The Capitals made a major move as they traded forward Chandler Stephenson to the Vegas Golden Knights for a fifth round draft pick in 2021. The trade was made purely for cap space reasons as they had to find a way to bring Carl Hagelin and Nicklas Backstrom back from injuries. In the case for Hagelin, the Capitals needed $2.75 Million to activate Hagelin off the long-term injured reserve and at the time of the move, they only had $2.65 available.
In 24 games at the point of the trade, Stephenson had scored three goals and assisted one score for four points. He also had a +5 rating in those contests. Stephenson had signed a one-year, $1.05 Million contract during the offseason. He will be a restricted free agent on July 1 this year. The Capitals will have a chance to try and sign him this offseason, but that will seem unlikely with the upcoming contract negotiations with Braden Holtby. Stephenson had been seen as a likely trade candidate and an opportunity arose when Vegas needed forward depth, plus with Travis Boyd's emergence, he had become expendable.
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