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Trade: Capitals get Brenden Dillon from Sharks to beef up defense

brendendillontrade

SAN JOSE, CA - DECEMBER 21: Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks prepares to enter the ice before facing the St Louis Blues at SAP Center on December 21, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)

If the war for the Metro title ends up being a battle of attrition, then the Capitals just added a tank named Brenden Dillon. The Capitals landed Dillon in a trade that sends draft picks to the San Jose Sharks.

The official release confirms that the Sharks retained half of Dillon’s cap hit/salary ($3.27M) in the trade.

Capitals receive: Dillon (29, 50-percent of $3.27M AAV retained by Sharks)

Sharks get: Colorado’s 2020 second-round pick, a conditional 2021 third-rounder

Pierre LeBrun reports that these are the conditions for that third-rounder:

Dillon adds beef to Capitals’ defense

Washington already boasted decent size on the blueline with John Carlson and Jonas Siegenthaler, but Dillon becomes the biggest blueliner. (Dillon is listed as 6-foot-4, 225 lbs.) Dillon scored one goal and 14 points in 59 games with the Sharks. He’s had a feisty season with 83 penalty minutes, only three short of his career-high already.

“Brenden is an experienced defenseman who plays a solid defensive game with a high compete level and physicality,” Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said. “We felt it was important for us to add a player of his caliber to our defensive group.”

MacLellan is right: Dillon stands out most as being a physical, pure defenseman. Hockey Viz and other metrics spotlight a player who brings a lot of defense, without much offense:

dillonviz

Considering the Capitals’ scoring capabilities, that seems like a smart addition. Ideally, he’ll make Washington more versatile for another postseason run.

This continues a run of the Capitals adding defensive help around deadline time.


  • Last deadline, the Capitals landed Nick Jensen, who they swiftly extended.
  • Heading into their Stanley Cup run, Washington unearthed a hidden gem in Michal Kempny. The Capitals also kept Kempny around beyond the initial trade.
  • The Kevin Shattenkirk trade from the 2017 trade deadline didn’t work out as hoped, but it remains part of the pattern of spending on defense.

Will Dillon be another Jensen/Kempny-style addition who becomes more than a rental? That’s unclear, but either way, the Capitals added a big body. Meanwhile, the Sharks got some solid picks for their trouble.

MORE: PHT’s 2020 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker


James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.