NHL Draft 2018: 5 moves we totally loved

2. Capitals and Avalanche Steal The Show

The first-round of the NHL Draft 2018 didn’t see many trades. In fact, the most surprising move of the night happened before the draft even started. The Washington Capitals were shopping goaltender Philipp Grubauer.

With Islanders’ president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello being no stranger to trading first-round picks for goalies, everyone assumed that’s where Grubauer would go.

We were all wrong. The Capitals surprised everyone by trading him to the Colorado Avalanche, along with defenseman Brooks Orpik, for a second-round pick.

On Saturday, the Avs signed Grubauer to a three-year deal worth $10 million total and placed  Orpik on waivers with the intention of buying out his deal.

This is an example of a trade that makes so much sense for both sides. The Capitals got to clear some much-needed cap space. And even though Washington got a better offer from the Carolina Hurricanes, they were able to trade their goalie out of the Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche were able to get their potential goalie of the future. That’s important because goaltender Semyon Varlamov (coincidentally another former Capitals goalie) is a free agent after the 2018-19 season.

With their extra cap space, the Capitals should be able to re-sign most of their free agents, including star defenseman John Carlson.