Jay Bouwmeester
Team: St. Louis Blues
HDCF%: 54.00%
Cap Hit: $5.4 Million (Pending UFA)
The first player I would like for the Washington Capitals to look at is Jay Bouwmeester of the struggling St. Louis Blues. The 35-year-old defenseman is a pending UFA this offseason and carries a cap hit of $5.4 Million.
Bouwmeester has been mentioned increasingly in trade talks due to the struggles of the Blues, who are currently sixth in the Central Division with 51 points. While they are still in the playoff picture, it may be worth selling off some of these rentals and getting something back for them.
After the trade of Jake Muzzin to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bouwmeester may well be one of the best defensemen on the market this deadline. He has a stellar HDCF% of 54.00%, which only briefly underperforms the rest of the Blues (the team has a HDCF% of 54.72%).
Even if he is technically below-average on his own team, that high of a HDCF% should not be scoffed at. That mark automatically slots him in at third on the Caps, behind Jonas Siegenthaler and Brooks Orpik, neither of whom have played a full season.
Pulling off this trade may be difficult for Washington given the high cap hit Bouwmeester carries, The Capitals are expected to have only $40,000 of cap space per CapFriendly, although they will have more available until Christian Djoos returns from IR.
For this trade to work, the Caps will most likely have to part with Andre Burakovsky and Madison Bowey ($4 million total) and have St. Louis retain some salary to boot. To make this worthwile for the Blues, one could expect a 1st- or 2nd-round pick going their way.
If the trade does go through, Bouwmeester could slot into Dmitry Orlov‘s spot in the Top-4, perhaps with a promoted Siegenthaler or Djoos on his right side. Orlov and his partner Matt Niskanen have been dreadful for Washington this season, a point that the GM has noticed.
#Caps GM Brian MacLellan says/confirms that the pair of Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen have been a disappointment. Were key to title run last year. #StanleyCup @1067theFan #ALLCAPS #NHL
— Chris Russell AKA the 🐓🐓! (@Russellmania621) February 4, 2019
Sheltering Orlov and Niskanen until they improve and keeping Brooks Orpik fresh for the playoffs could help the struggling defense turn things around. Between this and his own play, Jay Bouwmeester may be the Michal Kempny that the Washington Capitals need for this playoff run.