Caps take Kovalchuk without salary retention? Kings say yes immediately.

While you've got that cap space, you should totally claim Madison Bowey on waviers.

I like the Leafs trade. Smith-Pelley is an energetic, gritty, can still keep up with superstars type of player who Toronto needs in their lineup. Only change that I would make is changing the 4th to a 5th round pick

Bowey is a decent bottom-pairing defenseman. Kings would probably take him if it didn't cost them anything. They just wouldn't give up anything of value for him. If it doesn't work out they can just Scherbak him to Ontario.

He's certainly not any worse than Dion Phaneuf.

I only tossed Bowey (and Connolly) into the minors knowing someone would cry "you're over the salary cap" blah blah blah. And yes LAK should retain $$$ on Kolvie but I'm not the judge of what percentile is fair.

Maybe one of the worst AGM concepts yet.
- You cannot demote Connolly without still having to hit the salary against the Cap, so that's dumb.
- Bowey would be lost to waivers when he's going to yield something in trade or be developed by the Caps eventually.
- Kovy HAS NO PLACE ON THE CAPS....thank you drive thru.
- I hope this is a joke because even the lineup isnt' configured at all....

ugh.

That's been the question all season. Definitely somewhere between zero and fifty, though.

In their last dozen games, each has seven points. Burakovsky just turned 24 this week. Kovalchuk will be 36 in April. Each has a ten game pointless streak this year. Kovalchuk has mostly played pretty well, and has been healthier. Burakovsky got his wrist broken last Spring in the playoffs by a slash, but he seems to be healthy again.

I don't think retaining salary is enough to get Washington on board with this while Burakovsky and Kovalchuk are playing evenly, let alone to throw in a 2nd and last year's 2nd, on an ELC.

This post is by a Buffalo fan. The Caps will have a hard enough time in the conference finals without facing their own best clutch goal scorer, but nice try on playing it cool.