DALLAS (AP) The Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals cleared some space to try to re-sign a handful of key free agents by trading veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik and backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche for the 47th pick in the NHL draft .Shedding Orpik’s $5.5 million salary in the final year of his contract and dealing Grubauer before he earned more as a restricted free agent gives them more than $20 million in cap space. It’s needed because defensemen John Carlson and Michal Kempny can become unrestricted free agents July 1 and playoff hero Devante Smith-Pelly and top-line winger Tom Wilson will get raises as RFAs.”You don’t like trading away good people Carolina Hurricanes Hoodies Authentic , but it’s what we had to do to move forward with the team,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said Friday night. ”It’s hard to do, but we had to create some room to sign some players.”Carlson, who led all defenseman in scoring in the regular season and playoffs, is expected to cost $8 million-plus a season on a long-term deal. The Capitals would have struggled to fit that under the $79.5 million ceiling without a move like this.MacLellan has met with Carlson’s agent and said the two sides are really close to agreeing to a contract.”We’re going to do our best to sign John,” MacLellan said. ”Hopefully we can close the deal here over the next 24 hours.”The 37-year-old Orpik was a respected alternate captain who got the Cup third after Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom when Washington won its first title in franchise history. The rugged defenseman played almost 20 minutes a game in four seasons with the Capitals and scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas.Colorado GM Joe Sakic was willing to take Orpik in the trade to keep the acquisition cost down and plans to try to trade him or buy him out. He felt it was worth it for the Avalanche to get Grubauer.”We all feel that he’s ready to take the next step and become a No. 1,” Sakic said. ”We’re excited to have two No. 1 goalies.”The 26-year-old joins fellow Capitals draft pick Semyon Varlamov with the Avalanche where he’ll get the chance to start more games than he did behind Braden Holtby in Washington.Grubauer started a career-high 35 games with the Capitals this past season Carolina Hurricanes Hats Authentic , going 28-15-10 with a 2.35 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. He played well enough to be the Capitals’ starter at the beginning of the playoffs but was replaced by Holtby during Game 2 of the first round after allowing eight goals on 49 shots.The Avalanche lost Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier to injuries last season and with this move shored up their goaltending situation. Bernier will depart in free agency. Sakic expects to agree to terms on a deal with Grubauer, a pending restricted free agent, in short order.”I believe it’ll come pretty quick,” Sakic said.The Capitals can only hope the same in their negotiations with Carlson. It’s their goal to sign him before he can speak with other teams when the draft concludes and would be one of the top free agents available.MacLellan also wouldn’t rule out bringing back Orpik if the Avalanche buy him out.”I think it’s legal,” MacLellan said. ”We’re open to that depending on how much room and how much salary it would take and if we want to put him in that third pair again.”— TAMPA, Fla. — As the rest of the NHL opened play earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers practiced. And practiced. And practiced some more.But finally the last two teams yet to begin their season — at least in North America (Edmonton and New Jersey open in Sweden) — drop the puck Saturday at Amalie Arena.“You get a little jealous of watching the games Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys ,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told the team website. “You wish you could not only play one early but play the next one right after. But we’ve had some time here that has allowed us to fine-tune some things here, have some good meetings and have some good practices.”Article continues below ...Both Tampa Bay and Florida enter the season with high expectations, though for completely different reasons.The Lightning are coming off a loss in the Eastern Conference finals to the Washington Capitals, blowing a 3-2 series lead. It marked the second time in three years that Tampa Bay fell in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion in the conference finals.Tampa Bay no longer wants to be seen as a bridesmaid catching the bouquet at the reception. The Lightning want to be holding the prize at the center of the dance floor when the music stops.“It’s a process on how we are going to get there,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “But it’s a hard thing (to get there) and this group has done it year after year. Call it unfinished business.“You don’t know how long that is going to last, but you just have to keep trusting the process in getting there. Look no further than the Washington Capitals, where it was setback after setback after setback and now a lot of those guys that went through a lot of those years got to realize their dreams.“We’re no different www.officialblackhawksproshop.com , it’s just our setback happened a little later in the playoffs. But there is a reason we keep getting that far and it’s because we have a great group in there and you can see the look in their eyes. Guys are looking forward to getting going.”The Panthers, on the other hand, are looking to get into the playoffs for the second time in four seasons after coming up just short last season. A late-season charge fell just a point short as Florida finished with 96 points — tied for the most points for a team that missed the postseason.After coming so close, the Panthers feel primed to be inside the playoff picture rather than on the outside.“Hopefully, the guys use that bad taste in their mouth from last year, being so close,” Boughner said. “We played with pride Chicago Blackhawks T-Shirts Authentic , but that can be a powerful motivator for this season.”Tampa Bay will start the season without veteran forward Ryan Callahan, who remains out after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery but is on track to return “in the coming weeks,” according to Cooper. Center Tyler Johnson is considered questionable after missing the final two weeks of training camp with an undisclosed upper-body injury.Both Callahan and Johnson have been practicing with the team.