New Additions: F Justin Sourdif (from FLA), D Declan Chisholm (from MIN)

Subtractions: F Andrew Mangiapane (to EDM), F Taylor Raddysh (to NYR), F Lars Eller (to OTT), D Alexander Alexeyev (to PIT), F T.J. Oshie (Retired)

Retentions/Extensions: F Justin Sourdif (2yr x $825k AAV), D Declan Chisholm (2yr x $1.6M AAV), D Martin Fehervary (7yr x $6M AAV), F Anthony Beauvillier (2 yr x $2.75M AAV), F Hendrix Lapierre (1yr x $850k)

The 2024-25 Washington Capitals were a special team, who had a special season. The season will be remembered as the year that Alex Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time leader goal scorer, and for a lot of the season that was the narrative that drove this team. Ovi entered the season 42 goals shy of breaking the record held by Wayne Gretzky, whose 894 career goals looked like an untouchable number not too long ago. He started the season on fire, looking like he was going to do it should he keep up his pace. Unfortunately in late November he broke part of his leg, and it seemed like the record was going to stand for at least another season. But the Russian machine came back in less than two months, and picked up right where he left off, and on April 6th, 2025, Ovi broke the record. 

Despite “The Gr8 Chase” being quite the distraction to the team, they had the best record in the Eastern Conference. Head Coach Spencer Carbery took home the Jack Adams Award, leading the team to their first 50+ win season since 2017. The Caps had made the playoffs the year prior, but that was the result of a weak conference, as the team only had 40 wins, and took the final wild card spot with only 91 points. The 2024 offseason was a busy one for Washington, bringing in defencemen Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy, forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and goaltender Logan Thompson.

Thompson was an undrafted free agent who worked his way up the Vegas Golden Knights organization. His numbers were always excellent, but he had a long injury history, and the team had committed to Adin Hill so they traded the former Brock Badger to Washington. He quickly took over as the team’s starter, and had a great first year in a Capitals jersey, posting a 31-6-6 record, with a .910 SV% and a 2.49 GAA. The team extended him this past January on a six year deal with a $5.85M cap hit. Injuries are still very much a concern for him, but the team has a fairly capable backup to lighten his workload and take over should a long term injury occur, Charlie Lindgren.

Chychrun and Roy came in and completely transformed the D corps into one of the best units in the NHL. Chych has been a solid defenceman for a few years now, dating back to his time in Arizona. He was a popular name in trade rumours for years and finally got shipped to Ottawa, where he was competing for minutes with Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson. Once again he was on the move, but it seems as though he has found a long term home in Washington. The 27 year old had a career high 20 goals and 47 points in 2024-25, and enters the first year of an eight year extension this upcoming season. Roy played a key role for this team even strength and on the penalty kill. John Carlson is still there, and as long as he is in town the veteran will play in all situations and serve as the number one defenceman, although with Chychrun they have a 1A/1B situation going on, which is never a bad problem to have. Rasmus Sandin provides another puck mover on the blue line, and has shown improvements all around each year. Martin Fehervary has been a steady top four defenceman and he cashed in this offseason with a long term deal (7yr x $6M AAV). Trevor van Riemsdyk rounds out the group, and is one of the better third pairing right shot defencemen in the league, he knows his role and plays it well.

Ovechkin has seen a lot of change at forward over the last decade, and the front office’s ability to draft well and bring in the right pieces are a big reason why Ovi is not spending his final years playing for a bottom feeder. Tom Wilson is the only other forward remaining from the 2018 championship team. Wilson has always been given credit as a power forward, but last year he took his game to another level, scoring 33 goals and 65 points, making him not only feared for his physicality, but what he is able to do on the offensive end.

Dylan Strome, the 3rd overall pick in 2015 did not start his career the way he hoped. Taken by the Coyotes to be the team’s future first line center, he only played 48 games in Arizona before being traded in 2018 to the Chicago Blackhawks. He was able to finally find his footing in Chicago and establish himself as a player in the league. But the best thing for his career was signing with the Capitals in 2022, as the team was looking for a center with legend Nicklas Backstrom nearing the end of his career. He has recorded 65 points, 67 points and a career best 82 points this past season through three years with the Caps. It took him longer than expected, but Strome appears to finally be a legit first line center, and a point per game player if he can keep up his production from last season.

The success of Strome probably had an influence in the team’s willingness to go and trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois last offseason. Another former 3rd overall pick, PLD had a disastrous year with the Los Angeles Kings in 2023-24. It was the first year of an eight year contract ($8.5M AAV), and Dubois had his worst career output in a full season, with a measly 40 points in 82 games. He was never a fit, and Kings fans were quick to want him gone. In Washington, he returned to his normal self, which is a reliable top six forward that is good for 20-30 goals and ~60 points (20 goals and 66 points in 2024-25). His contract will likely keep him with the Capitals for the foreseeable future, but it was a much needed bounce back year for him.

Depth is a great strength of this team, not just solid bottom six guys like Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime, they have a handful of young, scoring forwards who can move around the lineup, giving the team lots of flexibility. Aliaksei Protas’ breakout season last year did not get enough attention, as the 24 year old had 30 goals and 66 points in 76 games. He figures to start in the top six this year, but was great in many different roles last season. Connor McMichael is also beginning to establish himself, the 2019 first round pick (25th overall) had 24 goals and 57 points last year. Him and Protas will look to continue their upward trajectory and provide secondary scoring. Anthony Beauvillier was a solid addition at the deadline last season, and the team re-signed him for another two years. Lots of eyes will be on Ryan Leonard this season, the 8th overall pick in 2023. He made his debut late last season and played in the playoffs as well, but struggled to produce with only a goal and an assist in 17 appearances. Fans are hoping that with a full off-season to prepare and expectations to play in the NHL this season, that he will be much more ready for the pros.

I think Carbery, 43. is one of the best young coaches in the league. Certainly a great hire for the team after they had been just going through the coaching carousel for years, thinking that they would find success with another experienced coach like they did with Trotz. But instead they opted for a first time head coach and it has completely changed the culture of the team, as before his hiring it really felt like this team was going to be in need of a rebuild after Ovi retired. It looks like the team can compete in the here and now, and in the future. The team’s identity no longer just revolves around the Great 8, but it does not hurt to have the greatest goalscorer in league history on the team too.