Capitals Re-Sign Brenden Dillon
The Washington Capitals have signed defensemen Brenden Dillon to a four-year extension worth $3.9 million annually.
Photo Credit: ESPN
After a week of not too much news regarding the Washington Capitals (other than Henrik Lundqvist rumors), Tuesday night saw a bunch of news. First, Michal Kempny will be out until at least April of 2021 due to a knee injury.
Immediately, fans started speculating about what this would mean for defenseman Brenden Dillon, who was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks. Though Dillon was supposed to hit the free agent market, the Capitals expressed a lot of interest in bringing him back.
Quickly after the Kempny announcement, the Capitals announced they have re-signed Dillon to a four-year deal worth $3.9 million annually.
It’s hard to get a read on how much of a fit Dillon was with the Capitals because he had such a small sample size thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but his history suggests he’s exactly what the Capitals need.
Specifically, he’s exactly what John Carlson needs. Carlson is an extremely gifted offensive defenseman, but his defense (or lack thereof) is rather frustrating. He has done his best overall work whenever he’s been paired with a steady, reliable shutdown defenseman.
Dillon is an old school shutdown defenseman. Usually, when people say that, they have no clue what a “shutdown defenseman” is, so they usually just mean the defenseman likes to hit people and block shots.
However, Dillon is a shutdown defenseman who is actually good at what he’s supposed to be good at. He has a proven history of suppressing goals, expected goals, shots, and scoring chances against.
Charts via Evolving Hockey
Think of everything John Carlson is. Now reverse it. That’s Dillon in a nutshell.
Chart via Evolving Hockey
My Thoughts
Four years is a tad bit long for my liking, but if the Dillon deal goes south, it likely won’t be until year 3 or 4. Depending on how the deal is set up, Dillon’s deal could be set up for a potential buyout around that time.
The cap hit, though, is quite good. Dillon’s worth more than $3.9 million a year, even in these troubling times. Dillon should help the Capitals maximize their Stanley Cup window for the next four years, and that’s all that really matters.