The Capitals have signed Euvgeni Kuznetsov to an absolutely massive contract extension.
8 years, $64 million and change. Limited no-trade.
Crazy.
Kuznetsov is a good player, no doubt. But considering they then had to give away Marcus Johansson in a corresponding move (not sure a second and a fourth are helpful to a team in win-now mode and no cap space) the entire way the Capitals have played their hand leaves a lot to be desired.
For instance: Why not have worked out a deal to get the Knights to take Johansson and at least keep Schmidt? Why not trade Johansson before putting yourself into a no-leverage situation?
Couldn't have Johansson - a damn good 5v5 scorer who scored almost 25 goals last year - be used to get someone to take the cap hit of Orpik?
Why pay Oshie and lose Williams?
Since the season ended, the Capitals have lost three of their six defensemen, and a winger each from two of their three scoring lines.
Considering they remain entrenched in a win-now philosophy, it's hard to see this off season as anything but completely botched.
Giving Marcus Johansson away for nothing is a fireable offense. Or damn close.
Just absolutely brutal asset management by Brian McLellan.
I'll have to think about this some more before I come to any hard conclusions, but my first take on this is that it is bizarre and short-sighted.
The Capitals with Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Oshie are in a win-now situation and they keep getting worse, and they don't have any high-end guys ready to step in and make up the difference, due to always drafting relatively low.
Very hard to understand what McLellan is thining right now.