decent return out of it and the asking price won't be very high.

TvR has a cap hit of $3 million per season via Cap Friendly. He is also 32 so while he is a veteran he's not too much up there in age. Jensen has more experience and that was a good trade and extension when the Caps aquired him.

Those are the 3 players that we think could be gone this next season and may have played their final Capitals game. We'll find out later this summer in what is sure to be another interesting offseason.

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