Washington Capitals re-sign Brenden Dillon to four-year deal
By Justin Perez
The Washington Capitals paid a hefty, but worthwhile, price for Brenden Dillon.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Washington Capitals made a bold move for the NHL roster. They re-signed defensemen Brenden Dillon to a four-year extension. According to Sportrac.com, the average annual value per year is at a $3.9 million cap hit.
The Caps acquired the 29-year-old defenseman from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline. This was to bolster their team for the playoffs. Obviously this wasn’t the case as Washington, the number three seed in the Eastern Conference, lost to the six seeded New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
This isn’t to say that he wasn’t productive during last season. Even though he only played ten games during the regular season in a Capitals uniform, he ranked third on the team (20:02) on ice per game during that stretch.
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Prior to getting traded this past season, Dillon played in 59 games in the regular season for the San Jose Sharks. This year, he got 1 goal and tacked on 13 assists for a total of 14 points. The reason why the Capitals could get a great investment on this deal is because of his defense, especially his penalty-killing.
Prior to joining the Capitals, he racked up 178 hits and 67 blocked shots with the Sharks. When ranking those statistics, Dillon ranks first and fourth in those categories respectively. Dillon originally became an NHL regular during the 2012-13 season, his rookie year, with the Dallas Stars.
Over the course of his career, Dillon has played in a total of 598 games, scored 22 goals, and assisted on 92 others. His career plus/minus is a +13 and he has racked up 574 penalty minutes. With these stats, it is easy to understand how he is so beneficial on any team he plays on. This is exactly why I wanted the Florida Panthers to go after him in free agency.
The Capitals are definitely not going to regret this contract extension at all and fans at the nations’ capital should be very happy with this move by GM Brian MacLellan. As stated in my previous article, he doesn’t harm you on the ice at all.
Put it this way,Dillon is one of the best defenseman I have ever seen. His gritty style of play mixed with his big frame can help a team win on any given night. For a team that mainly focuses on speed and skill, the toughness that Dillon provides is a highly needed element for the team to succeed.
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Every team needs a player like Dillon. He is never intimated by any situation and all he does is get the job done. I applaud the signing by the Washington Capitals here. They will not regret this at all.