Elliotte Friedman

Report: Brian MacLellan promised Chandler Stephenson he’d land in a ‘good situation’ when it became clear he had to be moved

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.

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By Ian Oland 1 month ago

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Report: Nicklas Backstrom has begun contract extension talks with the Capitals

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Washington Capitals and Nicklas Backstrom are in talks on an extension. Backstrom is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

Friedman reported the news during Hockey Night In Canada’s Saturday Headlines segment.

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By Ian Oland 2 months ago

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31 Thoughts Podcast: The Capitals have interest in acquiring Jason Zucker from the Wild

Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman recorded an episode of the 31 Thoughts Podcast with reporter Chris Johnston from the NHL Draft over the weekend.

Friedman spoke about a variety of players that could be moving including Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker. According to Friedman and Johnston, there are several teams interested in landing the left wing, who scored 21 goals and tallied 42 points in 81 games last season. The Washington Capitals are one of those clubs.

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By Ian Oland 7 months ago

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Report: The Capitals are trying to re-sign Carl Hagelin

Friday morning, the Washington Capitals made their first significant move of the offseason, flipping Matt Niskanen and his $5.75 million cap hit to the Philadelphia Flyers for Radko Gudas ($3.35 million). With the Flyers hanging on to approximately $1M of Gudas’s salary for next season, the Capitals received a salary cap savings of approximately $3.4 million for next season.

That cash should go a long way to keeping the team intact with young players like Jakub Vrana, Andre Burakovsky, Christian Djoos all restricted free agents and Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby eligible for extensions in July.

But according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Capitals would like to use part of that cap space on Carl Hagelin. The Capitals acquired Hags at the deadline from the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

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By Ian Oland 8 months ago

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Report: Capitals assistant GM Ross Mahoney believed to have interviewed for Oilers’ vacant GM position

After the Edmonton Oilers fired general manager Peter Chiarelli during the second intermission of a game in January 2019, Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson told the press that the organization would not rush to fill the position of GM.

“We are not in a rush, but as soon as we find a GM that we feel is right for the culture of the Oilers, we’ll name that person,” Nicholson said. “When that will be, there is no deadline on that. … We have to get the right one.”

But with the 2019 NHL Draft fast approaching and NHL free agency on the horizon, the Oilers need to make a decision soon. And, according to Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts column, one of the names being floated for the job is Capitals’ assistant GM Ross Mahoney.

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By Elizabeth Kong 9 months ago

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The CBA forbid the Pittsburgh Penguins from re-acquiring Carl Hagelin. Now they’re paying him to play in Washington.

Before joining the Capitals, Carl Hagelin was a known Caps killer as a member of the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At this years upcoming trade deadline, Hagelin was almost a Penguin again according to Elliotte Friedman’s recent 31 Thoughts column.

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By Julia Karron 11 months ago

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Devante Smith-Pelly being put on waivers was ‘a really tough moment for him’

It might be easy for fans to view hockey players as commodities. We put price tags on them and haggle over their value like they’re something able to be bought and sold, but the truth is that there is a real human person with real human emotions behind those business decisions. We had a reminder of that fact this week.

On Wednesday, the Capitals were practicing at the Leafs’ practice facility in Toronto when suddenly Devante Smith-Pelly was pulled off the ice and told that he had been placed on waivers.

Smith-Pelly is a Toronto-area native and his father had been watching him practice from the stands.

Another cruel detail to the spoiled homecoming: after practice, the Capitals were scheduled to tour the Hockey Hall of Fame before presenting the Hall with a Capitals Stanley Cup ring. Smith-Pelly, who had been instrumental to the Capitals success in the Stanley Cup playoffs, suddenly was on the verge of being discarded by the team that he loved enough to take a discount to stay with when he signed a new contract last summer.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was at practice and saw Smith-Pelly’s reaction to being waived, as well as his teammates’ reactions. He talked about it on the 31 Thoughts podcast.

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By Elizabeth Kong 11 months ago

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Elliotte Friedman: Capitals ‘interested’ in trading for Carl Hagelin

Monday is the trade deadline, and the Washington Capitals began what could be an active few days by putting 2018 postseason hero Devante Smith-Pelly on waivers.

“There’s a lot of movement going on, especially for teams that are salary cap strapped like we are,” head coach Todd Reirden said.

NHL sources told RMNB that the DSP move was made to accommodate a coming trade. On Wednesday afternoon, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that the Capitals were looking at several forwards on the Los Angeles Kings, including Carl Hagelin, Trevor Lewis, and Kyle Clifford. This evening, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Caps are “interested” in Hagelin and surmised what a possible deal could look like: a third-round pick and Dmitrij Jaskin for the 30-year-old left winger.

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By Ian Oland 11 months ago

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Report: Capitals ‘possibly… checked in’ on Marcus Johansson, want Michal Kempny 2.0 at trade deadline

The Washington Capitals have struggled over the last two months and are no longer in first place in the Metropolitan Division. Reinforcements may be coming.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Capitals are looking to be active ahead of the February 25 trade deadline and may be looking to have a reunion with a beloved former player.

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By Ian Oland and Peter Hassett 11 months ago

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Report: The Capitals are asking for several high draft picks in exchange for Andre Burakovsky

Andre Burakovsky is in the final year of a two-year bridge contract that will make him a restricted free agent this summer. The Swedish forward, who has been a healthy scratch six times this season, has scored only six goals and six assists in 44 games, filling a role outside of the team’s top six.

After a season filled with trade rumors about the winger, Elliotte Friedman added a new wrinkle to those rumors Thursday in his 31 Thoughts column. The Capitals are reportedly interested in multiple high draft picks for the winger.

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By Julia Karron 1 year ago

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