The Washington Capitals waived Devante Smith-Pelly on Wednesday, coach Todd Rierden said.
The Caps had signed Smith-Pelly, 26, to a one-year, $1 million contract in the off-season, following the winger’s spectacular play on the way to winning the Stanley Cup last season.
Smith-Pelly had seven postseason goals, including three in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. He had the game-tying goal in the Caps’ clinching Game 5 win. But Pelly-Smith had just four goals and four assists in 54 games before his release Wednesday morning. He has no points in his last 17 games.
Rierden said the team had initially planned to waive Dmitrij Jaskin but changed their mind in anticipation of Monday’s trade deadline.
“Right now, there is a lot of movement going on, especially for teams that are salary-capped strapped like we are,” Reirden said. “Earlier in the day, we had made the decision to put Jaskin on waivers and we changed our mind and were notified during practice. We made that adjustment and now Devante has been put on waivers.”
Smith-Pelly has 44 goals and 57 assists in 395 career regular season games with the Capitals, Ducks, Canadiens, and Devils.