NHL News

Washington: Expectations for Capitals forward Marcus Johansson will be high this season. On Friday, an arbitrator awarded him a one-year, $3.75 million contract. Johansson, taken by Washington with the 24th pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, scored a career-high 20 goals and 47 points last season. With center Nicklas Backstrom recovering from hip surgery, and the additions of Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie, the top-six forward group in Washington is in flux. Backstrom is expected to be ready for the season opener, but the Capitals are preparing for any possibility. That includes inserting Johansson, who turns 25 on Oct. 6, into a larger role. Johansson played top-six minutes and on the power play last season, and MacLellan said he envisions him in a similar role this season in addition to working on his two-way game. Johansson was one of two Capitals to file for arbitration. Goaltender Braden Holtby signed a five-year, $30.5 million contract after his July 23 arbitration hearing. Comparable players were easier to find in Johansson's case, and MacLellan said that made the process a bit easier than with Holtby, where finding an apples-to-apples comparison with age, experience and salary was tougher. MacLellan said the Capitals aren't planning on making any roster moves right now but haven't ruled out the possibility. With limited remaining space under the NHL salary cap, if Washington wanted to add a player, it would most likely be via trade. The Capitals are about $1.5 million under the salary cap, according to war-on-ice.com.


Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan: "It's going to be more competitive on the team this year, with a deeper top six, and you're going to have to play well and compete hard to keep your job just like everyone else. Hopefully it's a competitive environment and the whole team will benefit from it. Marcus could be a potential penalty-killer. We haven't used him [there] much, but the way he skates … we want him to evolve into a better all-around two-way player, and he has the potential to be offensive and be defensive, but he's a young guy and he's improving. We wanted to pursue a longer-term deal. There [were] differences from the get-go with the value we had on the player and in the marketplace. In our case, the negotiations kind of stalled at certain evaluation points and it didn't feel like it was moving forward. It [arbitration] was an effective tool to get deals done. We're exploring a couple things, but I would say we're done for now. We could fit a cheaper player in if we chose to right now; it's just a matter of what impact it does on players that we've chosen to play right now. We could possibly add, we could not."

2016 World Juniors Camp: Left wing Matthew Tkachuk is a regular chip off the old block. Tkachuk, son of former NHL player Keith Tkachuk and a potential top-five pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, had three goals and two assists for the United States white team in a 10-4 exhibition win against Sweden on Monday during USA Hockey's national junior evaluation camp at Lake Placid Olympic Center's 1980 Herb Brooks Arena. The camp will help determine the roster for the United States at the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland, to be played from Dec. 26, 2015, through Jan. 5, 2016. Matthew Tkachuk will play for London in the Ontario Hockey League this season.

"Tkachuk was our best player; he looked like his old man out there, who I coached previously," U.S. coach Ron Wilson said. "He did his dad proud. He looks like he's going to get to stay with us. He was one of the borderline calls [as one of the younger players] but he made up for it and we have no problem keeping him around."

Wilson said after the game he expects to trim the 39-player evaluation roster by seven forwards and three defensemen. Tkachuk, 17, scored a natural hat trick in the second period, including one while on his knees and poking at the puck from the slot. Tkachuk, who scored 38 goals and 96 points in 65 games for the United States National Junior Team, was all smiles when told that Wilson compared his style of play to his father.
"He has a long way to go with regard to his size (6-foot, 188 pounds), but he has a nose for the net and fights and claws and he's tenacious like his dad was. He scored a goal that reminded me just like his dad, on his knees, getting a rebound. That's a Keith Tkachuk goal."
Right wing Brock Boeser (Vancouver Canucks) scored three goals for the United States. Wilson said center Dylan Larkin, who was selected in the first round (No. 15) by the Detroit Red Wings at the 2014 NHL Draft, had his best effort in two scrimmages. Larkin, who had two assists as the center for Boeser, was considered by many to be the top forward for the United States at the 2015 WJC in Montreal and Toronto. U.S. right wing Anders Bjork (Boston Bruins) had two goals and one assist. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames) scored twice for Sweden.
"Up to this point, I don't think he had done as much as I would have hoped for but [on Monday] he was much better, He's the best player we have by reputation and by his work in other tournaments. He's very highly rated by USA Hockey, but he hadn't really brought it until [Monday] afternoon. I feel we will have good balance once we get both teams together. We're strong at center, especially on the white team. We have that checking center as well; you can't have a team that's all offense, and you have to have people in their roles. I think we've identified those people in their roles."