Division rivals bolster their roster after big trade with Washington Capitals, pay more than the Leafs did for O'Reilly, Acciari
Not even an hour after it was announced that Washington Capitals were withholding and scratching defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway for trade-related reasons ahead of their game against the Anaheim Ducks, the Caps have dealt both players to the Boston Bruins, as reported by Elliotte Friedman.
The Capitals have dropped out of the wild card race and are currently 2 points out of the final spot that is being held by Florida Panthers. The Caps are battling alongside the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings as well, which means that the playoffs are not a guarantee. By moving these players, they were able to recoup some assets, which will be pretty important as they look to re-tool around an aging core.
The Caps have lost 5 straight games and 7 of their last 10, while having 11 pending UFAs on their roster that doesn't include another 2 that are currently on the LTIR. Orlov had been a mainstay on the backend ever since he entered the league in 2011-12. He has 686 games under his belt through 11 seasons, 60 goals and 256 points. He hit career highs in goals (12) and points (35) last year and currently has 3 goals and 19 points in 43 games this season.
Garnet Hathaway is the prototypical pest that every team is looking for regardless of their standing. He slots into your top-9 or bottom-6 perfectly, can chip in with double digit goals, and will cause a ruckus whenever he's on the ice. He had a career season last year with 14 goals and 26 points as well as 250 hits. This year he has 9 goals, 16 points, and 198 hits. In return for Orlov and Hathaway, the Bruins will be sending Craig Smith, a 2023 first round pick, a 2025 second round pick, and a 2024 third round pick. Craig Smith is a pending UFA at a cost of $3.1 million. 50% of Orlov's contract has been retained by the Caps and an additional 25% has been retained by the Minnesota Wild. The Wild receive a 5th rounder as compensation.
Perhaps the wildest thing about this trade is that, while the Bruins have checked a number of boxes ahead of the playoffs, they paid a similar price to the one the Leafs paid for Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari. The primary difference here is that the Bruins were forced to trade a roster player, while the Leafs did not subtract anything from their active roster, instead sending only picks, a prospect and an AHLer to the Blues in their deal.
| POLL | ||
23 FEVRIER | 306 ANSWERS Division rivals bolster their roster after big trade with Washington Capitals, pay more than the Leafs did for O'Reilly, Acciari With this trade, are the Bruins the favourites to win the Cup? | ||
| Yes | 104 | 34 % |
| No | 122 | 39.9 % |
| They always were | 80 | 26.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
