The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Taylor Chorney to a two-year, $1.6 million contract.
It’s an affordable deal to keep the 28-year-old in the mix through 2017-18. Chorney has played 45 games this season and has five assists while logging an average of 12:54 in ice time.
Those 45 games are the most Chorney has ever played in a single NHL season. His previous high was 42 with the Oilers in 2009-10. He was mostly in the AHL in-between.
The Caps now have six d-men under contract through at least next season, with Dmitry Orlov a pending restricted free agent.
Why that matters, from the Washington Post:
Locking up Chorney for two more seasons means that if Washington were to make a move at the trade deadline for a depth defenseman, it would most likely be someone that’s an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, a rental.