The Blue Jackets have put themselves in a tricky spot after re-signing Adam Fantilli earlier this week, but GM Don Waddell says the club doesn’t expect to lean on LTIR to get back under the cap.
Fantilli’s new six-year deal, worth $13.75MM per season, pushed Columbus over the salary cap. That kind of overage is usually the sort of thing teams clean up with LTIR placements, but Waddell told reporters including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that he doesn’t believe the Blue Jackets will need to go that route when it comes time to submit their season-opening roster. Whether that means Columbus will ice a smaller opening roster or has moves in the works to trim payroll is still unclear, and it’s something to watch ahead of Monday’s roster deadline.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division, Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves is dealing with a lower-body injury, the team announced. He’s scheduled for further evaluation to determine how serious it is.
Graves has had a rough go since arriving in Pittsburgh in 2023 and has gone through waivers multiple times. He was probably headed for the waiver wire again in the next couple of days, but the injury has put that on hold for now.
Last season, Graves managed just one point, a goal, in 22 games with Pittsburgh, and his $4.5MM cap hit runs through 2028-29.
In Philadelphia, goaltender Daniel Vladar was back on the ice taking shots as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury, according to Siobhan Nolan of The Hockey News. Vladar was hurt earlier this week in a preseason game, but head coach Rick Tocchet sounded cautiously optimistic that he could be ready for Wednesday’s opener. Vladar was a major piece of Philadelphia’s success last season, finishing with a 2.42 GAA and a .906 SV% in 52 appearances.
The Capitals made a batch of roster moves, recalling forwards Tyler Kopff, Petr Sikora, and Alexander Suzdalev along with defenseman Jon McDonald from AHL Hershey. All four were recently cut, but they’ll get one more preseason game to make their case. Washington also announced that veteran defenseman Justin Holl will go on waivers later today, a move that strongly suggests Dylan McIlrath has locked down the number seven spot to open the season.
In Other News...
Capitals Win Offered Their Clearest Look Yet At One Crucial Change
The Capitals got a late preseason test against Boston and used it to sharpen one of the biggest questions facing the team: how quickly a revamped power play can come together under new coach Ray Bennett. In a 3-2 overtime win in their second-to-last exhibition game, Washington mixed and matched line combinations while looking for the right chemistry, and the unit stood out as the most encouraging part of the night.
There was also a chance to see how the group would function with Alexander Ovechkin unavailable because of a lower-body injury, which pushed Ethen Frank into a featured role on the top power-play unit. The looks were different, the urgency was obvious and the results were there, even if the final preseason tune-up still leaves one bigger question hanging over the group heading into opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Suddenly Face A Dylan Larkin Question They Can't Ignore
The trade market around Dylan Larkin has widened enough to put a handful of contenders back on alert, and Washington is now part of the conversation. What began as a short list of preferred destinations has grown, with reports saying the Detroit captain would now consider several more teams, a development that immediately matters to clubs looking for a center upgrade and to rivals trying to gauge whether there is any realistic path to a deal.
For the Capitals, the fit is at least worth monitoring, even if the hurdles are obvious. Detroit interim GM Shawn Horcoff is still sorting through possibilities, but cap space, protected contracts and thin trade assets have already made this a difficult puzzle across the league. Until a cleaner framework emerges, Washington remains one of the names attached to the situation without much clarity on how the pieces would actually come together. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Get An Encouraging Owen Zellweger Injury Update
Alexander Ovechkin will sit out Washingtons final two preseason games as he works back from a lower-body injury, a cautious move for a veteran captain whose importance to the Capitals hardly needs explaining. The timing is manageable for the team, which still expects him to be ready when the games start to count, but it does trim away two more opportunities for the group to build chemistry with its most recognizable face on the ice.
For the Capitals, the bigger takeaway is less about the preseason scorelines and more about keeping Ovechkin on track after a brief setback. The injuries piling up around the league have already touched other familiar names, including Dylan Larkin and Jacob Bernard-Docker in Detroit and Justin Brazeau in Pittsburgh, while Buffalo got encouraging news on Owen Zellwegers concussion recovery. Washingtons focus now is simply on getting through the last tune-up games cleanly and making sure its captain is ready when the opener arrives. [Read more 🡒]