The Washington Capitals placed 22-year-old defenseman Vincent Iorio on waivers and lost him to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Iorio was the team’s top pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and spent three years developing in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Hershey Bears. He was waived to make room for veteran defenseman Dylan McIlrath after being activated from injured reserve (IR). The Capitals lost Iorio without return. The Sharks had an open spot on the roster after defenseman Timothy Liljegren was placed on IRso it’s unclear if Iorio will be a long-term addition to the team.
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The British Columbia native was on the team’s opening night roster for the first time in his career this season, but has been a healthy scratch for all four games thus far. He was a great presence on the Bears’ blue line, helping them to their back-to-back Calder Cup championships and playing 190 career AHL gamesgood for 63 points. His size, speed and accuracy are his assets and would have been extremely valuable to the Capitals. Letting go of an already solid young defenseman in favor of someone who will age out of the game in a few years is poor management from the front office.
Iorio vs. McIlrath
Although McIlrath is a much more experienced player, spending 618 regular season games in the AHL, Iorio has noticeably better skating and shooting skills than McIlrath. In his 218 games in the Capitals organization (split between the Bears and Capitals), the aging defenseman has achieved only 36 points. On the other hand, in Iorio’s 199 Capitals/Bears games, Iorio scored 57 points – a higher conversion rate. While accumulating points is not the primary job of defenders, it is extremely beneficial to a team and makes them a more complete player.
McIlrath is also 11 years older than Iorio and prone to injuries. He has worked in IR several times during his career and will likely continue this trend at age 33. While McIlrath is well-liked by the Capitals organization and has spent time as captain of the Bears, his on-ice presence isn’t sharp enough to warrant keeping him on the roster for a young talent.
The case for Iorio
Iorio was an incredibly attractive waiver target, especially for a team like the Sharks. It’s no surprise they snapped him up quickly as they can afford to take a risk on young, developing talent as they rebuild. They are probably so far away from the playoffs that taking risks won’t make a difference, and a player like Iorio was a perfect target to fill Liljegren’s spot. NHL teams in general are always looking for big, right-handed blueliners with elite skating skills, and Iorio fits that bill perfectly. His contract was also a no-brainer for a team to claim waivers.
The young defender is still in his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. McIlrath would have been a tougher pick-up, him recently signed a two-year contract extension worth $1.6 millionwhere he is paid $800,000 at both the NHL and AHL levels. Losing a player whose skills can easily be found elsewhere isn’t the end of the world. However, losing a player like Iorio could be a move the Capitals regret in a few years.
Renouncing Iorio is familiar, but confusing
A storyline like this is not unknown to the team. Just a handful of years ago, ahead of the 2020-21 season, the Capitals signed aging defenseman Zdeno Chara to a one-year deal, effectively cutting then-23-year-old defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler from the lineup. While he was still developing his game, he showed incredible promise and became a valued member of the squad. He eventually requested a trade and was sent to the New Jersey Devils, where he soon became one of the best defensive players for the team.
If the Capitals had kept Iorio in the AHL, he would qualify as a “veteran” player at just 23 years old, as he would have played 260 games with the Bears. They should have reasonably called him up to the NHL level, even as a healthy scratch for most games. Although they have a large pool of defensemen, the team’s regular right-handed blueliners are all over the age of 30 and the majority of the young defensemen are left-handed. Ryan Chesley and Cam Allen are the only other good players in the prospect pool.
Head coach Spencer Carbery called this a “difficult decision”saying, “We wish Vinny nothing but the best. He’s such a great person first and foremost. Has given his best over the years, won multiple Calder Cups, been a huge part of the Hershey team. He’s put a lot of work into earning this opportunity to play in the NHL, so wish him nothing but the best and we’ll see him along the way. But yeah, really tough decision.” It’ll be interesting to see how the move turns out plays for Iorio, McIlrath, the Sharks and the Capitals. I have a feeling that in a few years, Capitals fans will say to the front office, “I told you so.”
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