Who adds what?
Joined: Jul. 2017
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Orpik is a bit overpaid, but his contract ends before the Caps have to negotiate with Ovechkin or Backstrom, and the salary cap is going up enough that they can decide whether to sign or trade John Carlson by the deadline, on his own merits, without overpaying to dump Orpik's contract.
Orpik for Schenn might be fine, if the Coyotes need Orpik's leadership, toughness, penalty killing, nastiness, hitting, shot blocking, or the defense that put him in the top ten of the league in plus/minus last year. I think the Caps would downgrade to Schenn to get all their ducks in a row in terms of lefties vs. righties and the extra salary cap space to add another forward for a playoff run.
But the Caps have won a playoff round in each of the three seasons they've had Orpik, and he's been a part of each one. They've had hall of famers before, but never had three straight years of getting out of the first round. Orpik and Niskannen have been a solid, if unamazing, investment. They might even lead the Caps to another President's trophy, and they seem like good guys to have around in the playoffs.
A reporter asked Brian MacLellan last summer if he considered buying Orpik out instead of trading Johanson, and he laughed, and said, "no, I don't think we considered that."