PITTSBURGH -- The Penguins’ already battered blue line has suffered another blow.
Trevor Daley will miss Game 6 with a lower body injury, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Monday morning.
Daley did not participate in the morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. Sullivan said the veteran puck-moving defenseman is day-to-day.
Daley only played 11:09 in the Caps’ 4-2 victory on Saturday night in Washington. He was run over by Caps bruiser Tom Wilson early in the game, then left the contest early in the third period.
The top candidates to replace Daley are Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Streit. Neither has suited up for a game this spring.
The loss is potentially a significant one for the Penguins’ back end, which is now without two key puck movers. Pittsburgh entered the playoffs without No. 1 defenseman Kris Letang, who underwent season-ending neck surgery last month.
Daley has one point in 10 postseason games for the Penguins. He averages 18:27 per contest.
The Caps made seven selections in the 2018 Draft this weekend. The group featured three defensemen, three forwards and a goalie. Interestingly, a couple of the picks have fathers who enjoyed lengthy NHL careers.
Meet the newest prospects:
1st round, 31st overall: D Alexander Alexeyev, WHL, 6'4", 196 pounds
The Caps' first first-round pick sine 2016, Alexeyev is a smart two-way defenseman with good size.
Alexander Alexeyev’s teammates in Russia nicknamed him “poker face” because of his poise with the puck. And, yeah, he asked Alex Ovechkin about the fountain celebration during their FaceTime conversation yesterday. Haha. #ALLCAPSpic.twitter.com/iVguNmidFq
Good size. Smart. Skilled. Versatile. #ALLCAPS Assistant GM Ross Mahoney says there’s a lot to like about first rounder Alexander Alexeyev. pic.twitter.com/g0KkYPCHpz
2nd round, 46th overall (from Florida, via New Jersey): D Martin Fehervary, Allsvenskan (Sweden), 6'2", 194 pounds
A physical style defenseman who is very strong in his own end, but does not have much offensive upside. Sort of a throwback style of play which makes him a surprise pick this high.
Kody Clark boasts an NHL pedigree as the son of Wendel Clark, a first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs who recorded 330 goals and 564 career points in 763 NHL games.
Extremely honoured to be drafted by such a great organization! I am so excited to be apart of the @capitals! Many thanks to my Family/Billets Coaches, teammates and friends who have helped me achieve this milestone in my career. @Ottawa67sHockey@NHL@sachockeypic.twitter.com/hsEGKrvcX8
Wendel Clark was mowing the lawn at his Muskoka cottage when son Kody came running outside to tell dad he'd been picked No. 47 by Stanley Cup-champion #caps. "It's more exciting than when I was picked (1st overall, #leafs, '85)," Wendel said. "It's part of being a dad." #tmltalk
“Watching both of those young men play, they do a lot of the little things properly.” — #ALLCAPS Assistant GM Ross Mahoney on Kody Clark and Riley Sutter, both the sons of longtime NHLers (Wendel Clark and Ron Sutter). pic.twitter.com/aK9d1FnJvB
Riley is a power forward who played alongside Caps prospect Garrett Pilon on the Everett Silvertips in the WHL and recorded 53 points in 68 games last season.
A Harvard commit, Gibson posted a 1.59 GAA and .935 save percentage in the NAHL last season.
Gibson is a Harvard commit from the Philly suburbs. He joked that he'll know his way around KCI at Dev Camp next week, having played for Valley Forge, Team Comcast, etc. in the @AYHL. So he faced the @LittleCapitals a lot.
6th round, 161st overall (from Vancouver): D Alex Kannok-Leipert, WHL, 5'11", 194 pounds
The Caps certainly saw something they liked in Kannok-Leipert as they traded up from 186 to get him. That pick, along with a sixth-round pick in 2019, went to Vancouver.
7th round, 217th overall: F Eric Florchuk, WHL, 6'2", 174 pounds
Florchuk was taken with the last pick of the draft.
DALLAS—The Caps are “really close” to signing star defenseman John Carlson to a long-term extension, GM Brian MacLellan said Friday night.
“We’re getting closer,” MacLellan said following the first round of the NHL Draft. “Hopefully we can get it done here over the next few days. We’re really close.”
Earlier in the day, the Caps cleared significant space under the salary cap ceiling by trading Philipp Grubauer and Brooks Orpik to Colorado for a second round draft pick (47th overall).
That space will now be used to lock up Carlson, who could become the best defenseman on the open market if he were to reach it.
MacLellan met with Carlson’s agent, Rick Curran, here on Thursday night.
MacLellan did not divulge any figures, but it’s expected that Carlson’s new contract could come in at eight years and $8 million per—or perhaps a bit more.
He earned $4 million last season.
Carlson had a career year in 2017-18 and was critical during the Caps' run to the Stanley Cup. He led all defensemen in the regular season with 68 points (15 goals, 53 assists). The 28-year-old also skated a career-high 24:47 per game.
MacLellan has long said that re-signing Carlson was the Caps’ top priority this offseason. And now it looks like that could happen within days, assuming the talks do not hit any snags.
“We’re going to do our best to sign John,” MacLellan said. “We’ve said it all along. We waited until the end of the year. We’ve had discussions. We’re close and hopefully we can close the deal here over the next 24 hours.”
“Hopefully we can close the deal here over the next 24 hours.” #ALLCAPS GM Brian MacLellan on negotiations with pending UFA John Carlson. pic.twitter.com/dr2v2QExWW
