The Boston Bruins acquired defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals.
In exchange for Orlov and Hathaway, the Capitals will receive a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick, and forward Craig Smith. Washington will retain 50% of Orlov’s $5.1 million cap.
The Minnesota Wild will also retain 25% of Orlov’s salary and send the rights to former sixth-round pick Andrey Svetlakov to Boston in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick.
Orlov, 31, has been the Capitals’ blue-line regular for ten years and is now in the final year of his contract. In a disappointing year for Washington, Orlov still managed to be effective. The Capitals control 50.83% of expected goals with Orlov on the ice at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat’s gimmick, and he can contribute offensively.
Orlov has three goals and 19 points in 43 games this season. During his NHL career, Orlov scored 60 goals and made 196 assists in 686 games.
Orlov was forced to take on a heavy workload in Washington, especially as John Carlson missed significant time through injury. The Bruins already had a strong blue line with players like Charlie McAvoy, Hempus Lindholm and Matt Grzelczyk eating big minutes. This means that Orlov should get more favorable matches by playing easier minutes in Boston.
Hathaway, who has nine goals and seven assists this season, will give the Bruins an opportunity to finish in the bottom six. Hathaway hasn’t scored a single point in his last five games, so perhaps a better-fitting role in Boston could help kickstart him.
The Capitals have plummeted in the Eastern Conference standings lately, and their playoff chances look worse and worse every day. With Orlov and Hathaway on free agents, Washington decided to trade them in for draft capital to help the team reboot around its current core of veterans.
Source: www.cbssports.com
