A third potential suitor has stepped to the negotiating table for Dan Hamhuis. It’s safe to say the vacancy made by the Chicago Blackhawks has been filled three-fold at this stage and there’s still another two days to the February 29th deadline.

This is the first substantial connection between the two clubs, although it’s been speculated for months now that the Capitals would be the perfect fit for Hamhuis. The Capitals have a glaring need on the back-end, which was only made worse by the news that John Carlson will be out for the next 3-4 weeks 

Further to that point of Washington being an excellent fit, their head coach Barry Trotz was the Nashville Predators head coach when Hamhuis first broke into the league in the 2003-04 season. Familiarity could be a factor, if for no other reason than it might assuage Hamhuis’ concerns about leaving this market.

The injury sustained by Carlson gives the Capitals wiggle room, but it’s not the only such boost to their financial health down the stretch. Washington also placed Brooks Laich on waivers this morning, for the purpose of reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. That gives the Capitals an additional $950,000 against the cap.

Since the Capitals have deemed Laich and his contract a redundancy as they gear up for an extended playoff run, it’s clear they would prefer to rid themselves of that contract entirely. It’s a situation the Canucks should ponder as they enter these negotiations – should they enter these negotiations at all, of course. The package of picks and prospects will be much more to their liking if they can take Laich and his $4.5-million contract off the Capitals hands for this season and next.

The most obvious piece the Canucks will hone in on will be Madison Bowey. The 20-year old, puck-moving defenceman out of the Kelowna Rockets system is on the cusp of entering the NHL as a full-time contributor. Bowey is at a near-half-point-per-game pace with the Bears of the AHL and has a +16 rating. Other prospects that might be of interest include Jakub Vrana and Jonas Siegenthaler. Suffice to say, the Capitals have the picks to scratch at whatever itch the Canucks may have.

We’ll keep you posted as updates are made available.