UPDATE: Andre' Burakovsky has been re-assigned to Hershey.
Interesting.
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The Washington Capitals threw a bit of a curve ball today, recalling Hershey Bears goaltender Philipp Grubauer with the intent for him to play in tonights game against the Anaheim Ducks.
With Braden Holtby playing out of his mind lately, it's a bit shocking that he isn't getting the nod against the league leading Ducks, but with the recent busy schedule the Caps may just want to give him a little break. This move now brings to attention the burning question on everyone's mind here in DC: Is Justin Peters on his way out?
Peters hasn't been great this season. Although he's only been able to stand in 8 times, his record is 1-5-0 and has let in 3 goals or more in his last three starts. His last test, against the Blues, he stopped 36 shots in a 4-3 loss. While he was OK in the game, he looked to be floundering at times and wasn't able to control a lot of his rebounds. Plus, the Caps just don't look comfortable with him in net and scramble a lot to give Peters more support than they usually need to with Holtby in net.
Re-calling Grubauer doesn't necessarily mean that Peters will be released, it may just be a test to see how the young goaltender does against the best team in the league. If he does well, then perhaps he'll take a seat on the bench the rest of the season - and that is what bothers me.
Grubauer is a potential stud, but he still needs development. If the Caps want he and Holtby to be a future "Quick and Jones" then they should leave him be this season down in Hershey.
But the other side of that coin is that Peters just isn't getting it done and the Caps need Grubauer to fill that backup-void to give Holtby some rest for the playoffs.
With the move, the Caps are now sitting at 24 players and will most likely send down Cameron Schilling to Hershey. Peters will probably just play third fiddle until a decision is made about Grubauer.
If Peters is released, he'll have to clear the waiver wire before going to Hershey. If he's picked up, however, it would knock some much needed money off the books for the Caps, too. Peters has a cap hit of $1.7M this season and $2M next year. With a slurry of FA's left to re-sign this season, ever penny counts.
Another thing that I was wondering, and this is a shot in the dark, is if the Capitals are trying to showcase Grubauer to sweeten a deal in a potential trade. It's highly unlikely, but it's fun to speculate.
More to come...
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