Pro - It's Easily Worth The Risk
I don't know if this is a pro as much as it is a summary. I think there are actually more cons to this deal than pros. That being said the pros outweigh the cons. If this deal works out it could be a massive, gargantuan deal for the Capitals and their future. I know I've already said it a bunch of times but it's worth repeating, the Capitals got a potential key player on a long term deal and they didn't have to give up anything.
Even if this deal fails miserably are there going to be any Capitals fans out there that says, "AND WE GAVE UP KUEMPER!" again, no disrespect to Darcy. He sounds like a terrific person, which is way more important than being a good hockey player. Even if this deal ends bad for the Caps, I doubt anyone is going to say that.
This feels like swinging for a home run or a grand slam in the first inning. If you connect, bam, its 4-0 early, setting you up for a good game. If you miss, we got the rest of the game to get it back.
The salary cap should be going up going forward. The Capitals have some big salaries likely coming off the books in the next few years. Ovechkin and his $9.5 is likely gone in the next couple of years. Backstrom is probably on LTIR and his $9.2 hit is gone after next season. Oshie only has one year left at $5.75 million. The Capitals are going to have room.
It still won't be fun to have an underperforming player at $8.5 million if this doesn't work out, but I'm not sure it will hurt as much as it might for others.
Bottom line, this could be huge for the Washington Capitals. If it doesn't work, it was easily worth the risk.