The 2026 NHL trade deadline is less than a week away on March 6 at 3 pm.
Ahead of that date, the Washington Capitals reportedly want to make a splash by acquiring a top-six forward, but the latest rumor to pop up actually concerns a potential move on defense. According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, the Capitals are “likely to move on” from veteran defender Trevor van Riemsdyk.
“It appears the Washington Capitals, long thought to be one of the most aggressive teams on the forward front as the East’s No. 1 seed last season attempts to requalify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, are likely to move on from defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk either way – with Cole Hutson on the way once his Boston University season ends,” Servalli writes in his “Top 50 Trade Targets” column.
TVR has been with the Capitals for six seasons after originally signing with the team as an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. The Caps are the team he has played the most games with in his career (366) after prior stints with the Carolina Hurricanes (206) and Chicago Blackhawks (158).
After playing in all 82 games for the Capitals last season, TVR has found himself in the press box as a healthy scratch on more than a few occasions this year. In the 47 games he has dressed, the 34-year-old blueliner has recorded eight points (2g, 6a). He is skating on average 15:32 of ice time per game, the lowest mark in any of his seasons as a member of the Caps.
Seravalli mentions top prospect Cole Hutson as the primary factor fueling the rumor, with Hutson likely to join the Capitals out of the NCAA as soon as mid-March. The 2024 second-round pick leads Boston University in scoring with 28 points (9g, 18a) in 31 games.
Unlike TVR, Hutson is left-handed, but the Capitals seem to be already preparing for that discrepancy. With John Carlson missing due to a lower-body injury, Rasmus Sandin, a lefty, has lined up on the right side in the first three games after the Olympic break. Sandin recorded three points (1g, 2a) in the first two games.
TVR holds a $3 million cap hit this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent come July.
