A trade or more could be in store for the Washington Capitals going into the season.
The Washington Capitals have a little over a month to go until the start of training camp, and general manager Brian MacLellan is still looking to make a change.
MacLellan reiterated on Monday that the team continues to work the phones and that there could still be a move or two up his sleeve.
"I think there could be," MacLellan said. "I think we had a few discussions at the draft that might carry forward or might not carry forward. We're comfortable with where we're at [but] we'd still like to change. We'll see where it goes from here."
Washington was aggressive going into the 2023 NHL Draft and had been pursuing a few potential trades, but nothing came to fruition. MacLellan had also reportedly been shopping Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha, but both remained with the team as the draft came and went.
Reports indicated that Kuznetsov and Mantha's trade values weren't the highest, and there was also speculation that Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz had engaged in talks about Kuznetsov's services. However, those talks went nowhere.
Now, with the team having taken care of its pending free agents while also adding Max Pacioretty and Joel Edmundson to the mix, MacLellan said that there's some time between now and start of the season to make a move.
But what will that move look like?
There's a few options for MacLellan. His main objective is to make a trade that brings in a young top-6 forward and changes the look of those first two forward lines.
If that's not possible, then there are some names on the market that could be of interest if they're still unsigned, and that could come in the form of a professional tryout or low-risk deal.
Which path he'll take depends on how the next few weeks play out, and MacLellan said he's ready to wait and see.
"We'll see how it goes here as we get closer to camp," MacLellan said. "We're still talking to agents. We're still talking to a few teams about a trade, so we'll see how it pans out at the end."