The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Brenden Dillon from the San Jose Sharks for a 2020 second round pick (originally acquired from Colorado) and a conditional 2021 third round pick. The Sharks have also agreed to retain 50 percent of his salary and the cap hit. Dillon has played in 59 games so far this season as he has scored one goal and had 13 assists (14 points). He is on pace for a third straight season with 20 points. Some interesting statistics about Dillon is his 51.70 shot attempt percentage (899 shot attempts for, 840 against), which ranked second among San Jose defensemen at five-on-five, led the Sharks in hits (178) - the ninth most in the NHL - and ranked fourth in blocked shots (67). This graph below shows how important Dillon is on the blue line:
As the graph shows, Dillon makes it more difficult for opposing offenses to get anything done in front of the goal when he's on the ice, which will be helpful for a struggling Capitals blueline. It could also help goalie Braden Holtby get out of his slump and also help improve Ilya Samsonov's game.
Another important number about Dillon is the 60 playoff games he has played in. He had helped the Sharks reach their first Stanley Cup Final appearance back in 2016, but has been a steady presence for the San Jose blue line since 2014-15. Dillon came into the league in 2011 as he first played for the Dallas Stars and has played in 588 games having scored 22 goals and racking up 92 assists.
There has been a lot of question marks about the Capitals blueline all season long and acquiring Dillon's services should help tremendously. He adds a lot of experience and is a steady presence, plus he is physical, something the team loves. There is a couple questions that will be asked and needed to be answered now that Dillon is in the fold. The first question is which line will Dillon play in? The second question is who will be the odd man out?
As for the line question, it might make some sense to play him on the first line with John Carlson as his experience and his left shot might pair well with Carlson's abilities and experience, plus it might also push Michal Kempny to another line as he deals with his struggles this season. It is also likely he could play on the second line with either Dmitry Orlov or Nick Jensen and pushing one of those two to the third line. It would probably be reasonable to assume that Dillon would pair better with Orlov as he seems to compliment Orlov's abilities and help Jensen pair better with another partner while he goes through his struggles.
Now the other question to answer is who is the odd man out? That question might be a little tougher to answer, however, to simplify it, it depends on the teams they play. It comes down to matching up against their opposition. There are three names that have been thrown out there about who might unfortunately be a healthy scratch on gamedays as it would either be Jensen, Radko Gudas, and Jonas Siegenthaler. Jensen would make a lot of sense because of his struggles, but his skill set could come useful against some opponents and also for the contract he has with the team now. Gudas is a physical player who comes in handy with the team's style of play, but his skill set lacks what is needed. Then, there is Jonas Siegenthaler, who has been playing well this season, but his lack of experience hurts him. It will be interesting whom head coach Todd Reirden sits on game days.
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