Where Things Currently Stand With McMichael, Pacioretty & Capitals' Pending Free Agents

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals have some business to take care of over the offseason, including addressing a handful of free agents.

Washington has four free agents on the main roster, with Beck Malenstyn and Connor McMichael both restricted free agents and Max Pacioretty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

When it comes to Malenstyn and McMichael, general manager Brian MacLellan said they've had some initial conversations about an extension but wanted to wait until the season's end to continue communicating.

McMichael, who played top-6 minutes and spent a lot of time as the team's first-line center, said his agent has been in contact with MacLellan and that he felt his game took a big jump this season. Malenstyn, who led the charge on the penalty kill and thrived on the fourth line alongside Nic Dowd, added that he's enjoyed his time in Washington and would like to stay.

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As for Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Max Pacioretty, MacLellan said he still has to meet with the coaching staff on where they fit in to decide what's next.

"I'll meet with coaches here. We'll go through lineups and what we think we need and then we'll make decisions before July 1 on that," MacLellan said.

While it's unclear if Aube-Kubel wants to return, Pacioretty said he hasn't thought about next steps yet and said he's ultimately focused on returning to the form he was at before back-to-back torn Achilles. He had four goals and 19 assists in 47 games with Washington after making his return to the lineup.

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Several depth players are also set to hit free agency, as Ethen Frank, Riley Sutter, Hardy Häman Aktell, Alex Limoges and Mitchell Gibson are all RFAs, while Joe Snively, Matthew Phillips (Group 6), Chase Priskie and Lucas Johansen (Group 6) will become UFAs.

Washington has expressed happiness with the prospect pool over the course of the year and Hershey's players are all currently in the Calder Cup Playoffs after leading the Bears to the best record in the AHL, so one has to imagine MacLellan will want to keep the band together down there.