Report: UFA Connor Brown Drawing Interest From Oilers, Other Teams

Last offseason’s big acquisition, right winger Connor Brown may be on his way out of Washington after only four games with the Capitals.

Brown, an unrestricted free agent on July 1, is drawing interest from numerous teams around the league, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“I’ve heard there’s teams kinda looking in there — what’s his situation gonna be, what’s he sign for, where does he want to go,” Friedman said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast. “I know there’s a lot of talk about Edmonton, just because there’s a lot of history there.”

Brown, 29, has ties to Oilers star Connor McDavid, which explains Edmonton’s rumored interest. Formerly teammates on the OHL’s Erie Otters, the two are currently represented by the same agent.

The Oilers are expected to be limited in their spending this offseason however, carrying a projected $5 million in cap space into free agency before re-signing RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard, UFA center Mattias Janmark and others, according to CapFriendly.

Brown is coming off a three-year, $10.8 million contract with an AAV of $3.6 million.

“This is a year teams are going to be looking for the best bargain they can find,” Friedman said. “Connor Brown, you just want him to get healthy because he’s a really good player . . . I think there’s a lot of teams out there curious about what he’s thinking and where he’s going and whether or not he’s guaranteed to go to Edmonton.”

The Capitals acquired Brown from the Ottawa Senators last offseason in an attempt to add offense and strengthen the team’s depth on the wing — a move that quickly backfired after Brown tore the ACL in his right knee in October, missing most of the season.

Brown spent three seasons with the Ottawa Senators, tallying 39 points in 64 games during the 2021-22 season, before being dealt to Washington. He was a sixth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, and made his NHL debut in 2016.