Washington Capitals Trade Deadline Targets and Trade Proposals

As the trade deadline approaches, the Brian Maclellan and the Washington Capitals are expected to make one last final push for one of the wild card spots.

In this article, I will outline several trades that I could see the Capitals making, but none of them will be unrealistic such as acquiring top trade targets on the market; like Patrick Kane or Timo Meier.

Here are some suggestions that will outline some potential trades that may occur on the Capitals roster. But keep in mind, none of these trades are concrete and based around speculation.

Trade with Montreal

Montreal have struggled this season and will likely be interested in selling at this trade deadline. One player that could be an interested in another cup run could be Joel Edmundson. Acquiring the defensive defenseman for a third round pick could be seen as a value move from the Capitals, similar to in 2018 after the acquisition of Michal Kempny.

Edmundson could be paired with a healthy John Carlson in the off season, making up for Carlson’s defensive deficiencies. Edmundson still has another year on his contract (after this one), at $3.5m which is reasonable given how most of the Capitals defense will be leaving after this season.

*Washington Capitals*	*Montreal Canadiens*
Christian Dvorak	Anthony Mantha
Joel Edmundson	Third Round Pick (2024)
	Fifth Round Pick (2023)

In regards to the value of Edmundson, the Sharks have already set the value for a solid defensive defender at around this price, given their trade with the Seattle Kraken taking Jaycob Megna for a fourth round pick.

The second part of the trade deals with a swap of two forwards. Christian Dvorak has 20 points in 51 games and is locked in at $4.45 for 2 more seasons after this one. Dvorak has only ever competed in the playoffs once in his career, and is able to play as a left winger and a center. Given the circumstances in Montreal and with their plethora of forwards poised to break ground in the near future, a move wouldn’t be out of the question for the 27 year old.

Anthony Mantha is a Capital that seems like he needs a change of scenery. Sometimes a fit just doesn’t work for a team and a player. Swapping Mantha for Dvorak could make sense for the Capitals. Given Dvorak does have the cheaper contract and is a year younger, so throwing in a low draft pick would even out the difference.

Moving Eller

Eller is likely the odd man out of this Capitals team, given how his contract does expire at the end of the season. Given Nic Dowd’s injury at this moment, he is filling in as a fourth line center, however it seems like the “Great Dane” has lost a step to his game this season.

With a $3.5m cap hit and with some remaining value left, it might be best for the Capitals to move on from a fan favorite and recoup a middle-low end draft pick.