So assuming the Caps become sellers at the deadline, who do you think we move and who do we get the most for and what do we get?
Ironically, it may be Mantha. Other teams may buy into his "turnaround" and actually value the extra year on his contract. I would think the Caps might still have to eat maybe a million on his contract to get good value, but maybe could get a second round pick?
Edmonson is one that I bet they move - a good sized veteran defenseman that can be physical. He has been ok for us but I don't see us resigning him anyway, so maybe they get a third rounder for him?
Nik Dowd is rumored to be of interest to a lot of teams and I can see why. I think he is an excellent playoff player with the needed tenacity and is pretty good on faceoffs. He is cheap ($1.3M this year and $1.0M next year). I hate to lose Dowd, but I think Malenstyn is capable of playing the Dowd role going forward. I could see Vegas going after him and maybe they get a surprising return for him - maybe a 2nd and a 3rd? There has even been some speculation they could get a 1st.
Pacioretti? He is rumored to be sought after, but I doubt it. He hasn't done much to impress anybody and unless he really shows well in the next couple weeks, I think it is unlikely they can move him. Even if they do, they might only get a 6th or 7th round pick.
Goalie - I think the Caps would love to move Kuemper with his three additional years at $5.2M and then extend Lindgren and also bring up one of the farm team goalies. Unfortunately, I don't think they will find a taker for Kuemper. So that leaves us with what do we do with Lindgren. His contract is really attractive and he has one more year so they might be able to get a pretty good return for him - maybe a 2nd and a 3rd? The alternative is to keep Lindgren and have him probably be the starter the rest of this year and next year, and then have a $5M goalie on the bench and no path for the younger goalies.
Kuzy - oh well.
Oshie - there has been some speculation, but there is no way he is going any where.
Jenson or TVR - if they trade Edmondson, I doubt they would also trade one of these. Jensen has 2 more years at $4M so he is not that marketable. TVR has 2 more years at $3M so he might be more likely, but the Caps have been killing his trade value by scratching him lately.
NAK - even though he gets scratched occasionally, I could see somebody wanting him and he might bring a later round pick. I would rather keep him and resign him, but he's a free agent so he could be gone.
So in summary, if the Caps moved Dowd, Mantha, Edmonson, TVR and NAK - they could maybe add one 1st, one 2nd, and two 3rds and one later round pick. That would be ok.
