The Washington Capitals made another small move to improve depth and clear some cap space, while the Toronto Maple Leafs kept right on selling as the NHL trade deadline nears. The Capitals acquired veteran forward Daniel Winnik and a fifth-round draft pick for Brooks Laich, defenseman Connor Carrick and a 2016 second-round draft pick.
While the Capitals get an extra depth forward in this deal, which never hurts, the real benefit of this trade is to get out from under Laich’s $4.5 million cap hit over the next two seasons. Washington waived the longtime forward Saturday and could have sent him to the minors for some minimal cap relief. However, they basically gave the Leafs extra pieces to make his contract go away, while taking back Winnik's more digestable $2.25 million cap hit over the next two seasons.
Washington will also have about $2.2 million in cap space ahead of the NHL trade deadline according to CapFriendly.com.
Winnik has been packing his suitcase rather frequently. This is the second time in as many seasons that he has been traded by the Maple Leafs. Toronto flipped him ahead of the deadline last season to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He re-signed with the Leafs as a free agent and once again became trade bait.
In 56 games this season, Winnik has 14 points. The 30-year-old should be a fourth-line fill-in for Washington at a much more affordable rate.
Despite its necessity, this couldn't have been an easy deal to make for Washington GM Brian MacLellan, who was a longtime assistant GM before getting promoted in the organization. Laich was the longest tenured Capitals player on the roster, having joined the club in 2003-04 after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators.
Thanks to @brookslaich for representing the #Caps with class and pride for a dozen years. pic.twitter.com/TEAXjEqYLL
— Washington Capitals (@washcaps) February 29, 2016
He appeared in 741 games with the team and registered 324 points. While Laich had some great seasons in his mid-20s, injuries have taken their toll on his ability to produce. He has just seven points in 59 games this season at age 32.
Unfortunately for Laich, his decline was ill-timed as it appears the Capitals have the best roster the franchise has ever assembled and have an honest shot at the Stanley Cup. However, this was a business move the team simply had to make at this point to stay on the right track.
On the other side of this deal, the Maple Leafs keep stockpiling draft picks and AHL roster players. The Capitals sent promising young defenseman in Carrick, who already has some NHL experience and was an AHL All-Star this year, and that second-round pick to sweeten the pot for Toronto taking on a contract that Laich is unlikely to live up to. The Maple Leafs now have two second-rounders for the 2016 draft, three in 2017 and two in 2018 which is a clear focal point of their rebuild strategy.
The veterans have been moving out of Toronto like crazy over the last few weeks, but the Leafs still need to put an actual roster of players on the ice for the rest of this season without significantly depleting their AHL-leading affiliate's roster. They have more than enough cap space to accommodate Laich, giving them another body on the roster. If worse comes to worse, they can buy him out after the season for some cap relief. They're all about the rebuild right now and probably aren't done dealing yet.
