Apr 11, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) skates with the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
Your spendy breakfast links:
- It was a wildly busy first day of free agency for the Capitals yesterday… so let’s get into it:
- The Caps gave new deals to a trio of Hershey players, re-signing Chase Priskie, Mitchell Gibson, and Ethen Frank. [Caps, Bears, Chocolate Hockey]
- They also took care of their only remaining RFA business, signing Connor McMichael to a two-year, $4.2M bridge contract. [Rink, Caps, Monumental, THN, The Score]
- Next? A new face for the blueline and the team’s big UFA splash of the day, with defenseman Matt Roy signing a six-year, $34.5M contract. [Rink, Caps, Monumental, NHL, Sportsnet, TSN, DF, LWoS, The Score]
- But the blueline wasn’t done yet, as MacLellan’s next move was to swing a trade to send Nick Jensen to Ottawa (with a third-round pick) for Jakob Chychrun. [Rink, Caps, Monumental (and video), ESPN (and again), TSN, THN (and again), DF]
- They then shored up the forward lines, bringing in Brandon Duhaime on a two-year deal… [Rink, Caps, Sportsnet, DF, ItR, THN]
- …and Taylor Raddysh on a one-year deal. [Caps, Sportsnet, DF]
- That’s a lot to process, so here are a few compilations of all the things that went down. [Caps, WaPo, RMNB, S&S, THW]
- Grading all of the big moves, and the respective fits of the new players, from a busy first day of free agency. [ESPN]
- What does new Caps defenseman Matt Roy bring to the lineup – and where does he fit? [Rink]
- For that matter, what does Chychrun bring to the table? [THN]
- Taking a look at new Cap Andrew Mangiapane’s career to this point. [S&S]
- Taking a look at how the incoming players – and the outgoing ones – could impact the team from an analytical standpoint. [NoVa Caps]
- And oh yeah, the NHL announced the home opener schedule for all 32 teams. Your first time to see all the new faces in red will be October 12 vs. New Jersey. [Caps, NHL]
- Finally, happy 48th birthday to Tomáš Vokoun!