Capitals Make Big Trade & Acquire Defenseman From Canadiens

Instead of dipping into the free agent market for defensemen, the Washington Capitals decided to go the trade route to bolster their left side by acquiring Joel Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens. Heading back to the Canadiens is a third and a seventh round pick in 2024.

Full trade, per sources:

To #AllCaps: D Joel Edmundson
To #GoHabsGo: 3rd Rd Pick, 7th Rd Pick@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2023

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Canadiens retain 50 percent of the contract ($1.75 million AAV). Edmundson has one final year left on his contract. You had to think something was coming for Montreal fairly soon with the amount of young defensemen on the team and in the system looking for chances. It doesn't appear like the Canadiens are going for the playoffs just yet, so getting a bit of assets and opening space for another defenseman to play every night is a smart move.

On the Capitals' end, they get a second or good third pairing defenseman in Edmundson to bolster a young back-end. Before acquiring the veteran, the Capitals had three 23-year-olds and that puts a lot of pressure on them, even if they have potential. Edmundson will likely be flipped up and down with Rasmus Sandin to find the best fit with the right shot defensemen. Alexander Alexeyev will likely still be with the team, but might not get as much playing time as expected. This is a good move for both teams.