Washington Capitals' Worst Trade Of The Past Year

Every trade that the Washington Capitals have made over the past year has impacted their NHL team, so there are quite a few interesting trades to choose from to determine the worst. The Capitals have actually gotten some good value out of their players and stocked up draft picks as they hope to come back stronger next season and not have to go through a long rebuild once Alex Ovechkin calls it a career.

That being said, there is one trade that the Capitals may want to have back. Their first deal of last offseason saw them move on from both of their young goalies, Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. Samsonov wasn't qualified while Vanecek's signing rights were traded to the New Jersey Devils where he has served as the starter for most of the season. Though his stats are slightly worse than Darcy Kuemper's this season, he also costs $1.85 million AAV less per season, isn't signed as long, and is five years younger.

The Capitals signed Kuemper coming off a high with a Stanley Cup win, so that hangover and likely regression was bound to happen. In terms of backups, Charlie Lindgren hasn't played very well with a sub-.900 save percentage. Vanecek may not be cut out to be a full-time starter just yet, but with Kuemper's missed time due to injury, Vanecek could have split starts, signed for a bit cheaper than he did with the Devils, and formed an effective tandem with Kuemper.