I'd really hate to get rid of both Djoos and Gudas as that would necessitate playing a rookie or AHL guy which isn't ideal, but at this point the Caps are gonna have enough guys in Hershey (AA, MF, and LuJo) that are at least borderline ready so they can just keep rotating rookies in and out till they find the one who works best.

The trade values above seem fair... but maybe just go for any one or two out of the three? Trading Gudas for a 2nd plus something, or Djoos for a 3rd plus something? Great. Doing both? Whoops.

Which one to keep depends whether you're thinking short term or long term. Gudas has peaked and is what he is, and that's a tough, mean #4 defenseman with as much skill as Kempny or Jensen. Djoos has top-pair offensive potential (finished last year with 7 even strength points in 18 games--a 31 point pace) but so far he's a #6. I'm guessing they keep Gudas around, and look at trading Djoos to a team that's thinking longer term. Then they can call up a prospect or try to sign a low-priced UFA. Hutton at 1M would be such a steal, but I'm not sure how many other available UFAs are better than Alexeyve/Fehervary/Nardella, etc.

I have a feeling they might even extend Gudas if he is gelling well on the defense. We don't have RD depth, and if we don't re-sign Gudas, we'll have to find a RD in free agency or a trade in 2020. It seems the more likely route is that they just extend Gudas, and also draft a RD early next year.