Nic Dowd and the Washington Capitals agreed on a three-year deal today. He is currently on the injured reserve list, playing nine games so far this year with one goal.
The Washington Capitals have re-signed center Nic Dowd to a three-year contract extension, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. Dowd's contract will carry an average annual value of $1.3 million.https://t.co/joS0yCeFy2
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 14, 2021
Nic Dowd Gets New Deal
The veteran centre is in his seventh NHL season, playing out a three-year, $750,000 per season deal. The Los Angeles Kings drafted Dowd in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, 198th overall. Like most NHL players taken in the seventh round, he needed time to reach the top league. He spent four years in the NCAA and another two in the AHL before getting his shot with the Kings.
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Dowd has built a career on the fourth line, averaging between 11 and 12 minutes of ice time in his stops at Los Angeles, Washington, and a brief stay with the Vancouver Canucks. He uses his 6’2″ frame well, and produces a modest amount, scoring 11 goals last season in just 56 games. All told, Dowd has 36 goals and 79 points in 316 NHL games. He missed out on the Capitals Stanley Cup-winning run, but has 20 playoff games with them, scoring three goals.
What This Means
Nic Dowd is a player any coach would like to have. He’s a reliable veteran who puts his body on the line when needed, but not recklessly. Dowd doesn’t collect penalty minutes, either, with just 138 on his career. He’s good in the face-off circle and can be found on the ice late to protect leads. While the money is almost twice what he was making previously, it’s not an unreasonable amount. And at 31 years old it’s unlikely he’ll underperform it by much as he ages.
This is a very low-risk deal to continue stability in the team’s bottom six. Even if things should go terribly wrong and he’s pushed off the team, $1.3 million is easy to transfer to the minors.
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