The Capitals acquired Connor Brown from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Washington's second-round pick in 2024, the club announced on Wednesday night.
The 28-year-old is a versatile winger/forward who recorded 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games with the Senators in 2021-22. The 6-foot, 181-pounder set a single-season career high in assists and ranked fourth on the team in points. Brown also led Ottawa in takeaways (51) and short-handed time on ice (168:29) among forwards. He's averaged 2:46 of short-handed ice time per game for the past two seasons, which ranks first among NHL forwards.
Brown led the Senators with 21 goals during the 2020-21 season, appearing in all 56 games of the pandemic-shortened season, and his five short-handed goals that year led the NHL. He recorded a career-high 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) the season before (2019-20), his first season in Ottawa. During his three seasons with the Senators, Brown ranked third on the team in goals (47) and assists (70) and second in points (117).
Prior to joining Ottawa, Brown spent four seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, appearing in all 82 games for three consecutive seasons (from 2016-17 to 2018-19). He also recorded five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 20 playoff games in that span.
Brown was a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian team in the 2021 World Championships, recording a tournament-high 16 points (2 goals, 14 assists) in 10 games. He was originally a sixth-round selection (156th overall) by Toronto in 2012.
The trade served as the nightcap for a busy first day of free agency for the Capitals, who earlier signed a starting goaltender and a backup, in Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren, respectively, along with defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
Related
