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Trade rumor: Caps may move Fleischmann to Edmonton for Souray or Vancouver for Bieksa

Ottawa Senators v Washington Capitals

of the Washington Capitals against the Ottawa Senators at the Verizon Center on March 30, 2010 in Washington, DC.

Greg Fiume

Most armchair GMs insist that the Washington Capitals need a defenseman. They say: “Sure, the team won the Presidents Trophy but what about that first round playoff loss? Clearly, the current roster isn’t the answer. They need more defense.”

Now, it’s important that you note that this is a rumor which is why this is written in boldface, but Peter Adler of The Cult of Hockey claims that the team is in discussions with two teams to move flashy (but seemingly unnecessary) forward Tomas Fleischmann for D-man.

The Washington Capitals are in talks with two teams, the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks, about moving forward Tomas Fleischmann, 26, who is coming off a career year, an NHL source says.

If Edmonton were the place, Sheldon Souray would be heading to Washington. Kevin Bieksa would move from the Canucks to Washington.

Fleischmann is coming off his best season, having scored 23 goals and 51 points in 69 games for the Caps. He also made the Czech Olympic team. In the playoffs, however, he scored just one assist in six games.

The Oilers have been trying to trade Souray for months now, as the player has made it clear he wants out of Edmonton.

Fleischmann has a one-year deal worth $2.6 million while the Capitals have the cap room to take on more salary in either Kevin Bieksa (one year, $3.75 million) or Sheldon Souray (two years, $5.4 million annual cap hit).

The Canucks have a lot of things going for them, but cap space and offensive flash isn’t as readily available. (Yes, they have some nice forwards, but beyond the Sedin twins and Mikael Samuelsson I think they could add a little finesse to their grit and speed.) Moving Bieksa would fix their considerable blueline logjam.

The number one reason Edmonton would make that move is to move a sour player in Sheldon Souray, but they’d also get a little younger. That’s a good thing when you’re in the rebuilding process.

Now, again, this is just another rumor but both hypothetical trades would make sense for each party involved. If anything happens, we’ll be sure to let you know. Until then, enjoy the buzz that comes from dreaming up wacky trade ideas.