Capitals expected to deal one of their goalies this summer

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Joshua Deeds
June 25, 2022 (3:47 PM)

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The Washington Capitals have a good problem, they have two good goalies but the problem is they both are RFA's, coming up in 2022-2023.

Samsonov currently has arbitration rights, if the Capitals don't end up moving him. His GAA is 3.02 and SV% is .896 if you're the stats nerd like I am, adding more context to his performance this season.

«We have two good goalies. When you have two good goalies, no matter which way I go with our goaltending, it's a good choice because they've both played very well this year.

Vitek Vanacek also had a good season, ending the playoffs with a 2.67 GAA and SV% of .908, obviously a better season than his counterpart.

His best stretch of hockey was in January, where he posted a .944 SV% until he was injured by a post. Unlike Samsonov, Vanacek has been a reliable goaltender in the crease. Despite this, Vanacek only played one playoff game against the Florida Panthers, where he gave up 5 goals and a .863 SV%.

So Brian McClellan will have to take a deep look at their career stats and cap hits and consider whose more likely to be 1B to whomever they bring it, whether it's Sergei Bobrovsky or Braden Holtby.

Vanacek's current cap hit is:

$716,667
STANDARD CONTRACT
Vitek Vanecek signed a 3 year, $2,150,000 contract with the Washington Capitals on Jul. 1, 2019. The contract has a cap hit of $716,667.

Let's take a look a Samsonov's cap:

$2,000,000
Ilya Samsonov signed a 1 year, $2,000,000 contract with the Washington Capitals on Aug. 9, 2021. The contract has a cap hit of $2,000,000.

Honestly, it seems like the best move would be to move Samsonov and try to give him a change of scenery.