"A bunch of rich jerks" - ESPN insider calls out Washington Capitals for buying out CapFriendly

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Jun 12, 2024 17:37 GMT

The Washington Capitals have made headlines with their recent announcement of acquiring the popular salary cap tracking website, CapFriendly. General manager Brian MacLellan threw some light on the decision. He called it a strategic move for the hockey club.

In response to the acquisition, ESPN insider Greg Wyshynski took to X to express his thoughts on the matter. He labeled the Washington move as taking CapFriendly away from users, stating:

"Here's the @Capitals statement on taking Cap Friendly away from us like a bunch of rich jerks."

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Capitals to boost management, scouting and player development with CapFriendly integration

Washington intends to integrate CapFriendly's platform to strengthen management, scouting, analytics and player development. Furthermore, the acquisition aims to improve salary cap and contractual applications within the organization.

"We anticipate that this acquisition will significantly enhance and integrate the various branches of our hockey operations department, allowing us to strengthen our management, scouting, analytics and player development, in addition to augmenting our salary cap and contractual applications," MacLellan said.

MacLellan pointed out the benefits it will bring to the organization and expressed excitement for the collaboration with the CapFriendly team.

"We are thrilled that Jamie, Ryan and Christopher have agreed to join our organization and are excited to add the CapFriendly platform and the team’s related deep industry knowledge to the Capitals front office,” MacLellan concluded.

MacLellan addressed the public, explaining that the acquisition is intended to bolster Washington's in-house hockey operations department. The deal includes CapFriendly's tools and functions, which will enable the organization to better analyze both internal and League-supplied data.

Additionally, Jamie, Ryan and Christopher Davis, the team behind CapFriendly will join the Washington front office once the deal is finalized.

"This strategic move will provide the Capitals organization with the ability to digest, present and analyze both our internal and League-supplied data and will also bring on board Jamie, Ryan and Christopher Davis, talented members of the CapFriendly team, once the deal has closed," MacLellan added.

MacLellan recognized the value of their expertise and the existing infrastructure, which will enhance various aspects of the hockey operations department.

"The existing infrastructure will be a valuable addition to the team’s hockey operations department in many ways," MacLellan continued.

MacLellan explained that CapFriendly will remain independent until the deal is finalized, likely in early to mid-July. This timing coincides with the end of the NHL draft and the start of free agency.