Braden Holtby Won’t Be Traded Amid Expiring Contract, Says Capitals GM

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby is set for unrestricted free agency following this season, but the team has no plans on trading him before he could hit the open market.

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan told reporters Holtby will still be on the team following Monday's trade deadline.

“He's our guy, and we're going to try to compete for a Cup,” MacLellan said.

Holtby led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup title in 2018 and is a five-time All-Star with a Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy on his sparkling resume. However, he has a 3.11 goals-against average and .897 save percentage this season, both of which would be career-worst marks.

“His play has led to speculation that 22-year-old rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov, who is 16-4-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .917 save percentage, might take over the starting job,” Tom Gulitti of NHL.com wrote.

Despite the overall struggles this season, MacLellan showed plenty of trust in his veteran goaltender.

There have also been signs of improvement of late, as Holtby has a 2.07 GAA and .933 save percentage over the last four games.

“I think at the end of the year we'll sit down with Braden and talk about where we're at,” MacLellan said. “Samsonov's been great, but still, he's a young goalie. This is his first year, still developing. So we'll sit down and evaluate everything at the end of the year.”

Holtby is the proven goaltender who has ascended to the Stanley Cup mountaintop in the past. Washington is trusting he can do the same, even if his long-term future with the franchise is something of a question mark at this point.

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