If there was one drawback to being nominated for NHL General Manager of the Year, Brian MacLellan said it was the fact he had to spend two days in Las Vegas while the league’s 27 other GMs were in Buffalo preparing for the draft and, of course, talking trades.

“It’s a little frustrating,” MacLellan said before finishing behind Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford in voting for GM of the Year. “Most guys went to Buffalo a little early and there’s three of us (MacLellan, Rutherford and Stars GM Jim Nill) here in Las Vegas.

“I try to get on the phone early in the morning and have discussions about what guys are thinking of doing and try to find fits with other teams. I think there’s a normal level of discussions going on as far as trade activity. There’s probably six or seven teams that are trying to accomplish something and they’re working at it to see if they can do it. The guys with the high picks, there might a little bit of jockeying to get the guy they want (in the draft).”

The Capitals had made 24 draft day trades in their history, including one in each of the last eight years.

The Caps currently own six picks in this weekend’s NHL draft – one in the first round (26th overall), one in the fourth round (117th overall), two in the fifth round (145th and 147th) and one each in the sixth (177th) and seventh (207th) rounds. MacLellan said he’s identified players the Capitals would like to acquire – either through trade or free agency – who can help fill their need for a bottom six forward with some offensive punch.

“I think it’s easy to throw around the speed word,” MacLellan said. “A lot of the speed issue for me is playing faster. I mean, you don’t want to add slow guys but it’s not necessarily adding just speedsters, either. They have to fit well with your team and what you’re trying to do. We need to play a faster game. I think anybody that played Pittsburgh (in the playoffs) probably feels the same way.

“My thinking is we need a little more secondary scoring. With our young guys maturing and having gone through a couple playoff rounds now, I would expect they be better. I’d be looking to improve the bottom six forwards a little bit to shake up the chemistry.”

The New York Islanders have three pending unrestricted free agents that might interest the Capitals – big hitter Matt Martin, rugged winger Kyle Okposo and playmaking center Frans Nielsen. But the Caps might be interested in acquiring a player with term remaining on his contract through a trade.

“I think it’s important we explore all of it,” MacLellan said. “We’ve had meetings where we’ve identified guys. We think they’ll fit the criteria we’re looking for in our bottom six. We look at free agency, too, possible targets we might have. And we’ll check in next week and pursue everything.”