Restricted free agent defenseman Dmitry Orlov signed a one-year, $2.57 million contract with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Per Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, the deal will pay out $2.57 million for the upcoming year; once this deal expires, the blue liner will once again become a restricted free agent.
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General manager Brian MacLellan announced the deal Wednesday after Orlov finished practice with Russian Federation at the World Cup of Hockey. Another solid year, and he should be able to pull in more money with a long term contract – which the Capitals will have to find a way to afford.
Throughout the summer, the Capitals’ coaching staff and management has repeatedly spoken of giving more responsibility to Orlov, potentially pairing him with Matt Niskanen or John Carlson in a top-four role. Including Orlov’s contract, the Capitals now have $884,871 in cap space with 22 rostered players, according to CapFriendly. But Orlov does have one other outlet open to him: The Russian Kontinental Hockey League’s CSKA Moscow owns Orlov’s KHL negotiating rights.
Orlov won a gold medal with his native Russian Federation at the 2014 World Championship and a bronze at the same tournament two years later.
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“You know, I play five years in US, so of course, I like it here”, Orlov said then. He had eight goals and 21 assists in 16:01 minutes a night. As such, it’s likely Orlov will agree to a short-term bridge deal and his salary will come in at slightly less than the $2.8 million Karl Alzner is slated to earn in 2016-17.
