Monday was a pretty normal day for Philipp Grubauer once his initial surprise wore off. He and Justin Peters had been vying for the backup goaltender role with the Washington Capitals throughout training camp, and by Monday morning, he knew he’d be the one in the NHL for the season.
But part of what kept him with the Capitals were business dynamics. He’s six years younger than Peters, meaning he would’ve been at greater risk to being nabbed upon reassignment, and he carries a smaller cap hit. Some in the organization, including Coach Barry Trotz, thought Peters had played slightly better than Grubauer in training camp, but the separation wasn’t great enough to outweigh the other factors.