Elliotte Friedman

Jay Beagle on telling his former Caps teammates he signed with Vancouver: ‘It didn’t go good. I’m not good at saying goodbye.’

Over the summer, the Washington Capitals were close to the salary cap and had a glut of checking line forwards in the organization, like Travis Boyd, ready for more opportunity. The situation forced what for many was a sad situation. Veteran fourth-line center Jay Beagle, due for a pay raise after winning a Stanley Cup, left the only NHL organization he ever knew, signing a four-year, $12 million deal with the Vancouver Canucks in July.

Earlier this week, Beagle, who has played 21 games for the Canucks this season tallying four points (1g, 3a) and registering a 50.8 faceoff percentage, spoke to Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek of the 31 Thoughts podcast.

Beags spent a decent sized chunk of the conversation talking about his time in Washington and eventually signing with Vancouver. He found it especially difficult telling his now former teammates that he signed elsewhere.

“It didn’t go good,” Beagle said. “I’m not good at that. I’m not good at saying goodbye and I’m not good at, I didn’t wanna text. I didn’t want it to be a text. We still have a group chat that’s hopefully we never get rid of it. But I’m not a good guy at texting, especially my feelings.”

Beagle also revealed that Tom Wilson was the first player he called and told he was leaving. And his favorite Capitals coach was Dale Hunter.

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