The Washington Capitals made the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, it still feels as if their season was an utter disappointment. They could not overcome their offensive woes in the postseason. And while Alex Ovechkin had a great second half, he was very inconsistent. The Capitals set out to fix their uses in a massive way in NHL Free Agency.
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That said, Washington made major moves before NHL Free Agency. They traded Darcy Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Then, they traded for Andrew Mangiapane in a deal with the Calgary Flames. At the NHL Draft, they picked up goalie Logan Thompson in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Capitals made some big moves once NHL Free Agency began. In fact, they made another trade to land Jakob Chychrun. However, with NHL Free Agency looking rather barren, let’s take a look at two potential trade candidates the Capitals could pursue before the 2024-25 season begins.
Brandon Saad could be available
Brandon Saad has done a lot in the NHL over the years. He won two Stanley Cups earlier in his career with the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s also appeared in the playoffs with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis Blues. All that said, this past season may have been the best year of his 13-year career.
Saad set a new career high with 26 goals and 42 points. It marked the second time in the last three seasons in which Saad scored 20+ goals. Overall, he is putting in some of the best performances of his career. Especially from a goal scoring perspective.
The veteran forward still brings some risk despite the promising numbers. For instance, Saad is not great defensively. He did perform better than underlying analytics expected. But he is still more of a liability than an asset in the defensive zone. Additionally, his shooting percentage of 18.1% is well above his career average of 12.8%.
The Capitals have taken chances on underperforming players who could bounce back. In order to improve their depth on the wing, Washington could bet on a player playing better than he ever has. If they can make it work financially, this could be an intriguing trade.
Patrik Laine is a complicated but good fit
The Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to trade Patrik Laine this summer. Laine, for his part, is open to a move away from the Blue Jackets. Overall, things have not worked in Ohio for either side. This past season saw Laine struggle with injuries and make little offensive impact when he was healthy.
The Capitals certainly cannot fit his $8.7 million salary in without shedding salary of their own. It’s a complicated deal because there aren’t any obvious salaries for Washington to dump. At least, it’s unlikely Washington could dump the contracts of Niklas Backstrom or TJ Oshie in order to acquire Laine.
It’s a complicated deal for both sides to make. But if the Capitals can figure something out, the Finnish forward would be a worthwhile addition. He would give the Capitals a legitimate top-six winger they need. Especially if Oshie needs to be placed on long-term injured reserve at the beginning of the season.
It’s a move in-line with what Washington has done this summer. But it’s a complicated move to make given the circumstances. It’ll certainly be interesting to see if Washington can land Laine or another top-six winger before the puck drops on the new season this summer.
