Washington locked in some forward depth on Thursday, agreeing to a two-year, $1.3 million extension with Chandler Stephenson.
Stephenson, 23, has appeared in 13 career contests for the Caps, with four of those coming last season. Taken in the third round of the 2012 draft, he’s spent most of his professional career in AHL Hershey where, last season, he scored a career-high 38 points.
Stephenson’s deal carries a $650,000 average annual cap hit and, perhaps most importantly for him, is of the one-way variety in 2018-19. That’s fairly important, because he could have a chance for a significant increase in role and responsibility with Washington over the next two years.
The Caps could soon lose veteran forwards Justin Williams and Daniel Winnik, as both become unrestricted free agents on Saturday.
Next summer, GM Brian MacLellan will need to make decisions on Lars Eller and Jay Beagle, who are set to become UFAs as well.