The Washington Capitals have re-signed free-agent defenceman Brenden Dillon to a four-year contract worth $15.6 million, or $3.9 million per season. They also announced that defenceman Michal Kempny is out with a torn Achilles. He is expected to miss 6-8 months.
DILLY STAYING IN THE DISTRICT!! ✍️
The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Brenden Dillon to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $3.9 million
Full Details: https://t.co/xkTYW4SFYx#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/FT3fIzmXOs
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 6, 2020
Brenden Dillon Re-Signs
Over his nine-year NHL career, Dillon has played for the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. He has put up 22 goals and 92 assists for 114 career points in 598 career games. He played four seasons of major junior ice hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Seattle Thunderbirds before reaching the NHL. Dillon made his NHL debut for the Dallas Stars during the 2011-12 season.
What This Means for the Future
With Dillon agreeing to a new contract, he will be entering his 10th NHL season. Dillon registered all of his points with San Jose last season before being traded to Washington in February. He appeared in 10 games for the Capitals without scoring a point and registered a plus/minus rating of -2.
Dillon’s offensive numbers have never jumped off the charts as he’s solidified himself as a shut-down defenceman. Dillon is able to play top pairing minutes on the back end night in and night out. After being acquired by Washington, he fit in nicely paired with John Carlson.
As a top tier defenceman, his pairing with Carlson complemented each other nicely. Dillon’s stay-at-home style allowed Carlson to take more offensive risk and get involved more while Dillon would stay back and protect the blue line.
The one issue with Dillon proved to be his discipline. Last season, he averaged 1.41 penalty minutes per game with San Jose, a number that jumped to 2.10 in his short sample size with Washington. Dillon hadn’t averaged more than 1.0 penalty minutes per game since the 2014-15 season.
If Dillon can clean up the penalties he’ll again be a top defenceman in the league. He’s also proven to be well endeared in every locker room he’s been in and a great member of an organization. There’s no reason to expect Dillon’s play should be any different under his new contract, as he’s proven his worth throughout his career.
Kempny
Losing Michal Kempny is a big blow for the Capitals. However, it may have allowed them to fit Dillon under the cap this year. Despite that, Kempny’s impact will be missed. There may still be hope that he can return if the season doesn’t start until January. Although it would still be closer to the end of the year.
