WASHINGTON — If there was any doubt about which direction Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan was leaning ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline, the suspense is over.
He’s a seller for the first time during his nine-year tenure, and he got a head start Thursday night, dealing defenseman Dmitry Orlov and winger Garnet Hathaway to the NHL-leading Boston Bruins for three picks, including a 2023 first-round selection, and 33-year-old winger Craig Smith.
The deadline is March 3, and MacLellan is almost certain to trade other players as he attempts to kickstart a roster retool aimed at getting younger and faster and returning the Caps to contender status in short order.
“This trade allows us to acquire draft capital, infuse youth and restock our system,” MacLellan said in a release.
As for Orlov and Hathaway, both players were told not to report to Capital One Arena prior to the Caps’ 4-2 loss to the 32nd-place Ducks. The defeat marked Washington’s sixth straight in regulation, the club’s longest such slump since October 2003.
Afterward, an emotional Caps’ locker room seemed stunned, both from the humbling defeat and from losing a pair of popular teammates shortly before the game.
“We’re going to miss those guys,” Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “They’re great guys, they’re great humans. Obviously that’s part of the business, and it’s a sad part. It is what it is. But that’s no excuse for not being able to find a way to win that game.”
Added Nick Jensen: “That aspect of hockey is really hard. The guys in this room, we go through all the highs and lows; we’re like brothers in here. So, when you see guys no longer showing up in the locker room, it’s definitely hard. It can be somewhat of a distraction, but it’s part of the game and it’s something you’ve got to move on from.”
Orlov, who had been the Caps’ fourth most tenured player after Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson, suspected a trade might be in the works after little headway had been made on an extension in recent weeks.
“It was not a terrible surprise,” agent Mark Gandler said. “But once it’s done, after being in Washington for 11 years, being drafted by the team, it’s going to put you in a kind of shock, whether you are prepared for it or not.
“He’s also excited because he wants to win another Cup. Once you have one, it’s hard to get it out of your blood.”
Hathaway, meantime, is going to the team he cheered growing up in Kennebunkport, Maine.
“He’s disappointed to be leaving the boys but he’s excited to live out his childhood dream of playing for the Bruins,” agent Matt Keator said. “He’s kind of made to be a Bruin because he plays the style that the fan base loves.
“Basically,” Keator added, “the comments on Twitter have been, ‘I guess we have to go from hating Garnet Hathaway to love him.’”
What’s next for the Caps? Well, it could be quite a lot, actually. So let’s take stock of who’s probably staying and who else might be on the move in the coming days.
Not available
Nicklas Backstrom
The 35-year-old is rounding into form after missing the first half of the season while recovering from hip surgery. He may not be the first-line center he once was but the hope is that he can be a productive middle-six center/power play maestro for the Caps during this transitional phase.
John Carlson
The 33-year-old No. 1 defenseman has been sidelined since being struck on the side of the head with a 90-mile-per-hour slap shot on Dec. 23. He’s begun skating prior to the team’s practices in recent weeks but remains a ways away from returning.
Darcy Kuemper
Signed to a five-year contract on the opening day of free agency last summer, Kuemper, who turns 33 in May, is the No. 1 goaltender going forward. He’s been mostly solid in his first season in D.C. and is tied with the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin for the most shutouts with five.
Charlie Lindgren
Inked to a three-year contract in the offseason, the 29-year-old did exactly what he was signed to do in December: he went 9-2-0 with a .929 and a 2.02 goals-against average to keep the Caps in the hunt while Kuemper recovered from a head injury.
Ivan Miroshnichenko
The Caps’ pick at No. 20 last summer is widely considered the organization’s top prospect. Having recovered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the 19-year-old winger has three goals and an assist for the KHL’s Avangard Omsk.
Alex Ovechkin
Duh. Signed through 2025-26, the Caps captain is about to be at the center of one of the biggest stories in sports as he chases down Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals in NHL history. The 37-year-old entered Thursday’s game with 812 career goals, or 83 shy of leapfrogging The Great One.
Dylan Strome
In January, the 25-year-old center signed a five-year, $25 million extension that kicks in next season. Interestingly, he’s signed through 2027-28, a year longer than anyone else on the roster.
Tom Wilson
Like Backstrom, the big winger, who turns 29 next month, is still getting up to speed after missing the first half of the season due to knee surgery and another seven games because of an ankle injury. He’s viewed as a big part of the team’s future and, potentially, the successor to Ovechkin as captain.
2023 first-round picks
After Thursday’s trade, MacLellan now has two first-round picks — the Caps’ and the Bruins’. Don’t expect him to part with either.
Make it good
Alex Alexeyev
The 2018 first-round pick isn’t ready for a full-time role but the hope is that he’ll get there. With Orlov gone and other defensemen potentially on the move in the coming days, there figure to be openings on the blue line next season. It should also be noted that Alexeyev, 23, is a pending restricted free agent.
Nic Dowd
The checking line center, who turns 33 in May, is in the first year of a three-year extension that averages $1.3 million per season, a team-friendly cap hit given the important role he plays at even strength and on the penalty kill.
Martin Fehervary
The 2018 second-rounder isn’t having as strong a season as he did last year but, at 23, he’s established himself as a solid NHLer with some runway to improve. Like Alexeyev, he’s a restricted free agent at season’s end.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
The top-six center, who turns 31 in May, entered Thursday’s game on pace for 13 goals and 63 points — a drop-off from the 24 goals and 78 points he produced a year ago. His shooting percentage is a career low 6.9. Kuznetsov has two years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $7.8 million per.
Hendrix Lapierre
The 2020 first-round pick has had an up-and-down season in Hershey, amassing 10 goals and 13 assists in 47 games. The hope is that Lapierre, who turned 21 earlier this month, blossoms into an important piece for the organization in the future.
Connor McMichael
After spending all of last season in Washington, the 2019 first-rounder started the season on the Caps’ roster. But McMichael, 22, struggled to find a foothold and is now in AHL Hershey, where he’s got 12 goals and 13 assists in 36 games. Like Lapierre, the hope is that he eventually plays a big role in D.C. but he’s not off limits if the return makes sense.
Sonny Milano
Washington just signed the middle-six winger, who turns 27 in May, to a three-year, $5.7 million extension that kicks in next season. With eight goals and 15 assists in 46 games, he’s been a pleasant surprise.
T.J. Oshie
He’s a heart and soul player, a big piece of the team’s leadership and an important part of the offense. But he’s also 36 and has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, due in no small part to his hard-nosed playing style.
Aliaksei Protas
The 22-year-old can play center or wing and, at 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, he possesses the prodigious size that MacLellan covets. He’s highly regarded internally, but similar to Lapierre and McMichael, he’s not considered untradeable as the Caps seek to reinvent themselves on the fly.
Trevor van Riemsdyk
The Caps like TvR, who turns 32 in July. He’s consistent and can play up and down the lineup. He’s also a free agent at season’s end. At this point, it feels like he’s more likely to be re-signed than flipped for a late-round pick.
Let’s talk
Nicolas Aube-Kubel
The bottom-six winger, who turns 27 in May, was claimed off waivers in November and has been in and out of the lineup. He’s a UFA at season’s end, won the Stanley Cup last season in Colorado and could provide speedy depth for a team that’s prepping for a deep run.
Lars Eller
One of two players on The Athletic’s trade board — Orlov was the other — Eller figures to be on the move before the deadline. The bottom-six center, who turns 34 in May, has a wealth of playoff experience (96 games) and a knack for scoring big goals.
Erik Gustafsson
Gustafsson, who turns 31 next month and is playing on an expiring one-year, $800,000 contract, is the league’s most efficient offensive defenseman in terms of cost per point ($23,529) with seven goals and 27 assists entering Thursday’s game.
Matt Irwin
The No. 7 defenseman has appeared in 42 games this season due in large part to the injuries the Caps have absorbed on the back end. Irwin, 35, is a UFA and has 47 games of playoff experience.
Nick Jensen
After Orlov, Jensen is the Capitals defenseman who could probably fetch the most in a trade. The 32-year-old is a good defender who can anchor the penalty kill and provide value for a contender with an expiring contract that has a $2.5 million cap hit.
Marcus Johansson
The 32-year-old is as versatile as they come and, with an expiring one-year, $1.1 million contract, he doesn’t cost a lot, either. He can play either wing, center in a pinch and on both special team units. It wouldn’t be a surprise if contending teams are very interested.
Anthony Mantha
Mantha’s had an uneven season, his second full campaign in D.C. When he’s on, the 28-year-old can put his mark on a game. But that hasn’t happened often enough for coach Peter Laviolette, who scratched the big winger four times in a span of six games last month. He has another year on his contract at $5.7 million and is currently on injured reserve, a couple of factors that could give pause to any potential suitors.
Conor Sheary
The winger, who turns 31 in June, has 12 goals and 18 assists but has cooled off considerably of late, recording just one goal in his last 23 games. He did, however, win the Stanley Cup twice with Pittsburgh, an intangible that inexperienced teams crave this time of year.
(Photo of Nick Jensen and Anthony Mantha: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
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