The Washington Capitals could take advantage of the Vancouver Canucks' need to move some contracts over the summer.
The Washington Capitals have quite a bit of work to do in the offseason, including finding a new head coach and bolstering the team's depth. And, at the end of the day, general manager Brian MacLellan has a plan and priorities in place.
MacLellan said going into the offseason that he wants to not only revamp the top-6 but wants the team to get younger and faster. Free agency is sure to provide options, and the team is going to get a lot of promising prospects in D.C., with the team selecting eighth overall, Ivan Miroshnichenko making his way to North America and Hershey players showing their worth.
However, another avenue the Capitals can explore is the trade market, where one team's cap crunch makes them an interesting trade partner: the Vancouver Canucks.
Vancouver is in for quite a cap crunch, and the team doesn't have the flexibility to hold onto some of its top names. And, per The Daily FaceOff, that has led the Canucks to start conversations about unloading some of their contracts, and one name that has come up is Conor Garland.
"They need to shed salary. There's no doubt about that; they can't really be active in anything else because, as it stands right now, they essentially have negative cap space... the Canucks have been active in recent weeks, gauging prices from around the NHL as to what it would take to dump some of their contracts," Seravalli said, adding, "The main focal point is that the Canucks are active on trying to move Conor Garland's salary."
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Garland has three years left on his deal with an AAV of $4.95 million. The 27-year-old winger put up 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points this past season, and he had a strong year where he had strong, consistent stretches of play despite the team's struggles. He had a 50-point season in 2021-22, and there is still room for his game to grow.
Beyond his stats, Garland is a strong skater and skilled forward who isn't afraid to get into battles and takes good care of the puck. He can not only score, but he's also a strong playmaker.
Garland would give Washington a new look on the top-6 and help the team in the process of changing things up, especially with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha's potentially headed elsewhere and Nicklas Backstrom's future up in the air. Plus, his offensive acumen, hockey IQ and versatility could bring a much-needed boost to the lineup.
There's also the potential that Brock Boeser or J.T. Miller could be used as trade chips, though Boeser has made it clear he doesn't want to be traded. Miller, 30, has a bit of a reputation and a high price, though he has still shown he can be a point-per-game player and can carry a line.
The Capitals have a lot of work to do and areas to address in the offseason, and they would have to make sure they have the space to take on another team's contract and make sure they are covered in other areas so that they can still check off the other boxes on their offseason to-do list (re-signing Martin Fehervary, exploring free agents, etc.).
Looking at things as a whole, though, Vancouver presents D.C. with quite the opportunity.