We’ve looked at the Carolina Hurricanes. We reviewed where things stand with the New Jersey Devils. It’s now time to check in with the reigning Metropolitan Division champion Washington Capitals.
Welcome to Part 3 of our 2025 Columbus Blue Jackets’ Summer Series. We are comparing them to everyone in the Eastern Conference to try to get a sense of where they stand as an organization.
If the Blue Jackets hope to take the next all-important step in their journey, they would be wise to take a page out of the Capitals’ handbook. The Capitals have been a model of consistency since the day Alex Ovechkin stepped into the NHL.
Setting the Scene
What has Ovechkin meant to the Capitals? We would need tens of thousands of words to measure his full impact on the franchise. He will go down as one of the greatest players ever.
Besides rewriting the record book, Ovechkin has helped the Capitals win an astounding 11 division titles and three President’s Trophies in his storied career. Of course they hit the jackpot in 2018 when they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
In such a remarkable career, there are lessons that can be learned from it. Remember when the questions about Ovechkin centered around if he’d ever win the Stanley Cup? His teams saw some playoff success but also saw their fair share of complete heartbreak.
It wasn’t until that unforgettable 2017-18 season that the Capitals were finally able to break through. Even in the midst of their run, they had moments in which it looked like their season would end.
The Blue Jackets had the Capitals in a 2-0 hole going back to Columbus. Game 3 at Nationwide Arena went to overtime with the Blue Jackets just one goal away from a 3-0 series lead.
Then Lars Eller happened.
That moment flipped the switch for the Capitals. They needed that moment to generate the momentum to make their run through the playoffs. Even despite all the good things they did up to that point, the Eller goal will go down as one of the biggest turning points in franchise history.
The Capitals went on to win four straight from the Blue Jackets to win the series 4-2. Then to compound their momentum, they exorcised the demon known to them as the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The series was 3-2 Capitals with Game 6 in overtime. The Penguins usually found a way to make magic in those situations. Not this time.
Evgeny Kuznetsov beat Matt Murray to help the Capitals advance to the Eastern Conference Final. In its own way, that goal will be remembered as one of their biggest goals in franchise history.
It took Ovechkin 13 seasons to get to the pinnacle. As great as he was, it was ultimately those around him that propelled the Capitals to the ultimate greatness.
This is where the Blue Jackets can learn valuable lessons from the Capitals. Not only do the Blue Jackets want to be a model of consistency like the Capitals have been, they want to eventually climb to the top.
In order for the Blue Jackets to get there, they need to build a team that can do so. How do they compare to the Capitals now? It’s clear they have some lessons to learn.
Forwards
How have the Capitals been able to sustain this kind of consistency in being one of the best in the Metropolitan Division for so long? They have star power. But more importantly, they showed an ability to adapt and change when it was necessary.
Look no further than the Capitals’ center depth. Knowing they needed to get younger and faster, they underwent an on the fly retooling of their roster. It has captured the full attention of the NHL.
Teams normally boast their own, home-grown talent when looking at their top-six forwards. In Pierre-Luc Dubois and Dylan Strome, the Capitals went outside the organization to address two of the most important positions on the ice.
Dubois was acquired when the Capitals traded Darcy Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings. Strome was not given a qualifying offer by the Chicago Blackhawks which opened the door for Washington to sign him as a free agent.
What makes this so fascinating is that many thought the Capitals’ contention window was closing fast. Instead, not only did they extend their window, they’re showing everyone they’re still a force to be reckoned with.
Replacing Nicklas Backstrom would not be easy. The Capitals saw a unique opportunity in trading for Dubois given things with the Kings weren’t working as expected. Coach Spencer Carbery famously said he wanted every opportunity to work with Dubois and was excited for the challenge.
Dubois responded with a 20-goal, 66-point season in the Capitals’ top-six. His 46 assists and 66 points were career highs. He also enjoyed a breakout season defensively on a more structured team. At least for the first season, this gamble has paid off as he was one of the better two-way centers in the NHL.
As for Strome, he enjoyed by far his best offensive season while showing why he was the third-overall pick back in 2015. His 29 goals and 82 points helped the Capitals become the second-highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference only behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Capitals were one of just a handful of teams to score more goals than the Blue Jackets’ potent offense. Besides Dubois, Strome and Ovechkin, Tom Wilson secured his first 30-goal season and had a career-high 65 points. Connor McMichael broke out in a big way with 26 goals and 57 points.
Then there is big 6-foot-6 Aliaksei Protas. He personally torched the Blue Jackets in 2024-25. When the Capitals won 2-1 over the Blue Jackets in overtime in Columbus, Protas scored both goals.
Of note, the Blue Jackets couldn’t handle Protas’ size and skill. He went on to a 30-goal season and helped solidify the Capitals as one of the more imposing top-six groups in the NHL. He’s just 24 years old and has a world of upside.
Another important aspect of the Capitals sustaining their success is finding talent in the draft who can make an impact in their lineup. The latest example of this will be Ryan Leonard. The eighth-overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft made his debut last season. While he was clearly adjusting to the league, you could see why they think highly of him.
Given the strength of the Capitals’ top-six, Leonard can settle into a bottom-six role for now while gaining needed experience. This part of the Capitals’ gameplan deserves more attention. The same thing happened to McMichael and then he enjoyed his breakout.
The other members of the Capitals’ bottom-six know their role and are effective in their approach. Players like Anthony Beauvillier, Brandon Duhaime, Nic Dowd and former first rounder Hendrix Lapierre balance the lineup making the forward group one of the most dangerous coming into the new season. It will be interesting to see how they plan to utilize Justin Sourdif after acquiring him in a trade.
As good as the Capitals are, the Blue Jackets have good pieces of their own. Adam Fantilli perhaps has the most upside when comparing the two teams. Sean Monahan’s line was one of the best in the NHL especially when playing with Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov. Kent Johnson is ready to take another step in his overall game.
The Blue Jackets’ bottom-six is better with the additions of Charlie Coyle, Isac Lundestrom and Miles Wood. Coyle and Wood each know what it’s like to play against the Capitals on a consistent basis.
Where the Capitals hold the edge is the experience factor. They are a constant presence in the playoffs and have the experience to back it up. Their overall combination of star power and approach to the roster has them again in position to make a run in the East.
The Blue Jackets did win a pair of games against the Capitals by a combined score of 11-1 at the end of last season. At that time, the Capitals didn’t have as much on the line. But it did give a glimpse of what the Blue Jackets hope to become over time.
The Capitals’ forward group is still a major force. The Blue Jackets are building to become a force someday. They have the young talent to get there but will need to apply important lessons from the Capitals to get to the next level.
Defense
Not only were the Capitals one of the better goal-scoring teams, they more than held their own defensively. Only the Devils allowed fewer goals than the Capitals in 2024-25.
The top pairing of Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson anchor the Capitals. Chychrun scored 20 goals and enjoyed the best season of his career to date. Carlson continues to be a model of consistency. In his age 35 season, he recorded his second consecutive 50-point season and has only missed three regular-season games since the start of the 2023-24 season.
The rest of the Capitals’ defense could look something like this.
- Rasmus Sandin – Matt Roy
- Martin Fehervary – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Sandin like many others enjoyed a career season. Although Roy missed some time due to injury, he recorded a career-high 21 assists while playing his usual shutdown role.
Fehervary joined in on the career-season parade and earned a massive contract extension for his efforts. He signed a seven-year, $42 million contract extension that won’t start until 2026-27. van Riemsdyk, the brother of James, filled his role next to Fehervary nicely giving the Capitals good balance throughout their pairs.
MORE MARTY! MORE PARTY!
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 1, 2025
The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Martin Fehervary to a seven-year, $42 million contract extension beginning with the 2026-27 season.
Full Details: https://t.co/kE22f3s5mO#ALLCAPS | @Shift4 pic.twitter.com/0sGsghk338
On top of having good players, Carbery’s approach deserves praise here. They utilize a fast, forechecking style. This helps them create odd-man rushes. But more importantly, it limits the amount of time the opposition has with the puck. Part of the reason why the Capitals have a strong defense is because they have the right balance of size, speed and skill all over their lineup. Once they have the puck, it’s hard to get it back.
What will be interesting to see is if the Capitals can maintain the pace they set last year with so many guys having career seasons. Is some regression coming? This group will have another year together which will help with the familiarity and chemisty.
The Blue Jackets also have the familiarity part down bringing back Dante Fabbro and Ivan Provorov. The presence of Zach Werenski does elevate the defensive core.
The Capitals for now do get the nod here until the Blue Jackets can prove they can limit their goals against. Like the forward group, the experience factor plays a major role on defense. The Capitals are a model of consistency. The Blue Jackets want to follow in those footsteps. But they are right there especially given the best player between the teams is Werenski. They just have to go out and prove it now.
Goaltending
The Capitals get the nod here too. They will bring back the duo of Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren. Thompson won 31 of his 42 starts while boasting a goals-against under 2.50 and a save percentage of .910.
While Lindgren didn’t have as great of numbers as Thompson, he still started 38 games and won over half his starts. The Capitals knew what they were getting and were able to depend on both for consistent starts.
The Blue Jackets weren’t able to get into a consistent rhythm in net. Their best goaltender statistically was their third goalie in Jet Greaves. While Elvis Merzlikins was better, he still has room to improve. Daniil Tarasov’s inconsistency ultimately led to a trade to the Florida Panthers.
One of the Blue Jackets’ biggest questions is how will the goaltending shake out. Merzlikins and Greaves appear to be the duo. Can there be enough of an overall improvement to break through to the playoffs? If the season starts slow, how long will they wait to act on anything?
Conclusion
The Capitals are a model of consistency. They’re deep at all areas of the ice and have success to show for it. The Blue Jackets are more than competitive but will have the task of showing everyone just how much they’ve improved.
The games between the two teams are usually competitive and nasty. That should continue in 2025-26.
In the end, the Capitals have the leg up overall. But the Blue Jackets potential and young talent will make this upcoming season interesting to watch. If the Blue Jackets can learn and apply some lessons from the Capitals, they’ll significantly close the gap on them.
The Blue Jackets are on the way up. The Capitals will make for a good measuring stick to see how much progress has been made. Stay tuned for Part 4 of the series as we will turn our attention to the New York Rangers.
