Capitals cleared some space to try to re-sign a handful of key free agents by trading veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche for the 47th pick in the NHL draft .Shedding Orpik’s $5.5 million salary in the final year of his contract and dealing Grubauer before he earned more as a restricted free agent gives them more than $20 million in cap space. It’s needed because defensemen John Carlson and Michal Kempny can become unrestricted free agents July 1 and playoff hero Devante Smith-Pelly and top-line winger Tom Wilson will get raises as RFAs.”You don’t like trading away good people Jarvis Landry Jersey Elite , but it’s what we had to do to move forward with the team,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said Friday night. ”It’s hard to do, but we had to create some room to sign some players.”Carlson, who led all defenseman in scoring in the regular season and playoffs, is expected to cost $8 million-plus a season on a long-term deal. The Capitals would have struggled to fit that under the $79.5 million ceiling without a move like this.MacLellan has met with Carlson’s agent and said the two sides are really close to agreeing to a contract.”We’re going to do our best to sign John,” MacLellan said. ”Hopefully we can close the deal here over the next 24 hours.”The 37-year-old Orpik was a respected alternate captain who got the Cup third after Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom when Washington won its first title in franchise history. The rugged defenseman played almost 20 minutes a game in four seasons with the Capitals and scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas.Colorado GM Joe Sakic was willing to take Orpik in the trade to keep the acquisition cost down and plans to try to trade him or buy him out. He felt it was worth it for the Avalanche to get Grubauer.”We all feel that he’s ready to take the next step and become a No. 1,” Sakic said. ”We’re excited to have two No. 1 goalies.”The 26-year-old joins fellow Capitals draft pick Semyon Varlamov with the Avalanche where he’ll get the chance to start more games than he did behind Braden Holtby in Washington.Grubauer started a career-high 35 games with the Capitals this past season, going 28-15-10 with a 2.35 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. He played well enough to be the Capitals’ starter at the beginning of the playoffs but was replaced by Holtby during Game 2 of the first round after allowing eight goals on 49 shots.The Avalanche lost Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier to injuries last season and with this move shored up their goaltending situation. Bernier will depart in free agency. Sakic expects to agree to terms on a deal with Grubauer, a pending restricted free agent, in short order.”I believe it’ll come pretty quick,” Sakic said.The Capitals can only hope the same in their negotiations with Carlson. It’s their goal to sign him before he can speak with other teams when the draft concludes and would be one of the top free agents available.MacLellan also wouldn’t rule out bringing back Orpik if the Avalanche buy him out.”I think it’s legal http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/myles-garrett-jersey ,” MacLellan said. ”We’re open to that depending on how much room and how much salary it would take and if we want to put him in that third pair again.”— NEW YORK — The Nashville Predators are widely considered one of the teams likeliest to contend for the Stanley Cup this season. The New York Rangers are … not.But the Rangers will get an early opportunity to prove the prognosticators wrong Thursday night when they host the Predators in the season opener for both teams at Madison Square Garden.The Rangers embarked upon a rebuilding project late last season, finishing 34-39-9 and in last place in the Metropolitan Division. New York shipped off several veterans at the trade deadline, including Rick Nash and captain Ryan McDonagh.Article continues below ...Immediately after the season, the Rangers fired head coach Alain Vigneault, who directed the team to playoff berths in his first four seasons at the helm and steered them to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first campaign in 2013-14. Vigneault’s successor is David Quinn, who arrived from Boston University to oversee the type of youth movement rarely undertaken in the Big Apple. But Quinn is not ready to concede the season, even though the Rangers’ uphill task is made taller by their placement in the Metropolitan Division — home of the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, who combined to win the last three Stanley Cups.“Obviously, a lot has been made of the different direction we’re in right now, but we want to win every game,” Quinn told reporters. “I don’t think about it any other way http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/jarvis-landry-jersey , I think about coming here every day, being the best team we can be, making every guy a better player, making us a better team, collectively, and playing the way we want to play.“And the winning and losing will take care of itself. And we feel we have enough good NHL players to give us a chance night in and night out.”There’s little doubt the Predators have the players to compete for a title. Nashville, which reached its first Cup Finals following the 2016-17 season, led the NHL with 117 points last season (53-18-11) but fell to the Winnipeg Jets in a seven-game Western Conference semifinal series.Head coach Peter Laviolette, who has put together a Hall of Fame resume by leading three franchises to the Cup Finals (he won the Cup with Carolina in 2005-06 and coached Philadelphia to the title round in 2009-10), is aware of the expectations surrounding the Predators and is eager to begin finding out just how good his team can become.“It’s the beginning of a journey for our group, and you hope to play a long time and find success all the way through Authentic Jarvis Landry Jersey ,” Laviolette told reporters. “That brings excitement to the guys that get sick of practices and training camp. They want to play games, and New York is a great place for us to start.”Two franchise icons are expected to start the game in goal for New York and Nashville.Henrik Lundqvist is scheduled to set a franchise record by starting his 13th straight season opener for the Rangers. Lundqvist, who enters this year ranked within the NHL’s top 15 all-time in wins, games and saves, is 8-5-0 in 13 games against the Predators.Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne, who has spent his entire 12-year career with the Predators, will draw the start. Rinne, whose Vezina Trophy last year was his first, is 3-2-1 in six games against the Rangers.