Including Bradley, the Capitals lost six players who played for them in the playoffs, as well as back-up goaltender Semyon Varlamov. To replace some of the departed players, Washington traded its 2011 first round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for veteran winger Troy Brouwer, who was a member of the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup championship team in 2010. They then signed Joel Ward as a free agent, adding grit and the hopes that he could duplicate his 2011 playoff success. Ward scored seven goals and 13 points in 12 playoff games with the Nashville Predators, after scoring 10 goals and 29 points in 80 regular season games. In net, they added veteran Tomas Vokoun, who was considered to be one of the top goaltenders in the 2011 free agent class. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract, well below his believed market value, to have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup. After making these and other off-season moves, the Capitals were over the NHL salary cap. The expectation was that defenseman Tom Poti would not be able to play due to injury and Washington would be forced to place him on long-term injured reserve, where his $2.9 million salary would not count against the cap total. Unexpectedly, Poti told the Capitals that he would be ready to play by training camp. Poti, however, failed his medical exam prior to training camp and was placed on long-term injured reserve.