The Washington Capitals are currently sitting in a playoff spot with 76 points. The closest team behind them, the Columbus Blue Jackets, are at 64. The Capitals do not have to worry about making a run for the cup; they just need to make sure they have the pieces to go all the way. There are goaltending issues, Ilya Samsonov has not played his best this season, and Vitek Vanecek is actually doing well. However, both of them are impending restricted free agents. Would Washington be willing to give one of them up in order to get someone else, either in net or on either side of the puck? They have limited cap space, and their core is not the youngest in the NHL.
Make sure to check out all of our other NHL Trade Deadline Previews.
Current Status
Current Record: 33-18-10
Division Standings: Fourth in the Metropolitan
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Alexandar Georgiev
Georgiev does well when he knows he is the man in the net. While his last few games have not been the greatest, no one can doubt he has the potential to be a team’s starter. One can reference how well he has played when either Henrik Lundqvist or Igor Shesterkin has been unable to play.
Rumors flit about with Braden Holtby coming back to the team, but what would they give up for him? Cap issues and money were the reasons Holtby is no longer there. Georgiev would provide a better cap hit with reliable play. With Georgiev getting a new agent, there might be something worth looking into for the Caps organization.
Reilly Smith
The Capitals could always use another forward, and the Vegas Golden Knights will probably look st get rid of Reilly at the trade deadline. However, the downside is that Smith’s cap comes in at $5 million. So Washington will need to either get Vegas to retain some of his salary or get rid of a few players to have enough cap space to get him. It’s a long shot, but not out of the realm of possibilities.
Smith is a talented wing who could make a difference on the second or third line for the Caps. He has played 56 games this season, netting 16 goals and 22 assists. Although currently on the injured reserve list, if it is not a significant injury, Vegas could still trade him since he is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Anton Khudobin
Another goalie Washingon might consider is Khudobin. Although his stats are not as great as last year’s, he has not been able to find much time in the rotation. He has only played nine games for the Dallas Stars this season, and his last game was on January 15. In those nine games, he is 3-5-1, which is not promising, but if he were to have more games, he might be able to find his form again.
Last year for Dallas, he helped them along their journey to the Stanley Cup finals, so his playoff experience would come in handy. Khudobin had a .917 save percentage with the Stars last season; if he could return to where he was last year, Washington could find something special in him.
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @primetimesportstalk
Follow Liz Pendergraft on Twitter @lizzibear824
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
