Jason Arnott, the major acquisition the Washington Capitals made at the NHL trade deadline last season, has moved to another city. Arnott signed a one-year, $3 million with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
It's no surprise that the 36-year old Arnott has signed elsewhere, since Washington has no cap room and never figured he would be a part of their future. Still, the Capitals will be losing a key contributor to their late-season run. Arnott stabilized Washington's second line and provided valuable leadership and experience for a team that was struggling a bit at the time. He was credited with helping to turn around Washington's culture during his time in D.C., though it was not enough to lead to playoff success.
It's unclear how Washington plans on replacing him, since their free-agent signings were wingers, not centers. Perhaps Marcus Johansson can continue to step up his game and assume Arnott's role as the second-line center.
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