Report: Caps GM reveals his plan for impending UFAs

Time to shake up things up. It looks like Brian MacLellan’s summer of big decisions has kicked off early.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Report: Caps GM reveals his plan for impending UFAs
Keystone Press

In his season ending press conference Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan tipped his hand regarding the future of two HUGE pending free agents on his blue line: Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner.

Washington Post writer Isabelle Khurshudyan reported that the GM appears content with letting both defenders walk away this summer. 


So there you have it, the number one strength of the 2016-17 Washington Capitals will take a big hit for 2017-18. The biggest benefactor, of course, is Nate Schmidt. The slick skating blue liner was inserted into the lineup in Alzner’s absence and looked good in doing so. The loss of Shattenkirk however will be huge. Acquired from the St Louis Blues in advance of the NHL’s trade deadline, he was a seamless fit on the team’s blue line and gave them unmatched depth.

With so many questions surrounding the Capitals franchise this summer, it appears as though the first dominoes are set to fall.