One of the Washington Capitals‘ final pieces of their offseason puzzle has fallen into place.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, who became a restricted free agent when his contract expired on July 1, has signed a two-year, $6 million deal to return, the team announced Monday evening.
The 23-year-old center, who received a $400,000 signing bonus, will make $2.2 million during the 2015-16 season and then $3.4 million the following season. That “bridge deal” will allow the Capitals to continue to pursue signing two other restricted free agents, goaltender Braden Holtby and left wing Marcus Johansson, with the meager amount of money they have available under the salary cap.