The Washington Capitals have had some very good general managers. Before building the Nashville Predators from their inception and being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024, David Poile was the Capitals’ GM for 15 seasons. He brought in some of the best to ever play for the organization, like Rod Langway and Peter Bondra. Following Poile was George McPhee, who drafted Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and Braden Holtby, among others, who were huge components in the franchise winning their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018.
Then, there is Brian MacLellan, who took over for McPhee in 2014. Despite the team’s success under McPhee, the Capitals still had trouble getting over the hump in the playoffs. The organization needed a new face to provide his stamp on a roster that already had a lot of talent. MacLellan, along with Barry Trotz, who was hired as head coach, fit what they were looking for.
Related: Trotz Not the Problem With Capitals, What Is?
MacLellan is now leaving the GM role but remaining as team president. Here’s a look back at some of the decisions he made to help Washington win their first championship.
MacLellan’s Crucial Free Agent Additions
A good portion of the 2018 Cup-winning team included free agents signed by MacLellan. He signed veteran blueliners Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen, who both had played for the Pittsburgh Penguins before coming to D.C. Orpik had gone to two straight Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009 and won the Cup in his second appearance. He was brought in to be a guide for his Washington teammates. Niskanen, meanwhile, could provide complementary scoring from the backend. During Niskanen’s tenure with the Penguins, he posted the following numbers:
- 2010-11: one goal and three assists for four points in 18 games
- 2011-12: four goals and 17 assists for 21 points in 75 games
- 2012-13: four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 40 games
- 2013-14: 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points in 81 games
Niskanen provided the perfect amount of help for the Capitals. He was in D.C. for parts of five campaigns and produced the following numbers:
- 2014-15: four goals and 27 assists for 31 points in 82 games
- 2015-16: five goals and 27 assists for 32 points in 82 games
- 2016-17: five goals and 34 assists for 39 points in 78 games
- 2017-18: seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points in 68 games
- 2018-19: eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 80 games
In the 2018 postseason, Niskanen tallied one goal and nine points, holding down the fort on the blue line and making a vital impact.
MacLellan also brought in fan favorite Devante Smith-Pelly during the 2017 free agency period. He signed a one-year contract with the Capitals after spending the previous season with the New Jersey Devils. In 2017-18, Smith-Pelly put up seven goals and nine assists in 79 games, but he shined in the 2018 Playoffs. In 24 contests, he posted eight points (seven goals and one assist). He stepped up and produced some crucial offense when the team needed it. Smith-Pelly played for the Capitals for one more season, in 2018-19, before officially ending his NHL career as a player.
MacLellan’s Important Trades
Free agent signings were not the only way MacLellan molded the Capitals into a Cup contender. One of the most important players Washington received during the MacLellan era was TJ Oshie, one of the Blues’ best forwards for years, who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues via trade for Troy Brouwer, Pheonix Copley, and a 2016 third-round pick. He also gained fame throughout the United States for his shootout performance in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Oshie fit in with the rest of his new teammates in D.C. He quickly became one of the most offensively reliable players. Since coming to Washington, Oshie has amassed the following:
- 2015-16: 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points in 80 games
- 2016-17: 33 goals and 23 assists for 56 points in 68 games
- 2017-18: 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points in 74 games
- 2018-19: 25 goals and 29 assists for 54 points in 69 games
- 2019-20: 26 goals and 23 assists for 49 points in 69 games
- 2020-21: 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 53 games
- 2021-22: 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 44 games
- 2022-23: 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points in 58 games
- 2023-24: 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 52 games
Ovechkin and Backstrom were the heart and soul of the Capitals, but Oshie added another weapon to take the scoring pressure off those two.
Then, during the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, MacLellan traded two second-round picks (2017 and 2018) for forward Lars Eller of the Montreal Canadiens. As good as he had been in Montreal, Eller’s best statistical campaigns were in Washington. As a member of the Capitals, he notched the following:
- 2016-17: 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 81 games
- 2017-18: 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points in 81 games
- 2018-19: 13 goals and 23 assists for 36 points in 81 games
- 2019-20: 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points in 69 games
- 2020-21: eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 44 games
- 2021-22: 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 72 games
- 2022-23: seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 60 games
During the 2018 run, Eller also contributed seven goals and 11 assists in 24 games. He might not get as much attention as Oshie, but he helped solidify the forward depth as the team fought their way to the Cup.
MacLellan Finished What McPhee Started
A lot of the talent on that 2018 Capitals Cup-winning team was thanks to McPhee who was GM before MacLellan. Ovechkin, Backstrom, Carlson, Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson were all McPhee draft picks. However, MacLellan deserves credit for knowing what other players to add to complement that core group. The Oshie trade worked, the Eller trade worked, and bringing in free agents like Orpik and Smith-Pelly worked. McPhee started the build of the Cup-winning team, but MacLellan got them over the finish line.
