Washington Pierre-Luc Dubois From Los Angeles earlier this summer Connor McMichael The Capitals' center field Dylan Strom With McMichael firmly in the top spot, the Jets were among the teams to make inroads in pursuit of him, with Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reporting there were rumors the two sides had discussed a McMichael swap during the draft.
Winnipeg has tried several interior options to serve as the second centre. Mark Schaefer They moved their first-round pick to Montreal after things didn't go according to plan last season. Sean Monahan Monahan certainly helped stabilize the position in the days leading up to the trade deadline, but the Jets were unable to retain him as an unrestricted free agent and he ultimately signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with Columbus.
GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has not been able to fill the role since, and as things stand, he is using last season's internal option (Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov,Furthermore Adam Lawrie Players coming up from the third line remain options to play behind Schaeffele, so it's fair to say Winnipeg is still looking for reinforcements at center.
McMichael would be an interesting target in that regard. The 23-year-old was drafted by the Capitals in 2019 with the 25th overall pick in the first round. After spending most of the 2021-22 season in the NHL (when Winnipeg head coach Scott Arniel was an assistant in Washington), McMichael spent most of the 2022-23 season in the minor leagues with AHL Hershey before playing full-time with the Capitals last season. He appeared in 80 games with the Capitals, recording 18 goals and 15 assists in just under 16 minutes of playing time per game. However, he struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 42.4% of his draws.
McMichael, who has two years remaining on his $2.1 million bridge contract, would be a good fit for Winnipeg. The team currently has just over $5.8 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, and Perfetti is currently a restricted free agent. If he signs on a bridge deal, the team could acquire both players without having to take corresponding steps to free up cash.
That being said, McMichael would be a good fit in Winnipeg, but it's unclear why Washington would consider moving him. Dubois and his $8.5 million transfer fee would likely get more attention at centre than McMichael early on, but both players have experience playing on the wing in the NHL. There's a good chance head coach Spencer Carberry will place one of the two on the wing to allow both to play in the top six.
With the moves they made this summer, such as acquiring Dubois; Andrew Mangiapane, Jacob Chychrunand Matt RoyIt's fair to say that general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan envision the Capitals returning to the playoffs, so leaving McMichael off the roster at this point in the summer would go against that notion, even though they're well over the cap on paper right now. Nicklas Backstrom It is expected that you will remain in LTIR. TJ Oshie They could land there, which would allow them to stay in compliance and not necessarily have to free up cap space.
At the time of the draft, free agency was approaching and there were several centers on the open market, so a future-based return could have theoretically worked since he knew options to replace him would be readily available. Rutger McGroartyMcMichael, who has been the subject of trade speculation recently, may have been a good fit for the trade at the time, but those free agents have since moved on to other teams and there are no quality players left to replace McMichael, so it makes sense they would want an NHL-caliber asset instead, which could complicate things if talks are rekindled.
Needing to solve the No. 2 center position again, Cheveldayoff and the Jets are no doubt considering all options. While McMichael would have been an intriguing player at the time of the draft, they've likely shifted their focus elsewhere now that a move that includes him seems less feasible.
