Caps trade Grubauer, Orpik to Avalanche
Team lands second-round draft pick, clears cap space
DALLAS — The Washington Capitals traded veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche for the 47th pick in the NHL draft Friday, a move that clears salary-cap space for the Stanley Cup champions to re-sign key pending free agents.
Shedding Orpik’s $5.5 million salary in the final year of his contract and dealing Grubauer before he earned more as a restricted free agent gives them more than $20 million in cap space. It’s needed because defensemen John Carlson and Michal Kempny can become unrestricted free agents July 1 and playoff hero Devante Smith-Pelly and top-line winger Tom Wilson will get raises as RFAs.
Carlson, who led all defenseman in scoring in the regular season and playoffs, is expected to cost $8 million-plus a season on a long-term deal. The Capitals would have struggled to fit that under the $79.5 million ceiling without a move like this.
“This was a difficult move, but the one we felt we needed to make in order to give some flexibility moving forward,” general manager Brian MacLellan said. “Philipp has been a consummate professional and a great teammate and we wish him all the best. Brooks was a great leader and a tremendous role model for our young players in his four years with our organization.”
The 37-year-old Orpik was a respected alternate captain who got the Cup third after Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Back- TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS strom when Washington won its first title in franchise history. The rugged defenseman played almost 20 minutes a game in four seasons with the Capitals and scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas.
MacLellan said Grubauer had earned the opportunity to be a starting goaltender somewhere. The 26-year-old joins fellow Capitals draft pick Semyon Varlamov with the Avalanche where he’ll get the chance to start more games than he did behind Braden Holtby in Washington.
The Capitals used the 31st pick in the draft to select mobile Russian defenseman Alexander Alexayev. NHL draft: Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin went first overall to the Buffalo Sabres and Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov second to the Carolina Hurricanes in the two most predictable developments of an NHL draft that also featured some curveballs.
The Sabres taking Dahlin was automatic since they won the draft lottery in April, and the 18-year-old wore a Buffalo Bills hat Friday prior to the selection. Svechnikov got to try on the Hurricanes’ draft hat before he was the No. 2 pick just as general manager Don Waddell acknowledged recently.