Capitals assistant coach Reid Cashman will be leaving Washington to become the head coach at Dartmouth, the Caps announced Monday. The news was first reported by ESPN's John Buccigross.

Sources indicate @Capitals assistant Reid Cashman has emerged as favorite to get Dartmouth Hockey Head Coaching job. Announcement should be soon. He would be a great hire. Cashman was an excellent player and coach at Quinnipiac pic.twitter.com/srx4e3cthd

— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) June 1, 2020

"The Washington Capitals congratulate Reid Cashman on being named the head coach of Dartmouth College men’s hockey team," a statement from the team read. "We appreciate his tireless work ethic and contributions to the organization over the past four seasons, both with the Capitals and the Hershey Bears, working with the organization’s defensemen. Cashman will remain in his capacity as an assistant coach for the remainder of the season before joining Dartmouth."

The 2019-20 season was Cashman's second behind the bench in Washington where he coached primarily the team's defensemen. After his playing career, Cashman returned to his alma mater, Quinnipiac, as an assistant coach for three seasons and an additional two as associate coach. He then was hired in Hershey as an assistant coach for two years before joining Todd Reirden's staff in Washington.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE CAPITALS TALK PODCAST

Cashman had some big shoes to fill by when he came to Washington as he, ironically enough, had to replace Reirden as the team's defensive coach. Reirden had helped coach the defense to a Stanley Cup as a member of Barry Trotz's staff in 2018. Washington's goals against per game in the last two seasons was 3.02 and 3.07, both of which were higher than any of the four seasons with Reirden coaching the defense under Trotz.

Cashman will remain with the Caps through the 2020 postseason, according to the team's statement.

Stay connected to the Capitals and Wizards with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.

MORE CAPITALS NEWS:

• MacLellan on 2020 Cup: No asterisk 
• Ever Wonder: Why 3 stars on Caps jersey?
• 'Black Ace': Could McMichael be called up?

Trending Now

1:53

Coaches' Roundtable: DMV coaches share best advice given

1:10

Washington football will change name from Redskins

0:36

Nationals show off their World Series rings

55:31

Race in America: Natasha Cloud, Mike Locksley, Ian Mahinmi

0:55

Nats GM Mike Rizzo says they won't put players in jeopardy

The Capitals will play the Carolina Hurricanes at 4 p.m. on July 29 in each team's lone exhibition game before beginning the 2020 postseason, the league announced Tuesday.

The exhibition game will be played in the hub city of Toronto. Teams are scheduled to travel to their hub cities on July 26. Each of the 24 teams in the postseason will play one exhibition game before the postseason officially begins on Aug 1.

RELATED: CAPS RELEASE PHASE 3 ROSTER

As the final seeding for the top-four seeds is not yet set, the Caps and Hurricanes could see each other again soon. It is possible for these two teams to play in the first round of the playoffs depending on where Washington finishes in the round robin and if Carolina defeats the New York Rangers in a best-of-five series in the qualifying round.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE CAPITALS TALK PODCAST

Here is the full exhibition schedule:

Hockey. In July.

12 exhibition games are on the schedule later this month ahead of the #StanleyCup Qualifiers. https://t.co/64XfKl1jJy pic.twitter.com/ApuIKYP2M2

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) July 14, 2020

The broadcast information has not yet been announced.

In addition, the NHL has also set the start time for Washington's first round robin game. The Caps will play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 3 at 4 p.m. The start times for Washington's remaining two games have not yet been set.

Stay connected to the Capitals with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.

MORE CAPITALS NEWS:

• Eller: Why he intends to leave bubble 
• Dillon: Open to re-signing with Caps
• 7 things: What to watch in round-robin

Trending Now

1:53

Coaches' Roundtable: DMV coaches share best advice given

1:10

Washington football will change name from Redskins

0:36

Nationals show off their World Series rings

55:31

Race in America: Natasha Cloud, Mike Locksley, Ian Mahinmi

0:55

Nats GM Mike Rizzo says they won't put players in jeopardy

With a training camp in July, a delayed postseason, an abbreviated offseason, a flat salary cap all in the midst of a pandemic, the future is uncertain for pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Brenden Dillon. While not much is known right now, there is one thing he does know and that is that he really likes it in Washington.

"I'm happy with being a Washington Capital," Dillon said. "From Day 1 when I came here in the trade, they've made me feel right at home. I think the system, the way we play from the D-core on, I feel a big part of things here."

Dillon was with the San Jose Sharks since 2014 before he was traded. The reality that he would most likely be playing somewhere else in 2020-21 came to a head when the Sharks bottomed-out and sold him at the trade deadline to Washington. Now, his future is uncertain.

RELATED: CAPS RELEASE PHASE 3 ROSTER

At 29 years old, the next contract was likely going to be Dillon's last big one. He is on the last year of a five-year contract that carries a cap hit of $3.27 million per year. In a normal offseason, he likely would have sought another long-term deal with a raise. This, however, will not be a normal offseason and it is suddenly unclear what kind of money players will be able to get on the open market.

Dillon said he is trying not to concern himself with the uncertainty of free agency.

"I've had so much other things I've been worried about," he said. "Just the world in general and touching base with family and friends and everything."

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE CAPITALS TALK PODCAST

Dillon has played primarily on the top pair with John Carlson since he was brought in. Though the pandemic has limited him to just 10 games of action with the Caps, both sides seem to have left a favorable impression. When asked about his future, Dillon indicated he would be open to re-signing.

"The kind of mutual talks amongst my agent and [general manager Brian MacLellan], those things are confidential with them," Dillon said. "But for me as a player and being part of the Caps, it's been awesome and hopefully can be here."

Though he fits in nicely as a top-four defenseman, re-signing him would add another body into a logjam of left-shooting defensemen within the franchise.

Dmitry Orlov, Michal Kempny, Jonas Siegenthaler, Marin Fehervary and Alex Alexeyev are all left defensemen and all but Siegenthaler are under contract beyond this season. Siegenthaler is a restricted free agent who will almost certainly be re-signed. Re-signing Dillon exacerbates the issue, but top-four defensemen are hard to find and if a proven player like Dillon is interested in re-signing, that is hard to pass up if you can get the numbers to work.

The possibility of there being interest in Dillon returning to Washington beyond this season adds to the importance of the 2020 postseason. This may not just be a quest for the Cup, but an audition for those left defensemen to see who the team may want to keep for the future.

"For a lot of us going into this free agency, there's going to be a lot of questions from not just the players' side, but the team side and the planning that goes into these things," Dillon said. "That's above my pay grade and I'll kind of cross that bridge when I get there."

Stay connected to the Capitals with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.

MORE CAPITALS NEWS:

• Eller: Why he intends to leave bubble 
• Phase 3: Capitals release roster
• 7 things: What to watch in round-robin