The Washington Capitals bought CapFriendly the other day which caused a stir among hockey fans worldwide. But it's not as bad or tragic as it may seem.
Capitals GM Brian MacLeellan released a statement regarding the matter saying, "the Capitals have agreed to acquire CapFriendly including it's tools and functions, for it's in-house hockey operations department."
""CapFriendly will continue to operate independently until the transaction closes, which is anticipated to occur mid-July, after the conclusion of the NHL Draft and the start of free agency.""MacLellan
The press release also notes that this move provides the Caps organization with the ability to digest, present and analzye both their inteernal and NHL supplied data and will also bring on board Jamie, Ryan, and Chrsitopher Davis, talented members of the CapFriendly team, once the deal has closed."
#ALLCAPS GM Brian MacLellan has issued a statement on the team’s decision to acquire CapFriendly: pic.twitter.com/TQi8xxRqem
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) June 12, 2024
"We are thrilled that Jamie, Ryan, and Christopher have agreed to join our organization and are excited to add the CapFriendly platform and the team's related deep industry knowledge to the Capitals front office."
A competive edge
While fans who won't have the money to subscribe will likely flock to PuckPedia which was the site before CapFriendly came to be, CapFriendly will be the site that will provide the more accurate contracts.
The controversy
There isn't much. Fans can still play armchair GM at the other spot but I can see how the Caps and MacLellan aren't happy that some teams have used CapFriendly for free to gain a competitive edge on teams like the Caps.
This was a good move. Like Wolf of Wall Street type stuff. Especially with an important three drafts and three offseasons that are coming up for the team itself. No matter what side of the coin you're on, you have to admit this might actually help the Caps in the long run.