Eastern Conference off-season preview: Washington Capitals

The biggest surprise of the 2024-25 season was the Washington Capitals.

In 2023-24, they snuck into the playoffs on the final day and were the last team to clinch a berth to the post-season. Just one year later, the Capitals were the first team to punch their ticket to the post-season, finishing with the most points in the Eastern Conference.

Let’s take a look at how their 2024-25 season went, what they did over the off-season, and how the team stacks up heading into the new season.

How the season went

After winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, it looked as if the Capitals’ window of contention was coming to an end. In fact, they hadn’t made it out of the first round since that Stanley Cup victory, and missed the post-season in 2022-23. They snuck into the 2024 post-season, but were promptly swept by the New York Rangers.

In the 2024 off-season, the Capitals made numerous moves, including bringing in Logan Thompson, Jakob Chychrun, and Pierre-Luc Dubois. It was clear from the start that it was going to be a far more successful season for the Capitals as they started the year 9-3.

By the end of the season, the Capitals had a 51-22-9 record with 111 points, the most in the Eastern Conference and second-most in the National Hockey League. This set up a first-round match-up against the Montréal Canadiens, a rematch of the 2010 playoffs with the exact seeding.

The Capitals won Game 1, as Alexander Ovechkin scored his first career playoff overtime goal. They won the second game 3-1 to put the Canadiens in a hole, but the Canadiens responded with a 6-3 victory. The pivotal Game 4 was won by the Capitals, giving them a 3-1 series lead.

While the Canadiens were in the same predicament a decade and a half ago, there was no comeback this time as the Capitals won Game 5 by a score of 4-1, the same score of the series. Moving on to the second round, they had home ice advantage against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It didn’t go so well for the Capitals. Game 1 saw them fall 2-1 in overtime, but they managed to tie the series at one after a 3-1 victory in Game 2. That was their final win of the 2024-25 season, as the Capitals fell 4-0 in Game 3, 5-2 in Game 4, and 3-1 in Game 5.

Drafted players

Despite being buyers at the trade deadline, the Capitals elected not to trade their first-round pick, using it to draft Lynden Lakovic from the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

They also didn’t trade their second or third round picks, using it to select Swedish centre Milton Gastrin and German winger Maxim Schafer. With their fifth-round pick, the Capitals drafted centre Jackson Crowder, followed by defenceman Aron Dahlqvist with their sixth-round pick.

Trades

It was a rather quiet off-season for the Capitals, both in terms of trades and signings. On Jun. 26, they sent their 2026 second-round pick and their 2027 sixth-round pick to the Florida Panthers for Justin Sourdif.

They made two trades at the draft, one to move up and in the other one, they acquired Declan Chisholm from the Minnesota Wild for Chase Priskie.

Free agent signings

On the free agent side of things, they mainly stuck with depth players, but were able to extend Martin Fehérváry, Chisholm, Sourdif, Anthony Beauvillier, and Hendrix Lapierre.

Departures

The Capitals lost far more than they gained. Former Calgary Flame Andrew Mangiapane departed for the Edmonton Oilers. Lars Eller also signed with a Canadian team, the Ottawa Senators, while Taylor Raddysh signed with the New York Rangers.

Moreover, T.J. Oshie retired after not playing in 2024-25, while Alexander Alexeyev signed with the Pirates.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26

Looking at their projected lineup for the 2025-26 season, the Capitals won’t have the same type of season as they did last year. Down the middle, they have Dylan Strome, Dubois, Connor McMichael, and Nic Dowd. They’re missing a high-end centre.

Ovechkin enters his 21st season after breaking the goal record, and he projects to be on their top line with Beauvillier. Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas make up their second line wings. As for the wingers in their bottom six, Sonny Milano, Ryan Leonard, Brandon Duhaime, and Sourdif all have a chance to crack their roster.

On defence, veteran John Carlson leads a core that features Rasmus Sandin, Chychrun, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Fehérváry, and Matt Roy. And between the pipes, the Capitals feature two right-handed catching goalies, Thompson and Charlie Lindgren.