The Washington Capitals’ acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois from Los Angeles this summer impacted Connor McMichael’s position on the team.
This move pushed McMichael down the center depth chart, with Dylan Strome holding the top spot. The Jets showed interest in McMichael, and there were talks during the draft about a potential trade for him.
Winnipeg tried various internal options last season to fill their second center position behind Mark Scheifele. When those didn’t work out, they traded a first-round pick to Montreal for Sean Monahan just before the trade deadline. Although Monahan helped stabilize the team, he signed a five-year, $27.5M contract with Columbus in free agency.
Winnipeg’s Search for a Second Center:
Since then, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t filled that role. So, they’re looking at last season’s internal options like Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov, and even Adam Lowry moving up from the third line. Fans might think it’s time to bring in new talent instead of relying on old faces.
McMichael could be an interesting choice for Winnipeg. Drafted 25th overall by Washington in 2019, he spent most of 2021-22 in the NHL and then played mainly in AHL Hershey during 2022-23 before returning full-time last season. He played 80 games with 18 goals and 15 assists but struggled at faceoffs with only a 42.4% win rate.
With two years left on his $2.1M bridge deal and Winnipeg having over $5.8M in cap space according to PuckPedia, McMichael could fit financially if they also sign Perfetti to a bridge deal without needing other moves to clear money.
However, it’s unclear why Washington would trade him now. While Dubois has an $8.5M price tag and takes precedence over McMichael as center, both players have experience playing on the wing too—meaning Spencer Carbery could use them both in top-six roles.
Capitals’ Playoff Aspirations:
Washington made several moves this summer by bringing in Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun, and Matt Roy—showing GM Chris Patrick and Director of Hockey Operations Brian MacLellan aim for playoffs again . Trading away McMichael doesn’t align with that goal right now since Nicklas Backstrom is expected to stay on LTIR while T.J Oshie might join him soon—helping them comply with cap space rules without needing further adjustments.
During draft time when free agency was near—with many centers available—a futures-based return could have worked theoretically (Rutger McGroarty being speculated). But those free agents found teams elsewhere leaving no good replacement left for McMichael; hence any rekindled discussions would likely need an NHL-level asset complicating things further!
With their second-center issue still unresolved though—it seems Cheveldayoff & Jets are exploring all possible options again after missing out earlier drafts involving potential moves around players like Connor himself!
What do you think? Should Winnipeg keep looking or stick with what they have?
