Washington Capitals Cap Space: Examining the Caps' salary in the off-season

The Washington Capitals had a disappointing season last year and look to make use of the final years of Alexander Ovechkin's career.

The Capitals currently have just $888,333 in cap space which is enough to add one veteran player on a minimum type of deal to play a bottom-six role as a forward or a third-pair defenseman.

Although Washington doesn't have much cap space, their roster is pretty much set, so it isn't likely they will make many more moves.

The Washington Capitals have had a quiet off-season

The Washington Capitals weren't too active in free agency, but they did make some key signings.

Washington inked forwards Max Pacioretty and Matthew Phillies to one-year deals, while former first-rounder Dylan McIlrath signed a two-year, two-way deal and will push for a roster spot.

“That was appealing to us because we got him at a $2 million cap instead of a higher cap hit, which we might not have been able to afford,” GM Brian MacLellan said of signing Pacioretty (via NHL.com).

"We have to find ways to score goals — and that’s what he does. Beyond the injury, he’s probably better than what he was. … We’re excited to get him healthy and in our lineup.”

However, arguably the biggest move the Capitals made was acquiring defenseman Joel Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens. This didn't cost much, and the Canadiens also retained salary.

“I think when we were going through the free agent market, the trade market, it’s an element we wanted to add to our lineup”, said MacLellan of the reason behind acquiring Edmundson.

“Looked at the free agent market, see what the cost was. Decided to go that way, spend a pick on it. Plus the salary retention was appealing to us too because we could afford that. So we’re adding two players with a limited amount of cap space.”

Along with adding some players, the Washington Capitals just recently re-signed Martin Fehervary to a three-year contract. He will play a bigger role this season and will really help strengthen the Caps' defensive core.

Ultimately, with little to no cap space available, Washington is likely done with their moves this off-season. The hope is they can score more goals with the additions - which was a problem last year - and will lead them back to the Stanley Cup playoffs.