The Washington Capitals have been on a little bit of a roll in December. They are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games and sit third in the Metro with 43 points - one point ahead of the equally hot Rangers.
The Caps showed us what kind of team they could be in their 3-0 defeat over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The defense was tough. Holtby stood on his head (again). They got secondary scoring from Eric Fehr (who scored again last night).
However, last nights OT loss to the Islanders deflated the enthusiasm that the victory a night prior provided.
Although the Caps rallied back to force overtime, the first two periods were all Islanders. Jaroslav Halak kept up his strong goaltending, and gave Washington nothing to shoot at. In the third, the Caps battled back and found the holes they were looking for, but a bad penalty that gave the Islanders a power play in OT decided the game.
While the Caps have received some secondary scoring help from the likes of Fehr, Ward and Brouwer, if they want to keep the playoff push going, they are going to need some more help.
Antoine Vermette will most likely be traded by the Coyotes. His contract is up at the end of the season, and chances are he could walk as he is expected to get a decent raise from his $3.75M salary. The Coyotes are better off trading him and getting some youth or some help in net.
He hasn't been extraordinary for the Coyotes over the years, but the Coyotes haven't exactly been great anyway. The once 65-point producer still has a lot to give, and the Caps could use his speed and creativity on the second line.
Vermette, 32, could also provide the Caps with a little more consistency in the second line center position, and could mesh well with players like Kuznetsov, Burakovsky, and Johansson.
Trotz has been trying to find the right chemistry, and has been cycling through Kuznetsov, Burakovsky and even Jay Beagle on the second line to get things going.
What would the Caps have to give up?
It's the same names over and over again. Jason Chimera, Troy Brouwer, Brooks Laich, and Mike Green are the usual suspects in the rumor mill for the Caps. They also have a few young prospects who the Coyotes would be interested in, including Hershey netminder, Philip Grubauer.
The Caps are going to have to shed some salary anyway if they want to resign Holtby, Johansson, and Kuznetsov, who are all RFA's at the end of the season.
Chances are, Vermette would be a rental, unless the Caps can shed enough of that salary to resign him.
Like my post about Mike Richards, it's fun to speculate.
Do you think the Caps should go after Vermette?
More to come...
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