Following their moves at the NHL trade deadline, it was unclear what the future held in store for Washington’s impending UFA’s.
However Saturday saw GM Brian MacLellan answer at least one of those questions, as the club announced a new 3yr/$9M contract extension with defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk.
The 31 year old has already set career highs in points (19) and goals (7) with the Capitals this season, as he’s managed to suit up for all 66 contests thus far. van Riemsdyk is the second blue liner in recent days to ink a long term deal with the club following the announcement of teammate Nick Jensen’s 3yr/$12.15M pact.
An undrafted free agent, van Riemsdyk signed a two year entry level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in March of 2014. He would go on to make his debut later that year against the Dallas Stars, eventually winning a Stanley Cup with the club in his rookie campaign.
The club ultimately left him exposed in the 2017 expansion draft where he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas would go on to flip him to Carolina the following day along with a 7th round selection in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2017 entry draft.
The Middletown, NJ native would enjoy 3 productive seasons in Carolina before signing an $800K 1 year deal with Washington. After being limited to just 20 games, van Riemsdyk signed a 2yr/$1.9M extension with the team, before inking his newest contract in 2023.
Largely viewed as a steady, stay at home defender, van Riemsdyk has been thrust into a more prominent role following the injury to Washington’s top defenseman John Carlson in December. In the wake of the NHL trade deadline, the former University of New Hampshire standout has seen minutes on the team’s top pairing with newcomer Rasmus Sandin.
With Dmitry Orlov now in Boston, Erik Gustafsson now in Toronto, and injuries to both Carlson and Jensen, van Riemsdyk has recently logged some of the largest minute totals of his 9 year career.
Over the course of the team’s last 10 games, the American defenseman has gone over 22 minutes in 6 of those contests, with a whopping 27:23 of action in the club’s most recent outing.
van Riemsdyk and his Capitals teammates are next in action Saturday vs. the New York Islanders.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.