Capitals sign Theodor Niederbach to one-year contract

The deal would pay Niederbach $1.025 million at the NHL level and $85,000 in the AHL.

The 24-year-old spent the 2025-26 campaign with Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League, where he scored 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points in 52 regular-season games. He also recorded a goal and an assist in six SHL playoff games.

In 2024-25, Niederbach, a native of Bjasta, Sweden, recorded 14 goals and hit career highs in both assists (19) and points (33) with the SHL’s Modo Hockey. In 238 career SHL regular-season games, he has 42 goals and 58 assists for 100 points.

Niederbach represented Sweden at both the 2021 and 2022 World Junior Championships, earning a bronze medal in 2022. Through 12 career WJC games, he recorded three goals and three assists for six points.

The 5-foot-11 forward spent two seasons in Sweden’s junior league with Vastra Frolunda Jr., where he scored 28 goals and 55 assists for 83 points in 59 career regular-season games.

Niederbach was taken in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.

The Capitals finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 43-30-9 record and 95 points, placing fourth in the Metropolitan Division and falling four points shy of a Wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

Alex Ovechkin led the team in goals and points with 32 and 64, respectively. Dylan Strome had a team-leading 39 assists, while Tom Wilson reached the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career.

Defenseman Jakob Chychrun hit career highs in all offensive categories, recording 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points.