Washington Capitals trade Dmitry Orlov & Garnet Hathaway to Boston Bruins for Craig Smith and picks

The Washington Capitals announced that defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway have been traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2023 first-round draft pick, a 2024 third-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and forward Craig Smith. Orlov’s salary will be double retained at 50% by the Capitals and the Minnesota Wild, the Wild will acquire a 2023 fifth-round pick and forward Andrei Svetlakov from the Bruins.

Both players were held out of the lineup for tonight’s game versus Anaheim Ducks for trade-related reasons. Orlov has been the subject of trade rumours recently if the Capitals decided they were going to sell. Frank Seravalli ranked Orlov No.6 in his latest NHL trade targets board. The left-shot defenseman has registered 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 43 games this season. Orlov is in the final year of a six-year, $30 million dollar contract he signed with the Capitals in 2017. The contract carries an average annual value (AAV) of $5.1 million.

Hathaway is listed at No.32 on Seravalli’s trade targets board. The bruising power-forward has registered 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) and 52 penalty minutes in 59 games played this season. Hathaway is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) who is in the final year of a four-year, $6 million contract he signed in 2019. His contract holds a cap hit of $1.5 million, making him an affordable player on the bottom six for the Bruins.

It seems Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan is now in ‘sellers mode’. With a former, Stanley Cup champion in Orlov, who posted eight points in 24 games during the Caps’ 2018 Stanley Cup run now dealt to the Bruins along with Hathaway, what else could be up in the nation’s capital?

Meanwhile in Boston, the Bruins dealt forward Craig Smith. Smith has registered 10 points (four goals, and six assists) in 42 games this season. Throughout an 831-game career, Smith has recorded 195 goals and 213 assists for 408 points. The Madison, Wisconsin product has an AAV of $3.1 million and is in the final year of his contract and will become a UFA this summer.