ARLINGTON, Va. — As the Washington Capitals closed in on a big-money, long-term deal with Evgeny Kuznetsov, they explored ways to make sure they could afford it under the salary cap.
On Sunday, the Capitals signed Kuznetsov to a $62.4 million, eight-year deal and made room for the talented Russian
"You can't argue with signing Orlov and Oshie and Kuznetsov," Devils general manager Ray Shero said. "Good teams like Washington, all teams have to do it at some point: You're making decisions and rearranging the furniture. There's a salary cap. And if there wasn't, I'm pretty sure Marcus would still be in Washington."
Signed through 2024-25, Kuznetsov is now the second highest-paid player on the Capitals roster behind only captain Alex Ovechkin's $9.54 million cap hit and ahead of
"Evgeny is a premier
There was no doubt the Capitals would agree to a long-term deal with Kuznetsov, even amid interest from Russia's Kontinental Hockey League in him and Orlov, who signed for $30.6 million over six years. After giving Oshie $46 million over eight years and still needing to re-sign restricted free agent forward Andre Burakovsky and goaltender Philipp Grubauer, Washington cleared roughly $4.58 million in cap space by sending Johansson to New Jersey.
The Capitals got Florida's second-rounder and Toronto's third-rounder next year after not having a pick in the first three rounds of this year's draft. The Devils get a 26-year-old Swede coming off a career-high 58-point season.
"It's a trade that obviously helps both teams," Shero said. "Washington with their cap and being able to trade a great player like Kuznetsov and certainly a team like ours taking advantage of that and adding a real good young player and an up-and-coming player in Marcus."
Shero said he'd been monitoring the Capitals' salary-cap situation for some time. Washington lost in the second round for the second consecutive year, but changes were coming no matter the playoff result.
The Capitals already couldn't afford to bring back winger Justin Williams and
The Devils were in on Shattenkirk, but when that didn't happen, upgrading their forward depth by getting Johansson was the next step. New Jersey has missed the playoffs in each of the past five seasons, so taking advantage of a perennial contender's jam is just part of the process to try to get back in the
"I've been on the other end," said Shero, who won the Stanley Cup in 2009 as the Pittsburgh Penguins' GM. "Washington's got a real good team. I want to get there. But this is where we are."
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press