Last year at this time, the Caps were putting the finishing touches on a remarkable two weeks of roster reconstruction that turned the trajectory of the franchise in an upward direction. In a span of two weeks, seven new varsity players were added to the roster. Last summer’s roster and lineup overhaul resulted in a 20-point improvement in the standings and the Caps’ first playoff series win since 2018.
On the eve of the annual July 1 opening of the NHL’s haphazardly stocked and often overpriced free agent emporium, the Caps figure to be significantly less active than they were at this time last year, but they’re still seeking to shore up a few areas of their lineup, and they’ve got a fair amount of salary cap space with which to do so.
With the signings of a pair of newly acquired restricted free agents – forward Justin Sourdif and defenseman Declan Chisholm – last week, the Caps have committed over $86 million to 20 players (11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders) for next season, leaving them with just a shade under $9 million for two or three players to fill out the roster.
Last week’s acquisitions of Sourdif and Chisholm have kicked off Washington’s offseason lineup alterations. The 23-year-old Sourdif was acquired in a deal with Florida, and on paper, he seems like a likely fit on the right side of a line with Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd. Signed for the next two seasons at an annual salary cap hit of $825,000, Sourdif is four years younger than Taylor Raddysh, last season’s right wing on that line, and his salary cap hit is also $175,000 less than Raddysh – now an unrestricted free agent – earned last season. Chisholm inked a two-year, $3.2 million extension, and he represents a significant depth addition to Washington's blueline corps.
Ostensibly, the Caps still have a couple of forward slots to fill, but they have some flexibility as to what positions they’re seeking to fill up front.
Days after the Caps were eliminated from the playoffs in mid-May, Connor McMichael indicated a preference to shift from left wing to center in 2025-26, and the ability of McMichael – who had a breakout season in ’24-25 – to do so gives the Caps that flexibility when free agency season opens at noon on Tuesday.
“I think he can play both roles very effectively, and I think it gives us a lot of options going into the offseason,” says Caps general manager Chris Patrick of McMichael’s versatility. “I think an area we need to look at is a skilled forward, and also a center to add to the mix of Dylan [Strome], Pierre-Luc [Dubois] and Nic [Dowd]. And maybe that is Mikey. And if that’s the case, that allows us to go do something on the wings. Or maybe we find a good center, and then Mikey is the guy on the wing to be our skilled winger. It just gives us good flexibility.
“We’re meeting with our pro scouting staff and our analytics team. We’re going to talk about all of our needs and what’s available out there, and then address the holes as we see fit.”
Now the Caps’ president of hockey operations, Brian MacLellan served more than capably in the GM role before passing the baton to Patrick last July. MacLellan also sees the Caps’ top offseason need as adding some skill up front.
“I think we’d like a skilled forward,” says MacLellan. “The balance between adding a guy and developing some of our younger guys, that’s going to be the focal point for us. We need Leonard to take the next step. And how do these young guys come in, and how do they look? And how committed do we want to be on a term player? I think those are all questions we’ve got to answer in the offseason.”
Reading between the tea leaves of those comments, adding a skilled forward via free agency or the trade route – whether a center or a wing – is the priority. That would leave at least one and potentially two forward slots available, depending on how the Sourdif fit works out at training camp in September.
“We’re going to be as assertive as we can at using that [cap] space,” says MacLellan. “We’re going to look to use the money to find as good a player as we can find.”
Over the last four NHL Drafts, the Caps have managed to quietly stockpile some quality forward talent. Fourteen of their 27 selections in the last four drafts have come in the first three rounds of those drafts, and 11 of those 14 were used to draft forwards. This past season, forwards McMichael and Aliaksei Protas – both drafted in 2019 – took significant leaps and asserted themselves as the top six NHL players Washington envisioned when they called out their names on the draft floor in Vancouver some six summers ago.
Assuming the Caps are able to reel in that skilled forward they’re seeking this summer, they have a few youthful candidates to nail down the other slot or two that may be available in the fall at training camp.
Hendrix Lapierre was the Caps’ first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2020 draft, and he has shown well in 84 NHL games scattered over three seasons, and he has also played a key role for AHL Hershey’s consecutive Calder Cup crowns in 2023 and 2024. Lapierre turned 23 in February and he was the only one of Washington’s quartet of restricted free agents who was tendered a qualifying offer. Two of the other three – forward Pierrick Dube and defenseman Alex Alexeyev – will become free agents and goaltender Mitchell Gibson signed an AHL deal with Hershey last week.
Along with Lapierre, the Caps also have 2022 first-rounder (20th overall) Ivan Miroshnichenko, who turned 21 in February. Miroshnichenko has logged 39 NHL games over the last two seasons with Washington. The Caps also have Andrew Cristall (second round, 40th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft) and Ilya Protas (third round, 75th overall in the 2024 Draft) turning pro this season. Both are coming to camp this fall on the heels of monster seasons at the junior level, and Cristall came within a whisker of earning an opening night roster spot last fall with a dazzling showing in camp and in the exhibition games.
“With Lappy in particular, he went down there with a set of instructions of what we needed to see, and for the most part he has done that, which has been really good to see,” says Patrick. “I think Miro has gone down there and continued to build on what he did last year, and he's continued to build a book of experience here, playing a lot of games over his first three years pro.
“We're going to need those guys. Even though the cap is going up, you still need young players that are on relatively affordable deals. So we're going to need those guys to hopefully step up and be big parts of the team in the near future.”
Over the last few years, the Caps have actively succeeded in turning back the clock on a number of roster spots, replacing an older veteran with a younger player in several areas of the lineup, and continuing on that track this summer with the acquisition of Sourdif. That process is still ongoing, too.
“We’re still looking to get younger,” says MacLellan. “It doesn’t change from what we’ve been doing the last couple of years. We want Miro to play, we want Lappy to play, and we want [defenseman Vincent] Iorio to play. But then this next group is coming. [Ryan] Leonard is going to play. Where is little Pro at? Where is Cristall at? Do they need a year? That’s a key driver for us going forward.
“We’ve got [Alex Ovechkin] and [John Carlson] coming off the books the following year. So we are going into a transition here, and we’re getting younger and younger, probably again this year and next year. So if we could find someone in that age group that we look at – the 27-year-olds like [Pierre-Luc] Dubois and [Dylan] Strome, those kind of guys – that fits our age group more than anything.
“We’ll look for opportunities in that area. They’re not always there. We’ve been fortunate, I think.”
They’ve been fortunate, sure, and they’ve also been proactive as well. And teams around the League have taken notice and some of them are trying to walk down similar paths with their own situations, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, as the saying goes. But that leaves less in the talent pool for everyone else, and this year’s crop of free agents isn’t exactly teeming with high quality options in the skilled forward department. The trade route could be an alternative, but it takes two to make a deal, and teams tend to want/demand something from the Caps’ ever growing prospect pool back in return when they’re talking trades with Washington.
“I think we have to explore both,” says Patrick, referring to the trade route and the free agent market. “Our view of the UFA market for that type of player is that it’s pretty thin. There are a couple of guys, and then it drops. And then add to that, with everybody knowing what the [salary] cap is right now and for the next two years, the prices could be elevating significantly this summer.
“So, to be able to even play in that market, do we have the [cap] space to do it? I think we have to be running down both paths. Are there guys that are available via trade somehow that can fit that role, or are we going to be able to maybe get one of the few free agents that we think would be a good fit for that?”
And the Caps don’t sound like a team that’s willing to take a piece or pieces out of what was a highly successful and extremely close knit team last season in order to achieve their primary offseason goal of adding a big piece up front.
“We just look at it on a case-by-case basis,” says Patrick. “If there is an ask where we think it is going to improve our team, then we have to talk about it as a group like we always do, and we have to do our homework on it. If it’s an ask where you feel like you’re making a lateral move, then it’s not something we’d probably pursue. With as well as this group played, you’d be hard pressed to take someone out of this lineup and think that you’re really improving your team. So we may have to be creative in other ways if there is a deal out there that makes sense.”
And if we are aware of other teams seeking to walk down the path the Caps began walking a couple of years back, you can bet that Patrick is, too.
“Another factor in all this is I think other teams look at us and Florida and Dallas and other teams that have built similarly, and they’re like, ‘Okay, we want in on that, too,’” says the Caps’ second-year GM. “ So I think there is going to be more competition this summer – both in the trade and free agency markets – for teams that are trying to do something like that.
“Some teams have outright said it: ‘We’re going to be a playoff team next year.’ And so when you get more participants, the prices elevate. So I think we continue to stay with our course here and with our plan. When teams are calling and trying to pry our prospects away from us, it shows how good of a pipeline we have coming. And we just want to be really careful about how we manage that pipeline.”
Starting at noon tomorrow and over the next couple of days and weeks, we’ll see how it all plays out.
