Fleischmann out for at least one month
Capitals forward Michael Nylander said on Sunday that his representatives are not negotiating a new contract with clubs in Europe.
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Caps general manager George McPhee made that claim at the team’s Media Day on Saturday, which marked the start of training camp. But Nylander, a 36-year-old center, says he is here to play hockey.
“No,” Nylander said when he was asked if a deal with a European club was in the works. “I’m coming here with the intention to play for the Capitals. I have two years left on my deal.”
And that’s the crux of the matter. Nylander played in 72 games last year at center for the Caps, but appeared in just two playoff games before becoming a healthy scratch. His salary-cap hit is $4.875 million this year and next year, however. And that money is a burden to a team that will be close to the NHL’s salary-cap ceiling — especially if Nylander doesn’t play regularly or doesn’t produce.
McPhee has said it is too expensive to buy out the remaining two years of Nylander’s deal. But it also will be hard to trade him to another NHL team because of his salary. So what happens if he has to start the season in Washington, but without any guarantee about ice time?
“If that occurs in the future I cannot control that anyway,” Nylander said. “So that’s the future. We’ll see what it will tell. But as of now I’m looking forward for the season to start.”
Fleischmann diagnosed with blood clot
Caps forward Tomas Fleischmann has been diagnosed with a blood clot and is out until at least mid-October. The 25-year-old forward is taking blood thinners and not allowed to participate in any contact drills. Fleischmann scored 19 goals last season and added 18 assists.
