The Washington Capitals will see Connor Brown test the market, general manager Brian MacLellan revealed in a pre-draft interview with Mike Vogel.
It looks like Connor Brown won't be returning to the Washington Capitals.
In a pre-draft interview with Mike Vogel, general manager Brian MacLellan said that Brown would be testing the free agent market come July 1.
"We talked to Connor’s representatives last week. I think he’d like to see what’s out there in free agency," MacLellan said. "Unfortunately, I thought it was a great fit last year and would probably be a good fit going forward. We like the person, we like the style of play he does. But I think we’ll see what happens for him in free agency. This is the first time he’s going to be able to go to free agency. I think he wants to talk to teams and see where he’s at."
Brown is coming off what he told The Hockey News was the most challenging year of his entire career. The 29-year-old, who was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators in the 2022 offseason, was expected to bolster the top-6 and play a big role for D.C. However, three and a half games into the season, a hit from Vancouver Canucks forward Noah Juulsen tore his ACL.
"Had a feeling," he told THN on breakdown day. "I'd never really felt anything like that.
"Frustration. A disappointment. Not the way that you drew it up coming in here. I was excited to get going with an experienced group like this. It is what it is."
He underwent surgery in October and missed the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign. There was hope he would get a chance to show what he could do in the postseason, but his comeback attempt came to a halt when the team missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in nine years.
Brown used the time away to focus on his rehabilitation, diet and conditioning, and he said he would be ready for training camp and focused on taking his game to an entirely new level following months of self-reflection and improvement.
"I tried to approach this rehab as an opportunity to reinvent my biomechanics and be as efficient as possible when it comes to my rehab and when it comes to the way I move and the speed and everything," Brown said. "So the plan is to get better, the plan isn't to just get back where I want to be. I want to make improvements and you get a full calendar year to just improve on yourself and improve on your strength and your skills. All summer improve on skating. So yeah, that's the expectation for myself."
On Sunday, Brown appeared on Luke Gazdic's podcast and mentioned that playing for the Oilers, returning home to Canada and reuniting with Erie Otters teammate Connor McDavid would be a fun opportunity.
MacLellan mentioned to Vogel that while Brown is likely to move on, the team will keep in touch and see if there is interest to return if nothing's out there.
"We’ll remain in communication with him and see where it goes from there," he said.