For Vincent Desharnais, signing a four-year deal with the Washington Capitals in free agency a "no-brainer," especially because of the role the team has in mind for him.
Ultimately, the Capitals don't want Desharnais to be anyone other than himself, and he believes his hard-nosed style is a perfect fit on the blue line.
"They saw me in my role, not someone I'm not," Desharnais said. "Every talk was super positive."
The 6-foot-7, right-handed blueliner prides himself on his defensive-minded play, where he uses his size, reach and physicality to his advantage while making life difficult for his opponents.
It's the perfect foil to Washington's arsenal of offensive-minded blueliners, including Cole Hutson as he navigates his full rookie season and looks for the perfect partner to shut things down and provide some protection on the right side.
"Helping younger guys... being able to play with guys that have more offense and just kind of me taking care of our backend, those were all things that were very, very interesting for me," Desharnais said.
Off the ice, he's a vocal leader and veteran presence, giving the team's younger players someone to look up to.
For coach Spencer Carbery, adding Desharnais to the mix not only solidifies the defense corps with Rasmus Sandin out long-term, but it also gives the Capitals defensive depth on the right side, an area that D.C. needed to bolster this summer.
"We know exactly what he is and his identity as an NHL defenseman. I think he has a great understanding of that, so it's going to be a perfect fit," Carbery said, adding, "To have Matt Roy at the forefront, but also Desharnais to be able to really give us a reliable, strong, physical, good-defending defender is a really good fit... That's something that we need, a right-shot guy that's a little bit more defensively-minded, so that it can open up Jakob Chychrun and Hutty to do their thing."
As Desharnais begins a new chapter in the District, he's looking forward to showing that he can be that identity player that protects the blue line — and prove it, too.
"When I'm at my best, I'm a consistent player, I'm not flashy," Desharnais said, adding, "I take a lot of pride in my D-zone, take a lot of pride in having a good stick, take a lot of pride in having a good PK... I compete hard. I try to bring my compete level at the highest level I can.
"My goal is to show up in Washington, work my ass off and have fun every day," he added.
