The summer spectacle is here and of course I'm talking about the 2024 NHL Draft. This year the first round will take place on Friday June 28 at 7 p.m. eastern on ESPN and ESPN plus while rounds 2-7 will occur on June 29 at 11:30 a.m. on NHL Network and ESPN plus. The hottest question around town is what will the Washington Capitals do with that 17th pick?
It looks like the Caps will hold their first round pick which happens to be their 17th. There's a lot they can do with said pick. Sean Gentille of The Athletic (subscription required) noted this:
""They'll listen if the right deal is there: The Caps clearly are trying to strengthen their roster for 2024-25 - otherwise, they wouldn't have traded Pierre Luc-Dubois. There are still plenty of spots for potential improvement, so we shouldn't discount the possibility that they move the No. 17 pick, unlikely as it might seem.""Sean Gentille
There's good reason for that. This is the sixth time the Caps have held the 17th pick in an NHL Draft. They previously picked Kevin Hatcher in 1984, Jason Allison in 1993, Brad Church in 1995, Jaroslav Svejkovsky in 1996 and Boyd Gordon in 2002. Per the press release by the Caps, those five players combined to play in 2,530 career NHL games.
Capitals Insider of Monumental, Tarik El-Bashir noted more on the noted rumor before the draft:
#ALLCAPS GM Brian MacLellan on the next week: "Hopefully we're going to be aggressive here, and improve our roster." MacLellan added that he does not anticipate trading the No. 17 pick.
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) June 27, 2024
Sammi Silber of The Hockey News added this:
GM MacLellan said that the Capitals hope to be aggressive over the next couple of days. Said they're looking at forwards and defense, wouldn't mind changing up the blue line.
— Sammi Silber 🏒 (@sammisilber) June 27, 2024
Not likely to move their 17th overall pick, though.
Silber would add on X/Twiter that Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Max Pacioretty are "unlikely" to come back as both Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn have been qualified. On the purchase of CapFriendly, Mac added, "I don't think anybody's happy about it."
"We're still looking to do more."
— Sammi Silber 🏒 (@sammisilber) June 27, 2024
The Capitals plan to be aggressive and address several areas, including the blue line, over the next few days, general manager Brian MacLellan said.
More from GMBM, what's next for Pacioretty and NAK & other takeaways:https://t.co/DawqWHicm6
""We have a little bit of room... we have draft capital. It makes it easier to make things happen.""GMBM
Remember though the NHL Draft is in Las Vegas, a place where just about anything can happen at any given time. With the cap space going up and several free agent names to work with, it is sure to be a busy week for the Caps.