After a wild trade deadline and arguably the biggest blockbuster of the day, Brian MacLellan was calm and collected as he reflected on his team’s moves.
“It wasn’t a conscious decision to shake the team up,” MacLellan said, adding, “Things lined up and this is what we ended up doing.”
It was somewhat quiet to start. Rumors and speculation rose that the Caps were in on Taylor Hall, who eventually landed in Boston. Then came the report of Michael Raffl heading to D.C. before a bombshell dropped around 3:45 p.m.
The Capitals acquired RW Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, a 2021 first-round pick and 2022 second-round pick.