Oilers have Capitals forward Nic Dowd in "orbit of interest": report
It certainly sounds like Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland has been doing some window shopping on the Washington Capitals over the last few days.
Just days after reports came out that the team could be interested in Anthony Mantha from the Capitals, more have come out connecting the Oilers to Nic Dowd, who currently serves as the Capitals’ fourth-line centre.
“We know Ken Holland is going to be busy,” said Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek in the first intermission of last night’s game against the St. Louis Blues. “Keep your eyes on Nic Dowd, forward with the Washington Capitals; he is very much in the Edmonton orbit of interest.”
Nic Dowd all alone puts the Caps ahead first 🦅 pic.twitter.com/rqpd1jGafO
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 6, 2024
The 33-year-old has had himself a decent season in the U.S. Capitol, scoring eight goals and 16 points while averaging 15:27 of ice time per game. He is on pace to score 24 points this season, which would be one short of his career high.
For an Oilers team that wants to get a boost in production from their bottom six, Dowd isn’t going to move the needle all that much. Natural Stat Trick also paints a gloomy picture on the other side of the puck, which indicates that Dowd is consistently out-chanced while on the ice and is benefiting from a high on-ice save percentage (.944) from his goaltenders.
There is the fact that Dowd has almost exclusively been used in the defensive zone, stifling much of a chance to generate anything offensively. So far this season, he has had 213 defensive zone starts compared to just 25 offensive zone stars and has somehow managed to outscore opponents 21-14 while on the ice. That is impressive, but the Oilers need more play drivers in their bottom six, not defensive specialists.
He could help the fourth line out, leaps and bounds, but it all comes down to price. Right now, Derek Ryan is effectively doing that job with a $900,000 cap hit for this season and the next and has been outscored 8-14 while on the ice.
While Dowd comes cheap with a $1.3 million cap hit, there has been chatter here and there about the Capitals wanting a first-round pick in exchange, which would be far too high a price.
There are things to love about Dowd’s game, but ultimately, the Oilers aren’t dying for more defensive play down their lineup. They need depth scoring, and Dowd doesn’t do that. Sure, he could help the fourth line out, but is that really where Holland should tweak?
Much more pressing issues at the top of both the forward and defensive groups should be looked after first.