A handful of wingers will hit the free-agent market sooner than expected after being bought out by their teams - might there be a bargain to be had for the Caps?
Heading into this offseason, the Caps identified their biggest need as a top-six winger - but with a relatively weak (and therefore overpriced) pool of forwards available July 1, GM Brian MacLellan seemed to be leaning towards filling that need via trade rather than free agency.
Ah, but things move pretty fast in the NHL... and that once-weak group of unrestricted free agents has grown over the last few days, with cap-strapped teams looking to free up some dollars by buying out pricey contracts.