Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: The Caps hit the West Coast for the first of three in California, MacLellan has a busy day and more.
Your savory breakfast links:
- Caps’ beatwriter Tarik El-Bashir joins the JRR crew to talk about the trade deadline (prior, of course, to a very busy day of trades/signings). [Rink]
- GM Brian MacLellan was a busy bee yesterday, making a trio of interesting moves. First up, he sent Marcus Johansson to the Wild for a third-round pick. [Rink, Caps, NBCSW, HockeyWilderness, Star-Tribune]
- Then he shipped out Erik Gustafsson and that first-round pick he got from Boston to the Leafs for blueliner Rasmus Sandin. [Rink, Caps, Leafs, ESPN, NBCSW, Sporting News, S&S, WHN, NoVa Caps, PPP]
- And he wrapped things up in the late hours of the evening by locking up Nick Jensen to a new three-year deal. [Rink, Caps, Reuters, The Score, WHN, S&S, RMNB, NoVa Caps]
- Recapping a day chock full of news for the Caps. [Vogs, WaPo]
- Assessing the trade that brought 22-year-old blueliner Sandin into the Caps’ fold. [NoVa Caps, RMNB]
- And grading the Marcus Johansson deal. [S&S]
- A late-season selloff isn’t ideal, but for the Caps, doing so in the final years of Alex Ovechkin’s career may give them another shot at a Cup with #8 at the helm. [WaPo]
- Previews of tonight’s flight with the Ducks from Vogs, NBCSW, AP, and FLM.
- Tonight’s game is the final one for the Caps before the trade deadline, and could be the last one in a Caps’ uni for a few more guys. [NBCSW]
- That knowledge was hanging over practice yesterday, where Evgeny Kuznetsov was out sick, Conor Sheary returned home for the birth of his second child, and Gustafsson had his last practice as a Cap. [WHN, NoVa Caps]
- New Cap Craig Smith isn’t sure what will happen between now and Friday – for the moment, he’s trying to find his place with the Caps, and taking things day by day. [Athletic ($)]
- Should the Caps find themselves still wanting to go after Jakob Chychrun, it could be a move that makes sense for the team. [BR]
- Finally, happy 41st birthday to Brian Sutherby!