Capitals trade Siegenthaler, clear cap space on eve of NHL trade deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals traded defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. The pick is originally from Arizona.
General manager Brian MacLellan traded up in the second round of the 2015 draft to acquire Siegenthaler. After playing 26 games for the Caps in 2018-19, Siegenthaler took on a larger role in the 2019 postseason after an injury to Michal Kempny and saw his playing time increase by almost two minutes. He followed that up with 64 games in the 2019-20 season. With the addition of Zdeno Chara for 2021 however, Siegenthaler has struggled to see ice time and has played in just seven games this season.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
Left defense is an area of surplus for the Caps with Chara, Dmitry Orlov and Brenden Dillon all on the active roster along with Siegenthaler. In addition, the team also has prospects Alex Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary who seem to be nearing the point where they could compete for NHL ice time and Michal Kempny on long-term injured reserve.
What the Caps do not have enough of, however, is draft picks and cap space.
With the trade, the Caps now have seven picks in the 2021 draft and one in each of the first three rounds. Siegenthaler was also on the active roster so the move frees up $800,000 worth of cap space on the eve of Monday's 3 p.m. trade deadline. With Richard Panik reassigned to the taxi squad on Thursday, the Caps have now freed up $1.875 million worth of cap space to use should MacLellan wish to bolster the roster.
