Three Teams That Could Be Active at the NHL Trade Deadline

The Washington Capitals is in the playoff hunt, standing in fourth place but are 16 points out of first place. They could be buyers and sellers. While they have a projected cap space of $0, they are one of the oldest teams in the league at an average age of 31.6 years old.

The Washington Capitals has ten players who will be UFA’s in the 2023-24 season. Their prospect pool is not deep and could use some help. They also need to get younger and could use more scoring depth. The players who qualify as UFAs in the next season are forwards Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway, Conor Sheary, Marcus Johansson, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Defensemen Dmitry Orlov, Nick Jensen, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Erik Gustafsson, and Matt Irwin are also in that category.

The Capitals should look at the next 4-5 years and see who is qualified to lead them. Winger Alex Ovechkin cannot do all of the scoring and will not play forever. The core of the Washington Capitals is on their last legs as a group to win another Stanley Cup. Washington needs to acquire the younger talent that will take them into the next ten years and be able to build something to win another Stanley Cup.

The goaltending is not great, but it is solid, so no moves are needed unless there are moves at the NHL trade deadline for goaltending depth at the AHL level. A good, young bottom-six forward could be had for the right price. Or maybe a couple of future UFA forwards for a group of prospects will do the trick. The Washington Capitals could do a rebuild on the fly and take their chances, but this only works if they do in fact make moves for younger talent.