The Washington Capitals have had a strong start to their 2023-24 season and are hoping to ride that momentum into the playoffs after they missed the postseason last season. While they have had a surprisingly strong start to the new season, they have some small issues that will need to be dealt with if they want to become true contenders come the playoffs. One issue they’ve had this season is their defending and their lack of depth at the defense position. One player who stands out as a potential acquisition for the Capitals as he’s being underutilized with his current team is Nikolai Knyzhov.
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The Capitals are coming off a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights but have built up an impressive record of 12-7-2 and remain third in the Metropolitan Division at this point in the season. They have had some injury issues but have reacted accordingly up until this point, but they still have a small issue with their depth on the blue line. With Knyzhov being placed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks, this allows the Caps to capitalize on the team’s low asking price and give him a change of scenery. With that being said, here’s a brief breakdown of a potential target for the Caps.
Who Is Knyzhov & How Would He Help The Capitals?
Knyzhov is a 25-year-old left-shot defender from Kemerovo, Russia currently playing with the Sharks. He went undrafted and began his career in the Sharks organization during the 2019-20 season where he split the season between the San Jose Barracuda in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Sharks. In his first season with them, he spent 33 games with the Barracuda scoring one goal and adding four assists for five points, and had no points in three games with the Sharks.
Knyzhov hasn’t been able to find a full-time spot in the NHL partially due to injuries, but this season hasn’t been his greatest. In 81 career games in the NHL, Knyzhov has scored three goals and added nine assists but this season alone, he has one assist through ten games. While his offensive game hasn’t been great, he has been solid defensively on a team that has been historically bad this season.
With Jan Rutta making his return from injury, there is no room for Knyzhov according to the Sharks. He has been one of their strongest defenders overall so truly, this move makes absolutely no sense to me. He hasn’t been given much of an opportunity to shine with the Sharks and his small mistakes are punished so his confidence gets shot when he constantly gets scratched, so I think he would enjoy a change of scenery.
Acquiring Knyzhov would be a huge help for the Capitals and their depth. While he won’t beat out Rasmus Sandin or Joel Edmundson on the left side, he could beat out Trevor van Riemsdyk who hasn’t been great this season. He could also give the Capitals the option to run 11 forwards and seven defensemen during games if they wanted to change things up.
What Would It Cost The Capitals?
Knyzhov just cleared waivers, so if the Capitals wanted to bring him in it really wouldn’t take much. They should have grabbed him off of waivers, but all it would take in a trade is a mid-round draft pick, but with the Capitals tight to the salary cap it may take a bit more than that. Knyzhov has a $1.25 million cap hit that expires after next season, so it’s very affordable. Moving Nicolas Aube-Kubel and a fifth-round pick wouldn’t be an awful deal for both sides and is one the Capitals should try and do.
The Capitals have strong depth at forward and they can afford to make some roster moves if they move Aube-Kubel to the Sharks. The Sharks could even flip Aube-Kubel for even more assets before the trade deadline and allow him to play for a contender.
The Capitals are back in action Monday (Dec. 4) in a battle against the Arizona Coyotes and will be looking to continue their good start to the 2023-24 season. Darcy Kuemper is the expected starting goaltender and there aren’t expected to be many lineup changes. The Capitals have been a promising team this season, hopefully, they make the right moves to move into a successful position come the postseason.
