MacLellan said in March he expects Fehervary to be a big part of the Capitals future.

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals are shifting their focus to their roster now that they have their head coach, and one item on their lengthy offseason to-do list is to negotiate a new deal with rising defenseman Martin Fehervary.

Fehervary is a restricted free agent, and general manager Brian MacLellan said he expects contract talks to pick up for both sides in the coming weeks.

"Discussions will pick up shortly," MacLellan said.

The Slovak now has two years of NHL experience under his belt and has solidified his role on the Capitals' top-4. He has played a key shutdown role and has impressed with his physicality and skating while also adding flairs of offensive ability.

"We really like what he's done. He's a big part of our organization going forward," MacLellan said of Fehervary in March. "I think we got two young guys, [Rasmus] Sandin and him, that hopefully we can build around going forward. We're going to have two young top-4 defensemen that'll be a big part of our team for a lot of years to come."

Through 67 games this season, Fehervary had a whopping 217 hits and 128 blocks while averaging 20 minutes per night, the most among Washington's left-handed blueliners. His plus-minus took a hit at minus-11, but he dealt with two major injuries and was moved around quite a bit with John Carlson out long-term and more ailments plaguing the team.

Down the stretch, his game appeared to pick up more, and he's also looking forward to having a strong offseason and taking time to recover and improve.

"A little bit hard... but I think obviously I felt way more comfortable and way more confident than last year," Fehervary said of his year.

"I’m always trying to focus on my game, trying to be as best as I can and trying to perform really good all the time... I always like to be that type of player, really being hard to play against."

When it comes to his next deal, both sides could potentially look at a bridge deal, with Fehervary having just two years of experience under his belt. It would benefit the Capitals, who are retooling on the fly and could be headed toward a rebuild. However, all signs point to the 23-year-old being a big part of the team's future, so a longer-term deal shouldn't be ruled out, either.