Justin Williams’ tenure in Washington appears over.
Days after quantifying his potential return to DC at 50/50, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Thursday that Williams does not see Washington as an “option any longer.”
Justin Williams has trimmed his list down to 3-4 teams and Washington doesn't appear to be option any longer.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 29, 2017
The Capitals, who have four crucially-important restricted free agents to re-sign, just do not have the cap space to bring back the popular forward despite both sides wanting a deal. Williams reportedly met with the Capitals multiple times during the offseason. Wednesday, Williams told local media that he and the team had not had “in-depth conversations” yet.
Williams now becomes one of the most coveted offensively-gifted forwards in a weak free agent market this season. Mr. Game Seven tallied nine points in 13 games during the Caps playoff run and scored 24 goals during the regular season – his most since 2006-07. The 35-year-old forward made $3.25 million last season while skating primarily on the team’s second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Williams will now likely wait to see what Sharks’ UFAs Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau do before landing at his final destination.
Everyone’s kind of waiting to see what comes of this. Other teams think Marleau is much more likely to leave than Thornton, but, as one GM said, “(Thornton) is fiercely proud and you cannot underestimate that.”
If he moves, that sets off a seismic shift. Whatever he and Marleau decide to do, it impacts the likes of Justin Williams, Chris Kunitz, Thomas Vanek and Radim Vrbata on the wing. A lot of teams are contacting them.
While Williams scored 46 goals during his two seasons in Washington, he fell short of his ultimate goal of helping Alex Ovechkin win his first Stanley Cup.
Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk
