Saturday Caps Clips

Your savory breakfast links:

• With free agency officially open, the Caps eschewed the high-spending ways of other teams and stuck to adding small pieces:
  • The "biggest" signing of the day was Brett Connolly, late of the Bruins, who inked a one-year, $850,000 deal. [Caps, Dump 'n Chase, Rink, WaPo, CSNMA, The Score, THW, NoVa Caps, DC Pro Sports Report]
  • The team also brought in a trio of players on two-way deals to help bolster the depth in Christian Thomas, Darren Dietz, and goaltender Joe Canneta. [Caps, Rink (and again), WaPo, CSNMA]
  • Of course, the flip side of free agency day is bidding farewell to long-time Caps... and after seven years, Jason Chimera's time in DC has come to an end. [Caps OT, WaPo, CSNMA (and again), Caps Outsider (and again), NoVa Caps, Islanders, LHH]
• The Caps also signed two prospects - Connor Hobbs and Colby Williams - to entry-level contracts yesterday. [Caps, Monumental video (Hobbs, Williams), WaPo (and again), CSNMA]
• Tom Wilson talks to the media about his new two-year deal. [Monumental video, NHL.com, NoVa Caps]
• News and notes from the penultimate day of development camp:
  • In general. [FiCP]
  • Experience a day at camp through the eyes of Lucas Johansen. [Monumental video]
  • Ilya Samsonov is the latest in a string of young Russian players that has had to overcome language barriers to play in North America. [WaPo]
• With Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the fold, the Caps are dealing with an enviable problem: deciding which will be the top-line center. [THW]
• Finally, happy 40th birthday to Tomas Vokoun.