Thompson happy to have number called by Capitals during playoff run 

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The number on Logan Thompson’s back tells all you need to know about what drives the Washington Capitals goalie.

It dates to 2007 when Thompson was 10 years old, and he initially was passed over to play for Team Brick Alberta in the famed Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament in Edmonton.

“I wasn’t selected to be on that team -- shocker!” Thompson told NHL.com earlier this week, hinting at the theme of his hockey-playing life. “I always seemed to be the late add and they added me late and they said there’s 48 and 12. No one wanted those numbers, so those were the only two numbers they had. As a goalie, I’m not going to pick 12, so I chose 48 and just stuck with it.

“I feel like no one really wanted me along the way and no one wanted that number. So I think it fits me well.”

That feeling of being unwanted -- from Team Brick Alberta to being undrafted in the NHL to wanting more playing time with the Vegas Golden Knights -- continues to fuel Thompson while he thrives in his dream role with the Capitals.

In his first chance as his team’s clear No. 1 goalie in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Thompson is 5-2, leads the NHL with a .931 save percentage and is second with a 2.01 goals-against average heading into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS). The 28-year-old helped Washington even the best-of-7 series by making 27 saves in a 3-1 victory in Game 2 on Thursday.

“I just feel good,” Thompson said. “I’m not doing too much. I’m letting the puck come to me. I’m trying to be as calm as I can, trying to help out the guys. I’m seeing it well right now, so I’m just going to keep trying to do my job and I know the guys are playing hard in front of me and making my life easier.”

Through the first two games against Carolina, Thompson has stopped 58 of 61 shots for a 1.46 GAA and .951 save percentage. The Capitals have helped him by blocking 65 Hurricanes shot attempts, but they appreciate how important he has been in a series in which they’ve been outshot 61-35.

“He’s our wall back there,” Capitals right wing Tom Wilson said. “He’s calm. He just keeps us in every single game. It’s nice having a goalie that’s going to give it his all. He’s been our MVP all year and he’s playing great.”

Thompson long has craved having this kind of opportunity in the playoffs.

The Calgary native got his name on the Stanley Cup when Vegas won it in 2023 but did not play during the playoffs because he was injured. He played the first four games of the first round against the Dallas Stars last season, going 2-2 with a 2.35 GAA and .921 save percentage.

But after losses in Games 3 and 4, the Golden Knights turned to Adin Hill to play the final three games of that series, which they lost in seven games. That contributed to Thompson’s decision to ask for a trade.

“I thought last year I played well, and thought I did everything I could to prove that I can play in playoffs and give that team a chance to win, and unfortunately they didn’t see it that way,” Thompson said. “So I’m happy to get another crack at it here.”

The Capitals and Thompson already were familiar with each other before the June 29, 2024, trade that brought him to Washington. After not being drafted despite a standout junior career with Brandon in the Western Hockey League, Thompson attended rookie camp in 2018 with the Capitals, who opted not to sign him at the time because they had six goalies under contract.

Unable to find even an ECHL team to take him, Thompson turned to Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario. Wearing his No. 48 from his Team Brick Alberta days, Thompson went 18-6-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .934 save percentage in 2018-19 with Brock and earned a tryout contract with Adirondack, the ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils.

Although that didn’t lead to a contract with the Devils, Thompson, then 22, signed his first professional contract shortly thereafter with Hershey, the Capitals' American Hockey League affiliate. Determined to prove himself, Thompson went 23-8-1 with a 2.25 GAA, .929 save percentage in 32 games with South Carolina of the ECHL in 2019-20.

“He definitely came in with something to prove,” said Parker Milner, who shared South Carolina’s net with Thompson that season. “I noticed from the start that he has this kind of intense battle level. It felt like every time I had a strong game, he’d come back with one just as strong or even stronger and I could see that he had a lot of resolve early on.

“He was really a gamer, and I think that’s proven to be true across the rest of his career.”

Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who was coach and GM of Brandon during Thompson’s first two seasons there, swept in and signed Thompson to his first NHL contract in 2020. Thompson remained friendly with Capitals goaltending coach Scott Murray during his time with the Golden Knights, though, and, when they opted to grant his trade request, the Capitals jumped at the chance to bring him back to the organization.

Motivated to show he could handle the No. 1 goalie job Vegas wouldn’t give him, Thompson helped Washington finish first in the Eastern Conference (51-22-9) by going 31-6-6 with a 2.49 GAA, .910 save percentage and two shutouts in 43 regular-season games.

“The most impressive thing that sticks out when you get to know Logan Thompson is his competitiveness,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “He's just an ultra, ultra-competitive guy that when the puck drops and the game starts, he wants to win so desperately and will do anything to keep that black rubber thing out of our net. … Not that other guys don't have that. He just has it to the 10th degree.

“It's, in my opinion, one of the main reasons why he's been able to be so successful in his career and why he's been able to achieve things that a lot of people didn't think he was going to achieve.”

The Capitals rewarded Thompson with a six-year, $35.1 million contract ($5.85 million average annual value) he signed Jan. 27, passing on an opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Having the stability of that contract and the Capitals’ confidence in his abilities, Thompson had no interest in looking elsewhere.

“Coming back to an organization that knows me and gave me a chance from the start, I think it should show a lot of people around the League that this team didn’t give up on me,” Thompson said. “They know who I am. They know that I’m not perfect, but they believe in me, and it means a lot.”

The trade to the Capitals also gave Thompson the chance to wear No. 48 again. He’d been assigned No. 36 by the Golden Knights and wasn’t permitted to change to No. 48, a number he views as symbolic of his career.

“I love that number, and I wear it with pride,” he said. “It’s been, I think, my whole life, and it’s still happening, not getting chances or being written off by people around the League. The only things I have are me, my work ethic and my number, and the guys in this dressing room. So I just enjoy it all I can.”