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Beck Malenstyn, Washington Capitals (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

5 Capitals Players You Probably Forgot About

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Hayley Paljug | Last updated Jan 19, 2026 4:25 PM ET

In hockey, trades are a dime a dozen. Players come and go, teams retool and reshape, and one season never looks the same as the next. The Washington Capitals are no exception, as players have moved in and out en masse in recent years. Here are five semi-recent Capitals players you may have forgotten about, and what they got up to after leaving the team.

Madison Bowey

Defenseman Madison Bowey was drafted by the Capitals in 2013, 53rd overall. He played with the team and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears, from 2015-16 to 2018-19. Bowey was part of the Capitals’ Stanley Cup Championship squad, but did not stay on the team after that season.

He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Nick Jensen and a second-round draft pick, spending one season there before signing a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021. He finished his time in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL team, the Laval Rocket.

Bowey then went on to play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia for one season, followed by the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters in 2024-25. This season, the defenseman went international again, signing with Germany’s Augsburger Panther, where he has 13 points in 36 games.

Beck Malenstyn

Malenstyn was also drafted by the Capitals as part of their 2016 draft class. The Canadian forward split time between the NHL team and the Bears between 2018 and 2023, playing just 24 games in Washington. However, he spent 185 games at the AHL level.

He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres during the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for a second-round pick. Malenstyn has been with the Sabres since then, amassing just 17 points in 121 games with the team. That second-round trade, 43rd overall overall, ended up becoming Cole Hutson, one of the team’s best prospects. Hutson has 21 points in 20 games with Boston University this season.

Craig Smith

If you’re looking for a who’s who of “who is that?” on the Capitals, Smith might come to mind. His stint in Washington was incredibly brief — just 22 games. The forward joined the team in February of 2023. Smith and three draft picks were acquired from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway, two multi-season members of the squad.

In his 22 games, Smith totaled six points (five goals, one assist). Following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, he signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars as a free agent. His last season in the NHL was 2024-25, when he signed with the Blackhawks and was ultimately traded to the Red Wings. He remained unsigned through the start of the 2025-26 season and announced his retirement in December 2025.

Kevin Shattenkirk

Another player who spent a very short time in Washington is Shattenkirk. The defenseman spent seven seasons with the St. Louis Blues before being traded to the Capitals ahead of the 2017 Trade Deadline. He was a costly acquisition for the team; they exchanged a 2017 first-round pick, a conditional 2019 draft pick, Zach Sanford, and Brad Malone for Shattenkirk and goaltender Pheonix Copley.

The trade led to Shattenkirk playing 19 regular-season and 13 playoff games before he signed a four-year contract with the New York Rangers. There, he spent just two seasons before his contract was bought out. He then signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20, winning the Stanley Cup with the team and contributing 13 points in their playoff run.

He spent three seasons on the Anaheim Ducks’ blue line and spent his final season of professional hockey in with the Bruins. He retired in December 2024, having amassed 484 points in 952 games.

Radko Gudas

The Capitals picked up Gudas in the 2019 offseason from the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade involving Matt Niskanen– an even defender-for-defender trade. He spent just one season, 63 games, with the Capitals and totaled just 15 points in that span. After his time in Washington, he was a free agent and signed with the Florida Panthers on a three-year contract.

After his contract expired, Gudas signed with the Ducks in free agency to three-year deal. In his second season with the team, he was named the ninth team captain in franchise history, filling in the gap left by Ryan Getzlaf after his retirement. Gudas is in his third season with the Ducks, where he has tallied nine points in 33 games.

While many of these players’ stints with the Capitals were short-lived or uneventful, each season’s rosters would not have been complete without them. It will be interesting to look back on this season’s roster in a few years. Who will fans have forgotten about by then?