Hours after a 5 PM deadline for qualifying offers, Bob McKenzie is reporting that the Caps have agreed to terms with right wing Brett Connolly on a two-year deal with a cap hit of $1.5 million per season. The 25-year-old forward is coming off a career season where he scored 15 goals and was a meaningful contributor from the third line.
By Patrick Holden 6 years ago
Right on the dot at 5 PM, Capitals’ senior writer Mike Vogel reported that the Capitals extended qualifying offers to seven of the organizations ten RFAs: Philipp Grubauer, Andre Burakovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Chandler Stephenson, Travis Boyd, and Liam O’Brien.
There’s one key player missing from that list: Brett Connolly. Prospects Darren Dietz or Cody Corbett were also not qualified.
Protection lists for the upcoming NHL expansion draft were made public on Sunday. There were no surprises on the Caps list. However, due to the fact that the Caps are likely to lose Nate Schmidt or Philipp Grubauer, not a lot of attention was paid to the forwards the Caps protected. It may be a bit of a moot point since the Caps are all but certain to not lose a forward, but examining the Caps’ decision making process here can still be a useful exercise.
Leading up to the release of the protection list, discussion around Caps land and the league seemed to assume the Caps would protect Tom Wilson. And they did. But there’s a reasonable argument to be made that the Caps should have protected Brett Connolly instead.
By Patrick Holden 6 years ago
8:30pm Update: The Caps just traded for Tyler Graovac to give themselves more flexibility ahead of the expansion draft.
Original story: Several weeks ago, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said that he generally knew who the Caps were going to protect for the upcoming expansion draft. The club would protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender.
The Washington Capitals’ senior writer, Mike Vogel, published an article that gave insight into what he believes is the team’s thinking as they prepare for the expansion draft.
While Vogel doesn’t expect any surprises, he did report an interesting nuance that could cause the Caps to expose both bottom-six centers, Lars Eller and Jay Beagle.
The Caps took a flyer on Brett Connolly and it worked out about as well as anyone could have hoped. With his career at a crossroads, Connolly signed a one-year deal with the Caps, hoping to carve out a role on a Cup contender. Connolly didn’t just carve out a role, he became an important part of the Caps’ regular-season success and showed he’s a capable third line winger.
By Patrick Holden 7 years ago
The Washington Capitals held their first playoff practice on Tuesday morning at Kettler. It was John Carlson’s first practice back with the team, and although Barry Trotz wouldn’t confirm or deny if Carlson would play on Thursday, he took rushes with Karl Alzner during practice on Wednesday.
The practice was a bit more serious and way more fast than usual. The good guys came focused and are in good spirits about Game One tonight.
Enjoy the photos below and then continue getting pumped up with our new hype video. Puck drop will be here before you know it.
By Cara Bahniuk 7 years ago
Since October, Pat and I have made a biweekly tradition of praising the Capitals’ depth this season. The Snapshot series is full of kind words in particular for Washington’s third* line of Lars Eller, Brett Connolly, and Andre “Dale” Burakovsky.
With that quality leading their bottom six, the Caps have accomplished a level of balance that no other team can meet.
By Peter Hassett 7 years ago
On Monday, the Capitals took to the ice at Kettler for their annual team photo. Everyone came out fresh, cleaned, and groomed for the photo, except for Justin Williams and Andre Burakovsky, who came out well poofed.
We have broken down each look — from ultimate dad to the very special Holthair, Holtfade, and Holtbeard.
By Cara Bahniuk 7 years ago
The Washington Capitals held a full-practice on Friday morning. It was obvious the team was still pumped up from their shoot out win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Dmitry Orlov, who had the only regulation goal for the Capitals, was in especially high spirits, laughing and messing around with his teammates throughout the entire practice.
The team welcomed back Paul Carey, who earned a call up after a remarkable four-goal game the prior week with the Hershey Bears. Carey will stay with the team during the upcoming road trip as an additional forward.
Near the end of practice, Orlov took Tom Wilson down during a practice rush. The two slid along the ice as Orlov celebrated his accomplishment. Enjoy the photos!
By Cara Bahniuk 7 years ago
Friday afternoon, forward Brett Connolly was voted to be the Capitals nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Washington chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association announced the news after practice. Dmitry Orlov was the team’s honoree last season.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. The award was named after Bill Masterton, who is the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game.
