One day after making a defenseman-for-defenseman swap, the Washington Capitals added to their forwards corps by acquiring Curtis Glencross from the Calgary Flames for second- and third-round picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, bringing a 32-year-old veteran aboard for the playoff push with the NHL trade deadline looming at 3 p.m. Monday .
“We needed to get deeper at the forward position,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “We have a good forward group. We’ve got four young players there. I don’t think you can ever be deep enough at any position if you’re going into the playoffs. After tomorrow, you really don’t have an opportunity to add, so I think that’s why most teams want to do that. That was a good acquisition.
“Knowing Curtis a little bit from being in the West, he’s a veteran guy, he’s pretty detailed, has had pretty good success. I think he’ll fit in pretty good with us. He’s got a little bit of an edge when he plays and he’s got the ability to score goals. I think you can’t have enough of that.”
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In his ninth full season, Glencross departed from practice Sunday in Philadelphia, so teammates could say goodbye after he was informed of the trade. Glencross, a left-handed shot, waived the no-trade clause in his contract, a four-year deal worth $2.5 million annually that expires at season’s end. In 53 games this season, he has recorded 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 16 minutes, 41 seconds of average ice time. On a poor puck possessing team, Glencross’s 44.4 percent shot attempt percentage ranked 10th.
“When I got asked to waive my no-move clause, Washington was one of the teams that showed interest right off the hop,” Glencross said. “They were on our list and just a waiting game, see what’s out there. When it was finally done, said I was coming to Wash, I was excited.”
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After addressing reporters in Philadelphia, Glencross hopped in a car, read roughly 400 text messages, answered calls and rode three hours to Washington, where he arrived midway through the second period, as his new team hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Until then, and until Trotz spoke with friends in Calgary and his assistant coaches, the coach declined to speculate on Glencross’ potential role in the lineup. Glencross has primarily skated at left wing this season, so sliding beside Evgeny Kuznetsov and Troy Brouwer could be a potential fit, but Trotz did not rule out him playing right wing, where he could add another top-line option to complement Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin.
“It’s something that I have to really talk to him, see how really comfortable he is,” Trotz said. “Is it an option? Yeah, everything’s an option. But at the same time, I have to give him the best chance to do what he does best. We’ll get him in, we’ll talk to him, see how comfortable he is on either side, and then we’ll go from there.
“Let’s give him a couple games and as we get down, we’ll let it filter out where we will end up there.”
The Capitals recently reassigned forward Aaron Volpatti and defenseman Cameron Schilling to their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey, Pa., clearing room for their acquisition of Glencross. No salary will be retained in the deal, inching Washington closer to the cap ceiling, though some small flexibility was gained with both Volpatti and Schilling dispatched to Hershey. If GM Brian MacLellan wanted to add another piece before Monday’s deadline, the Capitals would need to ship out a corresponding player to clear space. (MacLellan is not scheduled to address reporters until after the deadline passes.)
“I know he’s working the phones,” Trotz said. “He came down for a little bit, took a breather from working the phones. I know he’s going to be working at it, if we do anything else, that’s really a question for Mac.”
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After flipping Arizona’s fourth-round pick and defenseman Jack Hillen to Carolina for defenseman Tim Gleason, and with two picks getting moved to Calgary, the Capitals will be left with one first-rounder, one third-rounder and one fourth-rounder in the first four rounds of a deep 2015 draft. The third-round pick will be Washington’s, and not the much higher selection acquired from league-worst Buffalo in the Michal Neuvirth-Jaroslav Halak trade last March at the deadline.
Gleason was scheduled to debut against the Maple Leafs, on the third pairing beside Mike Green. Glencross could possibly start Tuesday when the Capitals visit Columbus.
“Everybody at this time, if you’re a buyer, if you will, you’re getting players to help you in hopefully for a long run,’ Trotz said. “At the same time, it affects your room a little bit. You add a player, it’s going to affect your room. Does he take a spot for someone else? Sometimes when you add a player, you affect two others. But I think we’re being smart about what we’re trying to do, trying to tweak certain areas of our game and add a little more depth.”
