Caps pass. They aren't spending a 1st on a below average defender, especially a left handed one, where they are stacked (Gus, Orlov, Fehervary, Alexeyev)/

Actually Dadanov has value just basically none , there's a difference.
Drouin says he'll be back after the All Star break that will give him a few weeks to re-asset himself as he was playing well before his most recent injury. Wont get much but someone will roll the dice.

Monahan im most confused about as there's literally every source on every network saying not only is their interest , there's a lot of it.
Whether or not he's ready in 2 weeks or 2 months as long as he's ready for the playoffs there will be teams calling just like Kimo Timonen in 2015 on his Stanley Cup run with Chicago Blackhawks where he was key in filling the void left behind after Leddy was moved and Rozinval had trouble maintaining Solo into the playoffs . CHI paid a high price for him too even if the 1st PHI coveted was lost due to delays they still yielded two 2nd round picks 52nd and 61st OA pick for a player who had to be traded on LTIR in hopes of being ready for the Playoffs.

Not the only example either but the funniest one i like was Hanzal who was always on IR or LTIR got injured before the TDL.
MIN shelled out 1st , 2nd ,4th round pick with a AHL Prospect for him anyways just for him to end up back on LTIR for the season.
Despite all that MIN was 1/6 teams in on Hanzal IR , LTIR or not they decided it was worth the gamble.

Monahan unlike Caufield or Slafkovsky isnt off getting surgery
Instead he's making sure he's well rest for a playoff run after having a good 3 month return after 2 surgery's he had to tap out before he hurt himself seriously.
Not 6 weeks later he's back on the ice slowly working his way back to game ready after doing the appropriate Rehab to ensure longevity .
This is not something you go through if you need surgery especially if you want to see a playoff as you're doing rehab to go to surgery to then do the rehab again effectively wasting your entire seasons.
In a Contract year the smart money is on Monahan nipping it in the bud early if Surgery was required.


Not to nit pick but Caufields on LTIR he's done for the season as is Gallagher.
Slafkovsky and Ghule i get including as they're return in a month or so
So there's 6.5 m in cap that could be weaponized in a deal with NYI , DET or any number of teams with players they want gone who fit here.
Bailey's been linked here before but Vrana would be a big help with Slafkovsky and MTL might be able to offload Armia for a profit in a deal for him
If we could rebound either's value that gives us an out this year if our value takes as bad of a hit as you're suggesting here to the extent MTL could taken on both for a fee and still have 12m cap or more

Washington already has Orlov, Fehervary, Gustafsson, Van Riemsdyk, Alexeyev, and Irwin who can all play the left side better. No way is MacLellan, who has not wanted to move 1st rounders since 2020, going to suddenly cough up a 1st for a guy who; by both the eye test and analytics, is this bad at defense

I initially thought this might be a good idea because it would behoove the Caps to add a defender with size (for a playoff run possibly) but he seems to injure his back every two months or so. He is a risk health wise and would be one next year too. Plus, Fehervary would have to sit and that would be a no no.