We love you, Lars Eller (Caps Outsider)
For the Caps, it was strange not to approach the trade deadline by ‘bolstering’ the blueline with a journeyman defender, picking up an aging star or a renting a proven winner.
This season, the stars aligned… Or, perhaps the end of several contracts aligned with a not-good-enough record. Needless to say, the Caps had every reason to trade away every expiring contract, and even some with a year or so left (though Anthony Mantha remains on the team).
The trade deadline is done, and farewell to Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Erik Gustafsson, Lars Eller, and Marcus Johansson.
This list should actually should have been longer, as there was no compelling reason to keep other expiring contracts, including Conor Sheary, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dylan McIlbrath, Matt Irwin, and newly-acquired Craig Smith who came over in the Orlov/Hathaway trade. Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who has two goals this season, was extended.
Those aren’t even the only expiring contracts. Connor Brown and Carl Hagelin are also UFAs, but because of their injuries, aren’t worth anything at the deadline. (There are also a few in Hershey, including Michael Sgarbossa and Hunter Shepard).
While it’s sad to say goodbye to some of these players, in some ways, it’s also a relief, as it’s hard to get hopes up at this point with all of the injuries, the outside-looking-in record, and likely a first-round pounding even if they squeaked in. How much better off would the Caps be today if they didn’t give away so many picks for trade-deadline ‘talent’ (with the exception, of course, of Michal Kempny, which was somehow the only move that worked)?
Anyway, farewell, to the departed Caps. We love those fellas but this season, these are the right moves, and lets look forward to getting Rasmus Sandin and a few extra draft picks.
