The Washington Capitals did not make many roster changes in the offseason, as they already had a solid team lined up. However, they did acquire forward Justin Sourdif in a trade with the Florida Panthers and defenseman Declan Chisholm from the Minnesota Wild. They have another newcomer, too – Ryan Leonard – who is playing his first full NHL season. How have these three additions been doing so far to begin the season?
Justin Sourdif
Sourdif was well-received by the Capitals’ front office and coaching staff this offseason, with the organization noting that they had been keeping an eye on him for a while. General manager Chris Patrick said, “He’s a guy we’ve liked for a few years. We’ve tried to get him a couple times from Florida. We see a guy that’s competitive, smart, can play wing and center, plays both special teams at the AHL level.”
Sourdif put on a solid performance in preseason and training camp, good enough to secure his spot as a regular member of Washington’s fourth line. He has been playing right wing alongside Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd, appearing in all six Capitals games this season. While the winger has yet to produce offensively, things do look positive when he is on the ice. Per Capitals’ blog RMNB, at even strength, Washington has had 60.9 percent of their shot attempts, 61.8 percent of their scoring chances, and 72.5 percent of their high-danger chances when Sourdif is in play. Individually, he has recorded eight shots on goal, 18 shot attempts, and nine hits.
Head coach Spencer Carbery played Sourdif at center part-time in Sunday’s game versus the Vancouver Canucks, and later hinted that he might move him to center permanently, especially in Pierre-Luc Dubois’ absence, as he deals with an injury. “He can play the wing, but we think there’s potentially a centerman there at the NHL level,” Carbery said after the loss to the Canucks. “And so I liked it a lot. I’m looking for any opportunity I can get him in the middle of the ice to see what that looks like.” The forward was switched to third line center in the team’s win against the Seattle Kraken, and registered one shot and three hits. Perhaps continuing to play center will allow Sourdif more offensive chances and better opportunities to get his name on the scoresheet.
Declan Chisholm
Chisholm is another Canadian addition to the team, this time a defenseman. He comes from the Wild, having played 66 games, where he registered 12 points and 69 shot attempts. He has only appeared in two Capitals games this season, one against the New York Rangers and another against his former team. In his first appearance in Capitals’ red, he notched one point, a secondary assist on Anthony Beauvillier’s goal, which turned out to be the only goal of the game. He did not tally any points in his second game.
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Chisholm has spent an average of 14:42 on ice, helping out the blue line with two blocks and one hit, and spending 44% of his time in the defensive zone. He is fairly inexperienced, having played just 101 NHL games, but looks to be a solid defenseman based on the small sample size of games.
Ryan Leonard
Perhaps the most anticipated newcomer to the Capitals, Leonard was the team’s 2023 first-round draft pick and had a spectacular college career. While he played nine regular-season games and eight playoff games in 2024-25, it is now his true rookie season. He has been playing every game as a right winger on the third line, where he has spent an average of 12:41 on ice. He has scored three goals on 16 shots so far.
Leonard plays a fast, physical game. In six games, he has laid 14 hits and registered a max skating speed of just over 22 miles per hour. He shows a lot of promise, and Carbery noted that he will not be measuring the success of his rookie year by how much he scores. “His success or failures will not be whether he finishes on scoring chances,” Carbery said in the preseason. Rather, he is looking for Leonard to win puck battles, play along the wall, shoulder check, and read the plays effectively. So far, he appears to be living up to those expectations.
With the Capitals being at 5-2-0 this season, it seems as though their new additions are making positive contributions to the team. The Capitals face the Columbus Blue Jackets on a one-game road trip on Friday.
