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Washington Capitals clear $1.9M off salary cap amid roster crunch by placing Sonny Milano on waivers
Photo credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Sonny Milano hits NHL waivers, and the Washington Capitals gamble could hand Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins a sneaky scoring winger.
Elliotte Friedman reported the move moments after Washington signaled it earlier, and it is real, Milano is on waivers today.
This ties directly to Connor McMichael coming off IR, so Washington needed a clean roster spot.
Milano's cap hit is $1.9 million, and his deal runs through the end of the 2025-26 season, so he is a low-cost swing with an expiry date.
He is 29, a 2014 first-rounder, 16th overall by Columbus, and he still has hands in tight when the pace lets him play.
This season, Milano has 4-4-8 in limited action, with under nine minutes a night on average, so the raw totals hide the stop-start usage.
For Pittsburgh, the fit is obvious, you need cheaper skill that can slide around a top-nine without blocking kids long term.
Sonny Milano gives the Pittsburgh Penguins an easy bet
Penguins fans are tired of "almost" offense, so a claim like this feels like the kind of simple gamble Dubas has to take.
Milano can help a second unit on the man advantage, and he can ride shotgun with a play-driver if the chemistry hits early.
The risk is real too, if his pace isn't there, you are carrying a winger who needs touches.
Other teams should be sniffing around, Toronto loves skill on a bargain, Vancouver always looks for depth scoring, and Edmonton never stops hunting finishers for cheap.
If he clears, Washington can stash him in Hershey, but if he gets claimed, a lot of GMs will call it smart business.
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