Williams Heads to Washington

The last of the big signings on Wednesday came from the Washington Capitals, as they added a key piece for their future playoff success.

Justin Williams, caught in the salary cap crunch in Los Angeles, was left free to roam through the market on Wednesday and the Capitals came calling with a brand new opportunity.  The Caps signed the veteran winger to a 2-year, $6.5 million deal and he'll be a welcome addition to a team that has plenty of scoring talent, but needs that extra little bit of playoff leadership and experience.

Williams, like many Kings in the regular season over the last few years, hasn't exactly been the biggest regular season scorer, only picking up 18 goals and 41 points in 81 games last season, but it's still a pretty good scoring rate for a 2nd line winger.  Williams should fit in well with the team, but it remains to be seen, who he may line up with come puck drop.

To start the Summer, I think Williams will stay around his 2015 numbers, but with the goal scoring record for the Capitals may get his number to nudge up a bracket or two, before it is all said and done.

Williams is a good player and will add a lot to this Capitals team, but it might be more intangibles, than it is scoring, which is exactly what this Washington team needs.  It could be argued that they just didn't have quite enough clutch scoring to get them over the hump this year and that's what their new signing will bring to the table as well.