The Washington Capitals got a bit of an early jump and made a couple of moves the day before the National Hockey League trade deadline arrives on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Richard Zednik was dealt to the New York Islanders for a second-round draft pick in 2007. Zednik has only played 32 games this season because of injury, but his contract status was likely more of a factor in the move. He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, and Washington were not able to reach an extension with him. <\/p>\n
The Capitals also dealt defenseman Lawrence Nycholat to the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Andy Hedlund and a sixth-round pick. Washington now have eight selections in the first six rounds of this year’s draft.<\/p>\n
Hedlund had been playing with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) and will report to Washington’s AHL affiliate Hershey Bears.<\/p>\n
Nycholat had played in 18 games since being called up from the Bears on December 23rd. The young defenseman from Calgary, Alberta had been playing more than twenty minutes per game but now that Washington’s injured have healed, he was an odd man out on defense. <\/p>\n
Dainius Zubrus could be a hot commodity tomorrow. Washington has not been able to reach a contract agreement with Zubie, and with him being an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and the Capitals being out of the playoffs, why not cut losses and try to land a young prospect? Zubrus should draw some interest as a twenty-plus goal scorer that is having a solid year; especially when slightly higher profile forwards have such ridiculous ‘asking’ prices. <\/p>\n
Also worth considering is that with Washington having a glut of draft picks in 2007, and being one of the few NHL teams with some cap room, they might be in the market at the deadline for players being unceremoniouisly shipped from their respective teams to save some money. If Washington can find a veteran blue-liner, or some depth at center, they could really help their 2007\/2008 roster.<\/p>\n
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Mark Solway<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"