For the Caps, it was strange not to approach the trade deadline by ‘bolstering’ the blueline with a journeyman defender, picking up an aging star or a renting a proven winner.
This season, the stars aligned… Or, perhaps the end of several contracts aligned with a not-good-enough record. Needless to say, the Caps had every reason to trade away every expiring contract, and even some with a year or so left (though Anthony Mantha remains on the team).
The trade deadline is done, and farewell to Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Erik Gustafsson, Lars Eller, and Marcus Johansson.