Following the Boston Bruins’ stunning loss in the first round of this season’s NHL playoffs, all eyes will be on pending free agents who will need to decide if they’re open to returning to the team that won the most games in a single NHL season but choked a record-breaking campaign away, or if there are better opportunities elsewhere and/or retirement seems more appealing. Among those players who could have a handful of choices is defenseman Dmitry Orlov.
Orlov was traded from the Washington Capitals to the Bruins ahead of this season’s NHL trade deadline and he was among the best acquisitions made during that time period. He fit like a glove in Boston and performed admirably. However, the Bruins didn’t lock him up right away and as he prepares to hit the free agent market for the first time in his career, he’s got a chance to hit a home run with one more big contract. He could choose to stay in Boston, where there’s money, but not a ton of it. He could choose to go to the highest-paying team. Or, he could choose to return to the team he played a number of seasons for, and probably loves in the Washington Capitals.
It sounds like he wants to do the latter.
As per a report by The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter, Orlov sounds hopeful that the Capitals would be open to offering him a new deal. It sounds like he’s not ruled out Boston as an option, but the Bruins would be his second choice, falling short of going back and playing where he spent the first decade of his NHL career.
Porter tweeted, “Orlov sounds like he wants a deal with the Caps. Open to Bruins, certainly, but a lot of years there.” He added that it was Orlov himself who pointed out, “It’s my last contract.”
An Interesting Turn of Events
Considering the Capitals reportedly traded Orlov because the two sides were far apart in terms of years and money on a new deal, speculation Orlov wanted to test free agency led to the trade in the first place. This must mean that Orlov is simply hoping the Capitals are rethinking their position, or Orlov has decided he’s more flexible and willing to talk a more team-friendly deal.
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