Washington Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan met with the local media ahead of the team’s 12:30pm practice on Thursday. He said a lot.
Despite many of the Caps’ core young players due raises this summer, MacLellan said he is actively trying to re-sign first-line forward TJ Oshie.
MacLellan did say he wants to re-sign Oshie. As for trade deadline, MacLellan feels like there aren't any needs. Is comfy with depth fwd.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 23, 2017
MacLellan said he's talked to T.J. Oshie's reps. But would be surprised if a deal gets done before the season's over.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 23, 2017
Oshie, one of the most popular players on the team, has scored 50 goals during his first two seasons in Washington, including a career-high 26 tallies in 2015-16. If he remains unsigned on July 1st, Oshie will be one of the most highly-sought unrestricted free agents on the market.
Last week, RMNB’s Patrick Holden wrote about the dangers of signing the 30-year-old to a huge extension.
It’s reasonable to think Oshie will be seeking a deal in the range of what Eriksson, Okposo, and Ladd got last offseason. That being, a deal of around six years that carries a cap hit in the neighborhood of $6 million.
…
While there are exceptions to the aging curve, the research of both Moneypuck and Yost support the reasonable conclusion that a player’s production drops as he ages and that signing a player to a long-term, big money deal around the age of 30 carries significant risk due to the likelihood of a large decrease in contributions over the course of the contract.
MacLellan also covered a variety of other topics ahead of the trade deadline.
MacLellan said no plans to bring up Gilbert right now. Want him to play at Hershey, but might get him some games in NHL before playoffs.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) February 23, 2017
MacLellan on trade deadline: "This year, I don’t feel that pressure or that need to do anything. [But] we’re exploring opportunities."
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikCSN) February 23, 2017
MacLellan continued: "We’re not going to mess with lines or defensive pairs. If we can upgrade on the fringes, we might do it." #Caps
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikCSN) February 23, 2017
MacLellan conceded #Caps are looking for a third goalie behind Holtby/Grubauer. Would be looking at Hanzal if not for Eller deal at draft.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 23, 2017
MacLellan talked to Ovechkin/Backstrom about trades, joked: "Ovi’s like, ‘Just get someone.’ Nick’s, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait, don’t.’"
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 23, 2017
Something interesting that MacLellan mentioned: Looming expansion draft is restricting the market for defensemen
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 23, 2017
Brian MacLellan called it a "rental market" because expansion draft is making teams hesitant about adding players with term.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 23, 2017
MacLellan criticized the playoff format and would rather see seeds reset after each round. So, like the old 1-8 format.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 23, 2017
MacLellan said any more trade deadline moves will be "on fringes." He's not getting a top-four D, people!
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 23, 2017
MacLellan also announced that Matt Niskanen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
