The thought alone of Panarin and Alex Ovechkin playing for the same team is enough for hockey fans to get on board with this one. Then you consider that Ovechkin’s retirement is getting close, and it could make sense for Panarin to join the Capitals as a goal-scoring veteran presence.
Plus, the Capitals have a rare combination of prospects with a decent amount of cap space (more than $12 million) and a first-rounder to surrender. They’ve also got plenty of enticing younger players under contract.
Still, the Capitals have had an interesting season that hasn’t quite convinced us they’ll even make the playoffs, let alone make a deep run. Maybe they’ve got that cap space, those young players, and those first-round picks for a reason, and maybe they should hang on to them right now with an inconsistent product on the ice this year.
