The goal is for the Capitals to get younger, MacLellan said.

ARLINGTON, V.A. – The Washington Capitals have less than a week to go until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, and for general manager Brian MacLellan, the time is now to focus on the future.

MacLellan sat down on Saturday to discuss the team's approach to March 8 and said the situation will be similar to last year, where D.C. leaned toward selling while also bringing in picks and Rasmus Sandin to stay competitive.

Washington has made a strong push to try and force MacLellan to keep things status quo, as the team sits just four points out of playoff position and won a critical game on Friday.

However, the GM knows that, realistically, it's going to be an upward battle and the postseason odds aren't exactly in the Capitals' favor (they have an 8.3 percent chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck).

"I think we're in the mix. I see the math that it's unlikely," MacLellan said of qualifying for the playoffs. "You could get some help from other teams, too. We have a week left to make some decisions. Our priority would be the future of the club; all decisions will be based on (that)."

That said, the team will look to see what moves present themselves as the deadline approaches, though MacLellan said those trades will likely involve bringing in younger players and adding for the future rather than loading up.

"It's not, 'Hey, we're going to go out and rent a guy for the playoffs.' We're not in that game. We're here to look for opportunities to find more young players, add more young players to our roster and still compete," MacLellan added.

Washington has a handful of assets to consider moving, including pending unrestricted free agents in Anthony Mantha, Max Pacioretty, Joel Edmundson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. However, MacLellan said he is not going to simply sell for the sake of selling, but that he will evaluate the market depending on the calls he gets.

"We're not going to sit here and just dump players at the deadline. I think if something makes sense for us, if it's a good trade and I think it's good value or it helps our organization, we have to consider it," MacLellan said. "But just to blindly go in and say we're just getting rid of all these guys, we're not going to do that."

The deadline is at 3 p.m. on Friday, and though D.C. isn't buying, MacLellan said there is still hope and that the goal is to remain competitive while getting younger.

"We also want to incorporate young guys and develop young guys and have one eye on the future of our organization. Then, we have some older guys who are finishing up careers that we remain respectful to.

"The strategy is the same. We're trying to thread a needle of being competitive and making good trades, and it might go either way on us," MacLellan said. "Our trade options are for younger, future-type stuff versus older, veteran players."