SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman was a guest on Donnie and Dhali – The Team on Tuesday. Friedman had an interesting idea about what the Washington Capitals can do to fill Nicklas Backstrom’s newly sized hole in the center of their lineup.
Hockey insider mentioned the Vancouver Canucks by name jt miller and the colorado avalanche nazem kadri as players you’ve heard have connected to the Caps this summer.
JT Miller, I still think that’s a great contract you’re asking for. I think the Canucks, like other teams, are concerned about his term.
The team that I’ve wondered about, I think a lot of people are wondering now, [is] Washington [because they] Lost Backstrom. No one seems to know what the timeline is here. What are they going to do? I heard that Kadri’s name is related to capitals. I heard that Miller’s name is related to the Capitals. I think Washington is beginning to realize what we are going to do here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the kind of person that’s on her radar.
Miller is coming off a 2021-22 season in which he just missed the century mark in points with 99 (32g, 67th) in 80 games. Miller had 31 more points than the next closest Canucks player (Quinn Hughes, 68 points) and surpassed his career high in a single previous season by 27 (2019-20 season, 72 points). The 29-year-old center ranked ninth in points in the NHL and has only one year left on his $5.25 million contract. With Vancouver in flux as a franchise, they’ll be looking to cash him in with assets before he possibly walks away with nothing as a free agent.
The American forward did a good portion of his damage on the power play this season. His 38 power play points (38) were second only to the mighty duo of Connor McDavid (44) and Leon Draisaitl (41) of the Edmonton Oilers throughout the league. Miller also led the team in scoring with consistent strength, posting positive spreads in all relevant five-on-five relative possession analyzes (CF, xGF, SCF, HDCF). Miller’s ability to play both wing and center further increases his value. There simply aren’t many forwards in the league better than JT Miller, and the Canucks will demand a comeback to match that value.
Dreger on Insider Trading says it looks like it’s “open season” for the Canucks, not to be misconstrued as a fire sale, there is strong market interest in both Miller and Boeser and VAN is interested in listening, they’re not looking for picks. They need good young NHL players.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) June 21, 2022
This isn’t the first time Friedman has paired the Caps and Canucks in terms of a potential trade. Before the 2022 trade deadline, Friedman reported that the two teams could be partners for a deal that would send scoring help to DC.
On the other hand, there is Nazem Kadri, who unlike Miller, will be an unrestricted free agent and will require no assets other than money to obtain his services. After a couple of disappointing seasons with the Colorado Avalanche (68 points in 107 games), Kadri exploded in 2021-22 with a career year, helping the Avs to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Kadri’s 87 points in 71 games marked the first time in his career that he has scored at a rate higher than a point per game and his 59 assists surpassed his previous career high with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013-14 (30) by 29. Kadri kept up his points-per-game pace in the postseason (14 in 13 games) before getting injured, so it’s safe to say he’s owed a big $4.5 million salary increase.
Kadri is a tenacious play center that other teams hate to play against. With Kadri on the ice five-on-five this season, the Avs saw 57.9 percent of shot attempts, 54.5 percent of expected goals, 55.8 percent of scoring opportunities and the 53.5 percent of high-danger opportunities. His 48 points from five against five saw him tied with the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Roman Josi and Artemi Panarin on the league leader board.
Exactly what happens to Backstrom’s $9.2 million salary will be up to Capitals GM Brian MacLellan, and we know he intends to explore every option this summer to improve his team.
“We’ve lost in the first round for the last four years,” he said on Breakdown Day in May. “We are going to explore changes. I don’t think anything is off the table. We are going to talk to different teams and monitor the trading market. We’re going to identify free agents. We have to solve our goalkeeper situation”.
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