The Washington Capitals and RFA defenseman Dmitry Orlov are still in contract discussions. The Capitals are optimistic that a deal will be reached by the start of training camp.

Orlov is coming off a one-year, $2M contract from last season.

The Caps have $3.45M in cap space after re-signing fellow RFA Marcus Johansson to a 3-year, $4.75M contract just a few weeks ago.

Orlov tallied 8 goals and 21 assists in all 82 games last year, but was very ineffective during the playoffs, making critical mistakes which often lead to goals against.

Last season was also the 25 year olds first full season after a broken wrist which kept him out for a year. The upside that Orlov carries is worth the cap risk as he is just entering his prime. His defensive game will need a lot of work, but his offensive flair takes the pressure off of John Carlson and Matt Niskanen.

Defenseman Karl Alzner, who will be a UFA next season, makes $2.8M a year. If Orlov is seeking anything over $3M, it certainly would be hard to imagine him making more than Alzner.

There were rumors that Orlov could be signing with CSKA in the KHL, but that seems highly unlikely at point. Everyone and their mom knows that players use whatever leverage they can to get a deal done quickly and in their favor.

For the sake of argument, if Orlov did bolt for the KHL, or if the Caps decided to trade his rights to a team looking for a potential stud defenseman (IE: Edmonton) Washington has a host of young talent in Hershey that could step into that third pairing and split time with Nate Schmidt and Taylor Chorney. Madison Bowey and Jonas Siegenthaler are two names that come to mind.

What are your thoughts on Orlov?

More to come...

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