Miroshnichenko's agent makes trade request public

Ivan Miroshnichenko's agent made his client's trade request official this week. Dan Milstein told DFO Insider that Miroshnichenko wants a trade to a team that can give him a true top-six role. This is the clearest public word yet on a move the Capitals already set up. Read more: Miroshnichenko's agent makes trade request public

Milstein made the comments on the DFO Insider podcast with Jeff Marek and David Pagnotta. He called the 22-year-old winger "a very good young player, very promising with superstar potential."

But he said Washington's forward group is too deep for him to play every night. "The highest bidder gets the deal done," Milstein said of how a trade will eventually come together.

Washington granted Milstein permission to find a new home for Miroshnichenko in late October. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman first reported the move in his Saturday Headlines segment. Friedman said the Capitals want a legitimate return.

They also will not simply give the winger away or put him on waivers. Milstein said there is no timeline on the trade request. Still, his only standard is that the next stop has to be the right one.

That patience has not shown up in the lineup.

Miroshnichenko has played just three games this season, averaging 11:03 and scoring one goal. He has also been a healthy scratch for five straight games and has not played since Oct. 20. In 55 career NHL games he has six goals and eight assists, a modest line for a first-round pick who signed a two-year, $1.85 million extension last October.

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Interest and an asking price

Pagnotta named six teams with reported interest. Chicago, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Seattle, Calgary and Los Angeles have all come up. Marek reported that Washington wants at least a first-round pick in return.

He also said the Capitals prefer to deal Miroshnichenko outside the Eastern Conference, which explains why most of those suitors play out West. Milstein described the search as selective. Still, he said he is working closely with the Capitals.

The 2022 first-round pick has outproduced his NHL role every time he has gone to Hershey. In fact, he has 101 points in 141 AHL games over the last three seasons.