This season's postseason presents an absolute gauntlet in the Eastern Conference, and the Washington Capitals should find themselves right in the fray. While most of the attention is being drawn to the Atlantic division, the Capitals are right in the thick of things in the Metropolitan as they race the New York Islanders, of all teams.
The defending Stanley Cup champs don't appear to be resting on their laurels, as they seem to be gearing up for a trade deadline move. With the deadline on Monday, some other teams look to be active -- specifically the Red Wings and the Kings -- as rebuilding teams look to offload some of their expiring contracts.
Capitals place Devante Smith-Pelly on waivers
The aforementioned Capitals are looking to stay competitive against the Lighting and Maple Leafs, not to mention the Bruins who appear to be looking to be extremely active at this year's deadline. They reportedly placed DeVante Smith-Pelly on waivers on Wednesday, per Elliotte Friedman, meaning that once he clears them or is picked up by a team on Thursday the Capitals can announce some kind of move.
Smith-Pelly -- last year's Stanley Cup hero -- hasn't had much production this season. He has 13 goals just under two seasons with the Capitals, but his seven goals in last year's playoffs were integral in the Capitals' miraculous run.
Los Angeles Kings may be Capitals' trade partner
The Kings have more control over their roster than nearly any team in hockey, but they do have one solid player who could be an unrestricted free agent next season. Winger Carl Hagelin may end up being Smith-Pelly's replacement. TSN's Bob McKenzie speculated that the trade will likely be with the Kings, but it's far from set in stone. We likely won't know until Thursday, when Smith-Pelly's waiver status is confirmed one way or the other.
There is a lot of speculation the deal may be with LAK, maybe for a veteran depth F. Lots of possibilities: Carl Hagelin is UFA at end of season but carries $3.5M cap hit. Trevor Lewis and Kyle Clifford each have a year left after this season, Lewis at $2M and Clifford at $1.6M.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 20, 2019
Red Wings continue to garner interest in Gustav Nyquist, Nick Jensen
Two players who could go either way at this deadline are Gustav Nyquist and Nick Jensen of the Red Wings. Nyquist is a second-tier expiring winger at this deadline, and a few dominoes need to fall to get him out of Detroit. According to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, Nyquist will likely start to pick up interest once the dominoes of Mark Stone and Artemi Panarin fall. The Wings also may re-sign Nyquist if they don't move him at this year's deadline, a la Mike Green.
Nick Jensen is in a similar situation. The Red Wings want to re-sign him, but if that also proves impossible, he could move at the deadline. TSN's Bob McKenzie says that Jensen is getting a lot of looks around the league, but the Wings would like to hold onto the third-year defenseman if at all possible.
