From CSN Washington:
Defenseman Mike Green and center Eric Fehr will not be returning to the Capitals next season and will test the unrestricted free agent market on July 1, the agent for both players told CSNWashington.com on Thursday.
On a conference call this afternoon, Caps GM Brian MacLellan did not confirm that Green and Fehr would not be back.
However, the agent for both players, Craig Oster, told CSN Washington otherwise.
“It’s a function of where the Capitals are as an organization, changes that have been made there and the salary cap as to why they weren’t in a position to do much more than they were,” Oster said. “At the end of the day, it’s a decision by them as to how they make their best team and based on all the factors it wasn’t going to work out for Mike or Eric or the organization and both sides will continue to move on.”
The Caps still have to sign restricted free agents Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Braden Holtby. In addition to Green and Fehr, Jay Beagle, Joel Ward, Curtis Glencross, and Tim Gleason are pending UFAs.
MacLellan said today that he still plans to add a seventh defenseman, but what kind of player will be determined by how much cap space is left over. It’s possible Gleason could be re-signed.
MacLellan also said there were “a few possibilities” among the pending UFAs, as well as on the trade market, to add a top-six winger.
The Caps have been rumored as a potential destination for Patrick Sharp.
Related: Mike Green, a pending UFA, says it’s ‘not about the money’