The Washington Capitals are in full-swing seller mode as general manager Brian MacLellan is preparing to retool his team this offseason. Now that the Capitals appear to be out of the playoff picture as they’re currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, the race against the clock to unload all their expiring contracts is ongoing. With the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline two days away, the pressure is on to recoup some assets.
The Capitals have been doing a great job so far. They have now executed their fourth trade of the deadline as today they sent veteran forward Lars Eller to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second-round pick. The Caps will retain 31 percent of Eller’s salary hence why they got the pick they did.
Moving on from Eller will be a tough loss for Washington fans as Eller played an instrumental role in during their 2017-2018 Cup run. He will always be known for scoring two of the biggest goals in Washington’s history—the OT winner to begin the comeback vs. Columbus and the Stanley Cup winner vs. Vegas.
The Avalanche will be getting a veteran forward who is capable of penalty-killing and has playoff experience. Acquiring Eller is the type of depth required for a contender getting ready to make a playoff run, as his contributions don’t always show up on the stat sheet but on the game film.
For Washington, fans don’t expect Eller to be the last of moves as MacLellan still has one or two other candidates he will be looking to move before Friday at 3 pm EST. On the season, Eller has recorded seven goals and 16 points through 60 games as the veteran bottom-six forward has enjoyed a solid season.
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