Metropolitan Division team still looking to bolster their top six this summer

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Mike Armenti
August 14, 2023 (12:45)

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Many were surprised to see the Washington Capitals miss the playoffs this past season, but their lack of depth was exposed when Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom and Connor Brown all missed a significant amount of time due to injury. They'll attempt to address their need for additional depth this summer, but it won't be easy.

In a recent interview with Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic, Capitals General Manager said that the team would like to add a top-six forward to their roster and has been discussions with teams since the NHL Entry Draft in June.

"We had a few discussions at the draft; it might carry forward or it might not carry forward," MacLellan said. "We'll see where it goes."

According to CapFriendly, the Capitals are currently one of several teams who are over the NHL's salary cap, which makes wanting to add a significant piece to their roster somewhat challenging.

So far this summer, MacLellan has added six-time 30+ goal scorer Max Pacioretty, who's coming off a second torn Achilles in 12 months, as well as ex-Calgary Flame Matthew Phillips through free agency. They also acquired Stanley Cup champion defenseman Joel Edmundson in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1st.

There are still some intriguing names out there on the free agent market, including Patrick Kane and Tomas Tatar, but in order for the Caps to be able to afford either player, Caps GM Brian MacLellan will first have to clear some cap space. For multiple seasons now, we have seen Evgeny Kuznetsov's name in the rumour mill, so perhaps the Caps will look to make a hockey trade, sending the skilled center out for some additional help on the wing.

With almost every team in the Metropolitan Division getting better this summer, it's going to be interesting to see how things play out throughout the 2023-24 season.

Source: theScore