Report: Dmitry Orlov to Sign New Contract

According to The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan, the Capitals are prepared to offer restricted free agent defenseman Dmitry Orlov a one-year deal worth a cap hit of around $2.6 million.

Orlov made $2.25 million last season, scoring 8 goals and 29 points as a third-pair blueliner. If Orlov signs the deal, he would join Karl Alzner, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, and Justin Williams, among others, as a free agent next summer - but the one-year deal may be a strategic move to give Orlov an opportunity to prove he's worth more.

Notes Khurshudyan:

Though he wouldn't be getting much of a raise on a one-year deal worth about $2.6 million, the sales pitch could be that he'd have an opportunity for more production as a top defenseman and then sign a more profitable deal in a year, when Washington is expected to have more salary cap space [...]

If the $2.6 million number does end up being where Orlov signs, the team would have about $850,000 in cap space to work with going into the season.