ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A couple of trades happened around the NHL in the early hours of free agency, featuring veteran defensemen changing places.
The Washington Capitals acquired Joel Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens for third- and seventh-round picks in the 2024 draft. Montreal is retaining half of Edmundson’s salary in the final year of his contract, which means Washington gets him at a bargain salary cap hit of $1.75 million.
The other move was the Dallas Stars trading Colin Miller to the New Jersey Devils for a fifth-round pick in 2025. Miller had an assist in 10 playoff games with Dallas.
Edmundson helped St. Louis win the Stanley Cup in 2019 and has been traded three times since. An injury limited him to 61 games last season with Montreal.
The 30-year-old gives the Capitals much-needed depth on their blue line after trading away Dmitry Orlov before the deadline this past season. Washington also signed winger Max Pacioretty, who's coming off tearing his right Achilles tendon twice during the past year.
Dallas re-signed defenseman Joel Hanley to a $1.58 million, two-year contract and added forward Craig Smith for $1 million for next season.
New Jersey re-signed a pair of young forwards: Michael McLeod for $1.4 million next season and Nathan Bastian for $2.7 million over two years.
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press