The Washington Capitals are without an NHL-caliber starting goaltender on their roster after declining to extend a qualifying offer to Ilya Samsonov.
This comes after Washington traded Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils for a pair of draft picks last week.
Samsonov, 25, played 44 games (39 starts) for the Capitals in 2021-22 but regressed with a 3.02 goals against average, up from his 2.69 average the year before. He also made four starts (five games played) in the Capitals' first-round playoff exit against the Florida Panthers, which saw them eliminated in six games. As a restricted free agent, Samsonov, who made $2 million this past season, was surely due for a pay raise through arbitration, a cost the Caps clearly felt was too rich for them.
Vanecek and Samsonov made up Washington's goaltending duo last season.
"We've been trying to change our goaltending up a little bit," General Manager Brian MacLellan said after last week's trade with New Jersey. "This is the first step in doing that. We've still got some work to do to fill out our goaltending duo and some further decisions to make as we go forward here."
"I think we're open to all avenues," he added.
27-year-old Zach Fucale, who played four games for the Caps last season but spent most of the year with their AHL affiliate in Hershey, is now the only goalie under contract in the system with any NHL experience.
Pheonix Copley, who's played in 29 career games for the Capitals, spent most of last season in Hershey and is also an unrestricted free agent.
Samsonov could still re-sign with the Caps once free agency begins on Wednesday.