Where Hathaway, Orlov Negotiations Were At With Capitals Before Trade

The Washington Capitals tried to do a retool on the fly at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, as general manager Brian MacLellan sold several pending free agents in exchange for draft picks and the likes of Rasmus Sandin and Craig Smith. Among those pending UFAs heading out were Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov, and a contributing factor was where the negotiations on potential extensions were going.

General manager Brian MacLellan joined Elliot In The Morning to discuss his deadline moves and shared more on the decision to move Hathaway and Orlov, which kicked off the sell-off leading up to the deadline. He explained that from the way talks were going with both parties, a future in D.C. wasn't exactly promising.

"The negotiations got to a point where I thought Orlov really wanted to test free agency, and same with Hathaway, just to see where they were at," MacLellan told EITM.

Orlov, who had spent 14 years in the Washington organization, was logging top minutes with John Carlson out. At 30 years old, he remained a consistent force to be reckoned with as a top-4, puck-moving defenseman with top-pair potential. As for Hathaway, 31, he had hit career highs in D.C. and operated with Nic Dowd to power one of the league's best fourth lines, all while consistently being among the NHL's hits leaders and an intimidating presence who will stick up for his teammates and play with grit.

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For the organization, there were no hard feelings regarding the players' perspective on the matter and their desire to go to the open market.

"I don't blame them. They're both good players, they both fit in great with our team, but they wanted to test it, so we had to make a decision," he said.

Following the talks, MacLellan sent an email out about Orlov and Hathaway's availability. There was interest around both given their skill sets, and ultimately, the Boston Bruins were the team with the best offer.

"it changed what was going on and we proceeded from there. They're very good players very well respected and they get a lot of action [on the market]," MacLellan said.

Washington traded Hathaway and Orlov for Smith, a 2023 first-round pick (which was then flipped as part of the Sandin deal), a 2024 third-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder.

Both former Capitals have fit in well with Boston so far. Orlov has broken out for three goals and six assists in five first five outings with the team, and Hathaway has two assists through five games,