The Washington Capitals dealt defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler to the Devils in exchange for a third-round pick in a swap that could indicate Washington is looking to make another move (or more) ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.
The oft-scratched Siegenthaler appeared in only seven games this season under first-year head coach Peter Laviolette after suiting up for 64 of 69 contests a year ago.
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“I just think it’s a situation that’s unfortunate,” Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said last month when asked about Siegenthaler’s reduced role. “I think Siegenthaler is a good player. He’s a legitimate first PK guy in the NHL. I think just the circumstances this year with the team evolving and the team starting to play well, the defense starting to play well and the pairs settling in, so it’s gotten away from him a little bit.”
The pick Washington acquired in the trade previously belonged to Arizona. The pick, which went to New Jersey in the Taylor Hall trade, is a conditional pick. Should Hall, who could be traded by the Sabres before Monday’s deadline, were to sign with the Coyotes before the 2021 draft, the Devils would get Arizona’s second-round pick and the Capitals would get the Devils’ third-round pick.
Why would the Caps trade Siegenthaler now?
For the same reasons they waived Richard Panik on Wednesday: salary cap flexibility.
By sending Panik to the taxi squad and dealing Siegenthaler to New Jersey, MacLellan created additional cap space with which to work as he attempts to fortify his roster for the stretch run and postseason.
Siegenthaler, Washington’s second-round selection in 2015, carried a $800,000 cap hit and is due to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after the season, per CapFriendly.
The swap also gives MacLellan another draft pick that he can include in a package, if necessary. In fact, Washington now owns seven picks in this year’s draft: a first, a second, a third, a fourth, two fifths and a sixth.
Something else that likely factored into MacLellan’s thinking: this summer’s Seattle expansion draft. Siegenthaler, 23, is eligible to be selected by the Kraken and the veteran-laden Caps have too many defensemen to protect if, as expected, they employ the seven forward, three defenseman and one goalie option.
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What could MacLellan be in the market for?
A versatile forward and possibly goaltending depth — with the former feeling more like a necessity and the latter feeling like a luxury.
This season, centers Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller have both missed significant time due to illness and/or injury. It exposed a potential vulnerability up front, particularly in the middle.
The lack of center depth hurt the Caps in the playoffs last year, too, after Nicklas Backstrom suffered an injury in Game 1 against the New York Islanders.
Washington can’t afford to take any chances this spring; the organization is under immense pressure to capitalize on a veteran-laden roster that’s built to win right now.
Earlier this month, I examined the center marketplace and took a look at the type of center that could fit. The four forwards I identified as potential trade targets were Detroit’s Luke Glendening, Nashville’s Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula, and Riley Nash. Nash has since been traded from Columbus to Toronto. And the Predators have become a team to watch at the trade deadline as a recent surge took them from a definite seller to back in playoff contention. Glendening is in the final year of a deal with a $1.8 million cap hit, but the Red Wings, who were active this weekend, have one more spot to retain salary.
As for goaltender, there was a bit of news on that front on Sunday, too.
Henrik Lundqvist tweeted that his most recent medical checkup “showed some inflammation around the heart that now requires a few months of rest and steady recovery.”
It always seemed like the Caps viewed the possibility of Lundqvist returning to the ice from open heart surgery as a bit of a longshot. And now, after the latest update, it’s clear that was the right approach.
Does it mean MacLellan will be in the market for a proven goalie to pair with youngsters Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov? That’s not entirely clear.
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As I outlined in this look at potential goaltender options, it’s a relatively weak market for rental goaltenders and it’s debatable if any of them represent a significant upgrade over Samsonov or Vanecek, who leads all rookie goalies in wins with 16.
The trade deadline is set for 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
(Photo of Jonas Siegenthaler: Jared Silber / NHLI via Getty Images)