One third of the Hershey Bears’ stellar fourth line that helped them power through the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs is sticking around in the organization.
The Washington Capitals announced on Tuesday that they have re-signed forward Riley Sutter to a one-year, two-way contract where he will make $90,000 guaranteed each season.
Sutters’s contract, per the Caps, will pay him $775k at the NHL level and $90k in the AHL. The deal is a $20,000 raise for Sutter compared to the salary he earned with Hershey last year.
He was a restricted free agent.
NEWS | The Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Riley Sutter to a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$90,000). https://t.co/6LfxI3hFs8
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 4, 2023
Sutter is just two weeks removed from winning a Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears. The 23-year-old starred on the Bears’ high-impact, shutdown line with Beck Malenstyn and Mason Morelli that won Game Three of the Finals with an overtime tally.
OT HERO RILEY SUTTER pic.twitter.com/SjpzBotf5C
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 14, 2023
The 2022-23 campaign was Sutter’s first real healthy season as a pro after being selected by the Caps in the third round of the 2018 draft. In 69 games he tallied 12 points (5g, 7a) and was one of Hershey’s heavily relied on faceoff men and penalty killers. He added an additional six points (2g, 4a) in 20 postseason games.
“As you know he’s had some injuries that were tough on him,” Caps assistant GM Ross Mahoney said of Sutter in late June. “I thought he had a really good year this year. The playoff games that I saw, that’s sort of the Riley Sutter that we drafted. Big body, was winning faceoffs, really good on the penalty kill, and obviously chipped in with a big goal in overtime. I was really happy for him. He looked like the guy that we drafted.”
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The Caps extended Sutter a qualifying offer on June 30 to hang onto his rights before free agency began over the weekend. If Sutter sticks with the Bears next season, it will be his fifth season on the team. His first two came under now Caps head coach Spencer Carbery.
Sutter’s return to the organization contributes further to what has been a full reload of the now Cup-defending Bears. Over the past few days the Caps have re-signed captain Dylan McIlrath, playoff MVP Hunter Shepard, Julian Napravnik, Michael Kim, and now Sutter. Additionally, they’ve signed AHL All-Star Matthew Phillips and Alex Limoges, who led their respective teams in scoring last season.
Hendrix Lapierre’s junior linemate Pierrick Dube was also given an entry-level deal and he’ll join a group of young players looking to make their first mark in the pros. That group includes Caps 2022 first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko and the KHL-experienced Bogdan Trineyev. Prospects Ryan Hofer, Alexander Suzdalev, Brett Hyland, and Ludwig Persson should all be in the mix as well.
Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:
Capitals Re-sign Riley Sutter
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Riley Sutter to a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$90,000), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Sutter, 23, recorded 12 points (5g, 7a) in 69 games with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2022-23. The 6’4”, 211-pound forward established AHL single-season career highs in goals, points, games played, shots (79) and shorthanded goals (1). Additionally, Sutter registered six points (2g, 4a) in 20 playoff games, including the game-winning goal in overtime in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals. Sutter, who made his Calder Cup Playoffs debut in 2023, appeared in all 20 of the Bear’s games en route to their Calder Cup championship. In 158 career AHL games with Hershey, Sutter has recorded 33 points (8g, 25a).
The Capitals drafted Sutter in the third round (93rd overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft. The Calgary, Alberta native amassed 137 points (60g, 77a) in 204 games with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2015-2019.
Headline photo: Ian Oland/RMNB
