No, the deal can’t fall through for him to be off the cap. It needs to be completed.

Well, to be fair, I think we guessed a while ago that it would take some time for that deadl to be completed, wherever he went.

I’m honestly just happy he’s got somewhere to play again, and somewhere where he’s got a shot at playing in the NHL again when he’s done. He’s not going to play for the Caps again – that much has been made clear – so he’s gone somewhere where he can play, and to me that’s the best Christmas present of all. Him being off the Caps’ salary cap is just icing AFAIC, though it may mean much more in March and April.

For the Caps, it means two things: (1) injury replacements with the best person available, not just who they can afford, and (2) a dogfight on defense. Having that room means that the Caps can afford to replace any player who isn’t performing, whether it be on D or at forward (though I’m thinking of D right now). Therefore, the existing D had better right the ship if they want to be with the team in the spring.

For the record, I’m not in favor of making any immediate moves with the cap space that Nylander’s loan opens up. We’ve still got some injuries to deal with, and while it’d be nice to have Alzner up here, that means we’ve got nine D. You thought 8 was bad, that’s just a mess all the way around and someone’s going to get shafted. I’d rather let the D dogfight it out from now until the Olympics, and then see who’s the odd man out come the deadline.