By Joe Pohoryles
The Washington Capitals have completed their revamp in the crease.
After trading away Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils on July 8, and jettisoning Ilya Samsonov to the open market on July 11, the Capitals signed Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren to serve as the goaltenders for the foreseeable future.
Vanecek, 26, was sent to New Jersey along with the 46th overall pick in this year’s draft in exchange for the 37th and 70th picks. The Capitals selected Ryan Chesley, a US National Team Development Program defenseman headed to the University of Minnesota this fall, and Alexander Suzdalev, a Russia-born Swedish winger, with those picks.
Vanecek never projected to be a No. 1 netminder, but he showed promise throughout his tenure as a potential 1B. Instead, the move signaled that management chose to roll with Samsonov and a veteran to come in with a bigger role.
Then, the Capitals chose not to extend a qualifying offer to Samsonov as a restricted free agent. The 25-year-old former first-rounder was pegged as the franchise’s future from the moment he was drafted, but was never consistent and underwhelmed in tandem with Vanecek for a second year in a row.
The Caps would have had to offer $3-3.5 million to keep Samsonov around, which is too pricey for a backup goaltender. There was a chance he could have returned for a cheaper contract, but head coach Peter Laviolette suggested the team would be “moving in a different direction.” Samsonov wound up signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs on a one-year, $1.8 million deal.
So with zero goaltenders on the active roster, the Capitals quickly filled the holes, first inking reigning Stanley Cup champion Kuemper, 32, to a five-year, $26.25 million contract as the new top goalie. Kuemper posted a 2.54 goals against average and .921 save percentage with Colorado this past year, and posted a .902 postseason save percentage en route to winning the Cup despite battling an eye injury.
Kuemper was arguably the top goaltender on the open market. His age and injury history are concerning, but he’s consistently been a top-end goaltender on both terrible teams and a juggernaut in Colorado. After years of inconsistency in the Capitals crease since Braden Holtby’s decline, Kuemper represents much-needed stability in net, if he is as advertised.
It’s also the first time in a long time that the Caps have lured in a top name on the offseason open market. With most of the core being drafted or traded for, there hasn’t been much cap space for the Capitals to go all-in on free agents.
The last time the team made a move this significant, in terms of money and impact on the team, was in 2014. The Caps made major investments on the blue line, signing Matt Niskanen to a seven-year, $40.25 million deal and Brooks Orpik to a five-year, $27.5 million deal. Both were considered top 10 free agents in 2014, according to NBC. Kuemper slotted in 11th for NBC this year, and ranked in the top 10 and even top five in other publications.
It was a move that needed to be made, and when you consider that Kuemper was looking for six years at nearly $6 million per year, the deal looks pretty good.
Needing a backup, the Caps also signed Lindgren to a three-year, $3.3 million contract. Lindgren, 28, has played just 29 career NHL games, but had a terrific five-game stint in St. Louis this year. He went 5-0-0 and allowed five goals on 118 shots faced (.958 SV%) in 246 minutes (1.22 GAA). In the AHL with Springfield, Lindgren posted a 2.21 GAA and .925 save percentage in 34 games.
There was speculation Zach Fucale might get a shot as the backup, as the 27-year-old posted a shutout in his NHL debut last year and showed some promise across four games. He now figures to be third on the depth chart with the new signings, and should get plenty of playing time in Hershey.
With the additional signing of defenseman Erik Gustafsson (1yr/$800k) as potential third-pair replacement for Justin Schultz, who signed with Seattle today, the Caps now have just under $2 million in cap space to work with.
Assuming Carl Hagelin is placed on long term injured reserve (LTIR), that space will jump up to about $4.5 million. The Caps would have even more room to work with if Nicklas Backstrom and his $9.2 million cap hit are also placed on LTIR, but general manager Brian MacLellan seems adamant that Backstrom will try to return this season (or maybe it’s just an excuse for Ted Leonsis to avoid spending an extra $9 million this year).
While it would be smart to put Backstrom, who likely won’t play at all this year and will be hampered if he does, on LTIR and use the new cap space on a some high-quality forwards to bolster the roster, it appears that won’t be the case. It looks like Kuemper will be the only big move this offseason, and given the team needs, that certainly isn’t something to complain about.
It would be nice to welcome a couple bona fide top six forwards, but perhaps young internal candidates like Connor McMichael, Joe Snively and Aliaksei Protas will take big steps forward. Do I think they will outperform a player the likes of JT Miller or Nazem Kadri, both of whom have been linked to the Caps this offseason? No, but one thing is certain: The Caps have their goaltender, and that makes them a heck of a lot better than they were yesterday.
Cover Photo Credit: NHL.com
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