Anything you can do, I can do better. After a report emerged earlier today that the Pittsburgh Penguins have shown interest in Jakob Chychrun, rival Washington Capitals have also now been linked to the Arizona Coyotes defenseman. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Capitals are hoping to “rebuild on the fly” and, after yesterday’s trade of Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway, now have the assets to pull it off if it gets that far.
The Penguins and Capitals are in similar situations, trying to contend as many times as possible while their franchise icons are still on the ice. Neither one is guaranteed to make the playoffs this season, meaning it will be quite the task to retool quickly enough to challenge for the Stanley Cup. In the meantime, the Capitals have recalled Aliaksei Protas from the minor leagues to fill the last vacated roster spot.