Forward Justin Williams, 38, hasn’t played a game of hockey since the Carolina Hurricanes were eliminated by Boston in May of 2019. Since then, the story has been that — should he chose to return to the NHL at all — Williams would sign with the Hurricanes in the season’s back half.
Well, we’re now in the season’s back half, and there’s an exciting new wrinkle to the story.
Former Sportsnet reporter John Shannon reports on Monday night that, should Williams not sign a new deal with Carolina, then Washington, Boston, and Tampa could be in the mix.
If Williams doesn’t sign with Carolina keep hearing Boston, Washington and perhaps Tampa will try and sign “Mr Game 7”.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) January 7, 2020
Williams played 162 games for the Capitals across two seasons, scoring 46 goals and 54 assists.
For the record, Washington is cap-strapped right now, with under $200k available under the salary cap. That said, Justin Williams has remained an excellent player even into his late thirties. Evgeny Kuznetsov has never been better than when he played with Williams.
While all signs point to Williams returning to Carolina, and though the cap situation in DC seems difficult, getting him in a Caps jersey one more time would be very interesting.
