When the Caps needed better two-way play, he got Justin Williams. In this case, it was two needs: defensive stability and cap relief. Matt Niskanen Bio Niskanen has gone from one-dimensional to one of the top two-way defensemen in the NHL, which he showed during the Washington Capitals run to the Stanley Cup championship in 2018. Though Gudas certainly plays easier and fewer minutes than Niskanen, he does much much better within that role.But when people hear Gudas’ name, they don’t think defensive dependability, they think “oh, he’s a total goon.” From Philadelphia’s perspective, I suspect they’re banking on a big rebound season from Matt Niskanen. He didn’t have much individual offense, but he masterfully covered up for his then-partner’s lack of alacrity, and he did a specific job superbly: stop the opponent attack and turn the puck back in the right direction.
Leo Komarov finished the sequence by squeaking the puck past Carter Hart.A bad and costly lapse by the Flyers, especially given how defensive the Islanders can be when they have a lead later in the game. Fletcher was so keen on adding Niskanen that the Flyers are reportedly retaining some of Gudas' $3.35 million cap hit in 2019-20 on top of paying Niskanen's $5.75 million, which he's owed annually over the next two seasons "[Fletcher] said I was a player they were looking at for a while now and he was excited to have me," Niskanen said Friday in a conference call.The move makes the Flyers better immediately, which is Fletcher's goal. The Radko Gudas / Matt Niskanen trade is a classic Brian MacLellan move Not just a guy that is older, but a player with a winning pedigree and qualities that can supplement the Flyers' young defense.It's not a knock on Andrew MacDonald or Radko Gudas, but those two are not Matt Niskanen.Fletcher acquired the 32-year-old defenseman Friday in exchange for Gudas. Over the past six seasons, his plus-91 is fifth best among all NHL defensemen, behind only Ryan McDonagh (plus-126), Zdeno Chara (plus-99), Victor Hedman (plus-97) and Ryan Ellis (plus-94). Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. When the team got slow, he got Carl Hagelin. However, after Saturday’s trade that sent defenseman Matt Niskanen to Philadelphia for Radko Gudas, Washington freed up $3.4MM in cap space, which allowed the team to lock up Hagelin. "The trade also gives the Capitals some salary-cap relief. When defensive depth was sketchy, he got Michal Kempny. "Matt is a consummate professional and was a big part of our success. "The experience the young guys got this year is critical," Chuck Fletcher said in April, "but I think that's a fair question: do we have enough experience in our back end? We rely on readers like you to uphold a free press. "Gudas reached 20 points for the third time in seven NHL seasons. Here’s that same chances graph from above, but for Gudas.Gudas’ team takes more of the total scoring chances and high-danger chances when he’s on the ice — specifically by limiting opponents from high-danger areas. Mock Draft (Entry Draft Simulator) All it could take is one loss by the team or a so-so game from another forward for Laughton to return to the lineup. The trade also gives the Capitals some salary-cap relief. Washington will take on $2.345 million of Gudas' $3.35 million for 2019-20, after which he will be a free agent.
It'll be good for our team. The Flyers are 7-22 all-time in best-of-seven series when down 2-1.Tyler Pitlick scored the Flyers' lone goal, which came in the first period. Matthew Norman Niskanen (born December 6, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). These are not guys you look to trade. Mathew Barzal continued to be a nightmare for the Flyers, setting up the Islanders' first goal to tie the game at 1-1 a little over seven minutes into the frame.Matt Martin sneaks one in off a pass from Mat Barzal to break the ice for the • There were only three penalties called in the game and none through the first two periods.