Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told Chandler Stephenson that he would do his best to put the bottom-six forward in a favorable situation when it was clear the Caps no longer had room on the roster for him. The Capitals ultimately traded Stephenson to the Vegas Golden Knights for a fifth-round pick, reuniting the Canadian forward with the man who originally drafted him, the Golden Knights’ President of Hockey Operations.
Friedman revealed the nugget in his 31 Thoughts column.
Chandler Stephenson has points in four straight games after scoring his sixth of the year in Vegas’s 3–2 win over Minnesota on Tuesday night. Word is that when it became clear Stephenson could be the odd man out in Washington, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan made it clear he’d do his best to make sure the forward went to a good situation. Players talk about this stuff.
Friedman’s comment of “Players talk about this stuff” is either personal opinion or a revelation that he got this inside information from a source who was speaking well of MacLellan.
Stephenson, who is currently on a four-game point-scoring streak with the Golden Knights, has three goals and five points in eight games since the trade. The Stanley Cup champion had four points in his previous 24 with Washington.
Here are all three of his goals with Vegas.
The bottom-six forward was dealt due to salary cap woes in Washington. Stephenson signed a one-year, $1.05 million contract with the Capitals days before an arbitration hearing over the summer.
Headline photo: Vegas Golden Knights
