After the Washington Capitals acquired Lars Eller from the Montreal Canadiens last Friday in exchange for second-round draft picks in 2017 and 2018, Brian MacLellan was relieved the 27-year-old center he had been pursuing was finally going to be on the roster.
“We identified him probably over a year ago and he was on our list this year,” the Capitals’ vice president and general manager told reporters in Buffalo on Friday after the first round of the NHL draft. “We kept trying and making calls to see if we could trade for him. And it happened.”
Eller eventually heard those comments and the praise MacLellan offered. He also spoke with Barry Trotz after he was informed he was traded and the Capitals’ coach told Eller he’d fit in as the team’s third-line center behind Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
That was a welcoming message for Eller, who didn’t have as much of a defined role with the Canadiens. The Capitals’ strong desire to acquire Eller quickly helped him get over the initial shock that he was being traded.
“When you get those calls you know it’s always a possibility, but it wasn’t expected,” Eller said in a conference call with reporters on Monday.
“[Trotz] and Brian sounded like they scouted me a lot and know a lot about what I can do and all that stuff. I’m just really excited that they wanted me that much and that they see me fitting in the way they do. I’m going to go play for a Stanley Cup contender. It’s fun playing on a winning team where they have a winning culture and they have a chance to play for a Cup. I’m honestly really excited about that.”
Last season, which was Eller’s sixth with the Canadiens, he scored 13 goals and added 13 assists. He played both center and wing, an experience he said helped him “learn a lot, but I’m also excited to move on.”
“It’s hard to say it was an issue,” Eller said of playing both positions. “Maybe sometimes it worked against me. But I always tried to have the attitude that it’s a good thing that you’re able to play more positions, that it can help you.”
Marcus Johansson, Mike Richards and Jay Beagle all contributed as the third-line center at one point last season. Johansson is a restricted free agent and Richards in an unrestricted free agent. Eller said Trotz “really didn’t bring up names,” when discussing who he’d be playing with on the third-line. Either way, Eller, who considers himself a natural fit at center, is excited about having a more defined role with the Capitals.
“I’m sure I’m going to get some good wingers that we’re going to go out and I’m going to have fun playing with and create a lot of offense but at the same time be responsible defensively,” Eller said. “From experience, the lines, they always change during a season and new things are going to be tried and this and that.”
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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