Will The Capitals Swing Big This Offseason & Make Splash With Star Signing? Here's What GM Chris Patrick Thinks
Could the Washington Capitals have their sights set on a Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers? Here's what general manager Chris Patrick had to say about the team taking a splash.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — As has been the case, the Washington Capitals plan to look at all options going into the offseason, and nothing’s off the table. Does that mean a big splash is in store?
General manager Chris Patrick spoke on the potential of adding a big name this summer, as the team figures to have some space to work with while the salary cap is also rising.
“We will definitely evaluate everything,” Patrick said. “I think a big hack this summer could potentially be, like, a really big hack.”
There are expected to be some top names hitting the market this summer, with Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers among the pending unrestricted free agents that could hit the market.
Washington will have a projected $12.38 million to work with in cap space this offseason, per ESPN, and also has to address a number of free agents, including Andrew Mangiapane, Taylor Raddysh, Anthony Beauvillier and Alex Alexeyev. John Carlson and Connor McMichael are also eligible to sign extensions on July 1.
That said, the prices will certainly be going up, and that’ll be something for Patrick to consider before making a big move.
“With a rising cap environment, a lot of teams that are looking to spend, I think we saw it at the trade deadline with prices going up, I think it could follow the same path in free agency,” Patrick said. “We’ll see what we have available to spend, and hopefully we can be competitive with some of that stuff if we think it’s the right fit.”
When it comes to areas the team wants to address in particular, Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan mentioned that the team wants to continue to get younger, and noted the need for a skill player or piece that can add secondary scoring, especially on the bottom-6.
The front office will be touching base this week to assess their roster and go from there.
“It would be great to add another skilled player to our lineup, for sure. It would be great to also have a third line that is a really dependable third line… we're going to have to see what's available and what's out there,” Patrick said. “But those are certainly, at least, what my focus (is). And I think Mac is hopefully on the same page on that one.