Sammi’s Weekend Wrap: Capitals Updates, Free Agency & Miroshnichenko

The Washington Capitals said goodbye to quite a busy week on Sunday, as the team wrapped up its first development camp in two seasons and got busy in the opening days of 2022 NHL Free Agency. Now, they approach the rest of the summer and prepare for the upcoming campaign.

Beyond D.C., there are still several top names on the market, and teams that still need help. Also, we had a couple big trades, too.

Here are all the latest news and notes and everything to know from the weekend.

Capitals Links

• What does the upcoming 2022-23 campaign and road ahead have in store for Capitals 2022 first-rounder Ivan Miroshnichenko? (WHN)
• Which Washington prospects stood out, and who do we want to see more from? A recap of Capitals Development Camp. (WHN)
• Speaking of camp, Peter Laviolette III, son of head coach Peter Laviolette, showed he was more than the coach’s son and fit right in with the team’s prospects in what he called “the best week of my life.” (WHN)
• Shifting back to the main roster, all but one of the Capitals free agent signings have their jersey numbers picked out, including Dylan Strome. (WHN)

NHL Links

• The start of NHL Free Agency was quite the adventure for defenseman Jeremy Davies, who doesn’t own a printer and had to find a Staples to print and sign his latest deal with the Buffalo Sabres. (WHN)
• Vitek Vanecek and 23 other NHL restricted free agents selected salary arbitration by the deadline on Sunday.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins made a major move and brought in Jeff Petry to bolster the blue line, but who fits best as his partner on the backend? (PHN)
• There is still an ongoing investigation into sexual assault allegations against Team Canada‘s 2018 World Junior team. (VHN)

Sammi’s Top Shelf Takes

• Our WHN mailbag is open again! Reply to the tweet below to submit your questions and be featured in our next column.

Our WHN Mailbag is open! Ask me anything about the Capitals, NHL Free Agency, hockey, life, etc. and be featured in our next column.

And, of course, stay tuned for our Lappy/Vincenzo feature, some player 1-on-1s and much more.

Reply to this tweet to send questions 📬

— Sammi Silber (@sammisilber) July 18, 2022

• The Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators are going to be the real deal next season after strong starts to free agency. Columbus has been in this territory before, but something special is happening with the Senators right now
• An update from this past week: general manager Brian MacLellan said there have not yet been any talks with Conor Sheary on an extension, as has been previously reported. Also, he said that Tom Wilson’s recovery is going well.
• Nazem Kadri is still pondering his options, and teams are clearing cap space to bring him on board, per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. He does, however, want to be with a contender, and isn’t considering clubs that he can’t see hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2022-23.