With an entire squad of 20 players already signed, Washington Capitals players who arrive at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for training camp in August should look very similar. There shouldn’t be much turnover from a Capitals team that advanced out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the franchise lifted the Stanley Cup in 2018. While the second-round exit to the Carolina Hurricanes was disappointing, it was a magical 50th anniversary season for the Capitals, including a finish at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
According to PuckPedia, general manager Chris Patrick and the Capitals have limited funds ($9.3 million) to work with in the 2025 offseason. However, most of Washington’s offensive core is locked in for the long term. The Capitals will be able to add to their prospect pipeline with five picks over the opening five rounds at the 2025 NHL Draft, including their first-round selection near the end of the round.
Forwards
Alex Ovechin – Dylan Strome – ???
Aliaksei Protas – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson
??? – Connor McMichael – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – ???
Ovechkin is expected to return for his 21st NHL season, or at least he is under contract for one more campaign at $9.5 million. The NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer is nine games away from the 1,500 milestone and three goals shy of becoming the only member of the NHL’s 900-goal club.
Related: Alex Ovechkin Wins Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award for 2024-25 Season
Dubois ($8.5 million), Wilson ($6.5 million), and Protas ($3.3 million) are all signed through the 2028-29 season. Strome ($5 million) has three years remaining on his deal. Dowd is signed for $3 million through the 2026-27 season. Milano and Duhaime are signed for $1.9 million and $1.8 million, respectively, for the 2025-26 season before they become unrestricted free agents (UFAs). McMichael’s $2.1 million contract expires after next season when he becomes a restricted free agent (RFA). Hendrix Lapierre is the Capitals’ only RFA forward this offseason.
Lars Eller, Anthony Beauvillier, Andrew Mangiapane, and Taylor Raddysh are scheduled to become UFAs. Based on point totals, it is difficult to say who should return out of that grouping. Mangiapane (28 points), Raddysh (27), and Eller (15) all skated bottom-six minutes. Beauvillier skated in 18 games for Washington after his acquisition on trade-deadline day from the Pittsburgh Penguins and recorded six points in 10 postseason games.
Nicklas Backstrom‘s ($9.2 million) and T.J. Oshie’s ($5.7 million) contracts fall off the books this offseason, too.
Defense
Jakob Chychrun – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Alexander Alexeyev – Dylan McIlrath
The Capitals’ blue line does not need reinforcements. Washington has 35.4% of its cap space tied up in seven defensemen, led by Chychryn’s $9 million salary for the 2025-26 season. Carlson, 35, will enter the final season of his $8 million deal next season, while van Riemsdyk will join him in the final season of his $3 million contract.
Roy ($6 million) and Rasmus Sandin ($4.6 million) are each signed for the next four seasons. Fehervary will return on a $2.6 million contract with one more year remaining before he becomes a UFA in the 2026-27 offseason. McIlrath, 33, is signed for $800,000 for the next two campaigns.
Alexeyev, a first-round selection from 2018, is an RFA. The 6-foot-4, left-handed defenseman has played 80 NHL games since the start of the 2021-22 season. According to PuckPedia, Alexeyev is in line for a $918,000 qualifying offer from the Capitals.
Ethan Bear, 27, is a pending UFA following the end of his two-year, $4.1 million contract signed in Dec 2023. Bear skated in 62 games for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season after more than 250 games at the NHL level. Given his usage at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, Bear should reach the open market in July.
Goaltending
After signing both goaltenders to in-season extensions, the Capitals have locked up their crease for next season and beyond. Logan Thompson, 28, is signed for $5.85 million per season through 2028-29 following his massive six-year contract extension in January. The free-agent addition was excellent in his first season in Washington with a 31-6-6 record, a 2.49 goals-against average (GAA), and a .910 save percentage (SV%). He was 5-5 in the postseason with a 2.41 GAA and a .917 SV%.
Charlie Lindgren earned a contract extension and a raise in March, and the 31-year-old backup’s salary will jump from $1.1 million to $3 million. He had a 20-14-3 record with a 2.73 GAA and a .896 SV% in 39 appearances this season, and allowed a goal on five shots in one appearance in the postseason in Round 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.
With limited options available this offseason, Patrick should bring a familiar-looking Capitals squad into training camp for the 2025-26 NHL season.
