I don’t hate the move. I think Leason could end up being a solid 3rd line guy in the future and hopefully Valimaki would turn out to be a really good bottom pair defenseman. Our defensive depth is really lacking so this is the type of depth move the caps should be considering.

Leason will have a tough time cracking the caps lineup fulltime so a trade for a better young dman I could see happening. I do believe Brett has some value and could make an impact on some other team, just not a good time for him at the moment in DC.

Valimaki still has good top 4 potential, he just had injury setbacks and got on Sutter's bad side

TBH I don't know much about Valimaki but from my brief knowledge I'm fine with the swap. I'm a little lower on Leason than most I think -- he's not a change of scenery guy imo, but his ceiling is just being a checking 3w but more likely a 4w who can do a little spot duty up the lineup in an emergency. This is the most open the caps' forward lineup has been since like 2007, and he's definitely behind Snively, Protas, AJF, Malenstyn in the pecking order IMO. Could definitely play 4w next year, but I would feel like there would be an internal option for CGY

Looking at this again, Brett Leason may not be an upgrade over Trevor Lewis, Walker Duehr, Cole Schwindt or Adam Klapka who we've already got

While he's not an upgrade to Lewis, he is absolutely an upgrade on Duehr, Schwindt and Klapka, and brings far less risk with already playing 36 NHL games and showing he can be quite handy on a team's bottom 6. While I can't see Washington doing this as I think they would rather take the risk of losing him to waivers, if they were to make a trade Calgary should be all over it as it brings very little risk and decent reward.

I don't see why not. Lewis will probably retire after this season and I don't see Duehr or Klapka as high potential prospects. Schwindt I could see being better. To me Leason at the very least provides competition in that role and at most provides some solid depth moving forward

The basis for Washington doing this swap is to add much needed defense depth while avoiding loosing Leason to waivers. It's a win - win for both sides as it addresses both teams needs

I know, just thinking MacLellan is quite stubborn when it comes to trading people that probably need to be traded, and that I think he'll likely attempt to let Leason clear waivers instead of doing the logical thing and dealing him while you can still get value for the guy. Hell I'm still shocked they actually traded Stephenson at the time of the trade with how stubborn they are about letting go when the time is right, in fact I think Leason could be another Stephenson situation where he needs to leave DC in order to become the player he is now.

I see the same thing with Valimaki. The guy still has very good potential and isn't all hindered by his physical stature or anything. It just sucks that he lost so much development time due to injuries and then was passed last year by a determined Kylington.

Agreed! Good Points, Good Convo! I think I probably delivered Flyers to Leason's Dad Darryl when he was Brett's age and playing in Regina for the Rams Football Team, very likely before they became a University Team and were still part of the Prairie Junior Football League. Darryl and Michael Leason were Football Legends when I was around 10-12 years old growing up in Regina lol