The Washington Capitals just landed the perfect player and Carbery confirmed it

Vincent Desharnais just signed with the Washington Capitals, and he says the role they've mapped out for him made the decision easy.

Washington locked him up on a four year deal, and it wasn't the money that sold him. It was the fit.

"They saw me in my role, not someone I'm not," Desharnais said. "Every talk was super positive."

At 6-foot-7 and shooting right, Desharnais built his game on physicality, reach, and making life miserable for whoever's trying to get through him.

That identity slots in perfectly next to a blue line full of offensive minded defensemen already on this roster.

Cole Hutson is entering his first full season at just 20 years old, and Washington wanted someone stabilizing next to him on the right side.

"Helping younger guys ... being able to play with guys that have more offense and just kind of me taking care of our backend, those were all things that were very, very interesting for me," Desharnais said.

Carbery explains why Desharnais frees up Chychrun and Hutson

Head coach Spencer Carbery has a clear read on what he's getting, and it goes beyond what shows up on a stat sheet.

"We know exactly what he is and his identity as an NHL defenseman. I think he has a great understanding of that, so it's going to be a perfect fit," Carbery said.

Rasmus Sandin is out long term, and that absence left a real hole on Washington's back end heading into this season.

Carbery pointed to Matt Roy as the anchor of that group, with Desharnais now added as another right shot defender built to shut things down.

"To have Matt Roy at the forefront, but also Desharnais to be able to really give us a reliable, strong, physical, good-defending defender is a really good fit," Carbery said.

Desharnais posted 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points in 53 games last season, numbers that were never the point of signing him.

Jakob Chychrun put up 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points this past year, exactly the kind of offense Carbery wants freed up to create instead of defend.

"That's something that we need, a right-shot guy that's a little bit more defensively-minded, so that it can open up Jakob Chychrun and Hutty to do their thing," Carbery said.

Washington finished 43-30-9 for 95 points last season, 12th overall, a group that's now betting a steady physical presence on the back end helps push higher.

Desharnais isn't chasing a bigger role than the one he's built his career on. "When I'm at my best, I'm a consistent player, I'm not flashy," he said.

"I take a lot of pride in my D-zone, take a lot of pride in having a good stick, take a lot of pride in having a good PK ... I compete hard," he added.

His plan for Washington is about as simple as his game. "My goal is to show up in Washington, work my ass off and have fun every day," Desharnais said.