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UPDATE, 6/22/2018, 11 p.m.:ÌýWashington Capitals select defenseman Alexander Alexeyev from Russia with the 31²õ³ÙÌýoverall pick of the NHL draft. 

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals have announced a trade that sends goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Brooks Orpik to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second-round pick (47th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Both players joined the Capitals in 2014. Grubauer was selected with the 112th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, and Orpik signed as a free agent on July 1, 2014.

Grubauer posted a 15-10-3 record in a career-high 35 starts for the Capitals last season, and started the team’s first two postseason games in Columbus. The 26-year-old goaltender played his entire career with the Capitals, notching a 2.29 goals against average and a .923 save percentage in 101 games (43-31-11 record).

Orpik, 37, played in 81 games last season, scoring 10 points (all assists). In his Capitals career, Orpik had 53 points (three goals, 50 assists) and 830 hits in 279 games.

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 the Caps 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.

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.

“We would like to thank Brooks and Philipp for all of their contributions to our organization,” said Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan. “Philipp has been a consummate professional and a great teammate and we wish him all the best. Brooks was a great leader and a tremendous role model for our young players in his four years with our organization. This was a difficult move, but the one we felt we needed to make in order to give some flexibility moving forward.”

MacLellan added Grubauer had earned the opportunity to be a starting goaltender somewhere. 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.