Capitals hoping to sign Leonard, Sourdif, avoid offer sheets next offseason

The Washington Capitals have begun contract negotiations with forward Ryan Leonard and hope to have an agreement on his next contract well before he is eligible to become a restricted free agent after this season.

The 21-year-old is entering the final season of his entry-level contract -- a three-year deal with an average annual value of $950,000 he signed March 31, 2025 -- after finishing fifth in the NHL among rookies in goals (20), assists (25) and points (45) in 75 games last season.

"Yeah, we've had some discussions this summer," Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said Tuesday. "I'm hopeful we can continue to have some discussions here. That's not something that I want to let play out. I'd rather get something done if we can, if it makes sense for both sides because I do think what happened this past summer is definitely potentially a harbinger of things to come in the League.

"So, I'd like to have something done sooner than later with him if it works for their side."

Patrick wasn't sure if a deal with Leonard can be completed before Washington opens the season by visiting the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Oct 2.

"I don't know now," he said. "If it made sense, I'd do it tomorrow. We just have to get to that point."

The Capitals after trying to be proactive after seeing Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson sign a five-year, $90 million offer sheet ($18 million average annual value) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton sign a one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet with the New Jersey Devils. Although Carlsson remained with Anaheim and Hayton remained with Utah after their respective teams matched the offer sheets, Washington would prefer not to have to worry about being put in a difficult position next offseason.

That's why Washington has also begun contract talks with forward Justin Sourdif, who also would be eligible to become an RFA next offseason. The 24-year-old is entering the final season of a two-year, $1.65 million contract he signed June 28, 2025, after he had 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 78 games as a rookie last season.  

"I think my M.O. going forward really is if you have guys that are going to be restricted free agents that could potentially get offer sheets, you want to get in front of it as much as you can, as much as you feel comfortable doing that," Patrick said. "So, with Justin, we've had some conversations as well and we'll see where it goes. 

"We'll just have to see how things play out with both those guys."

The Capitals view Leonard, the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Sourdif, who was acquired in trade with the Florida Panthers on June 26, 2025, as valuable pieces of their present and future as they seek to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season after they were 43-30-9 and didn't qualify last season. They can also see the NHL salary landscape is in transition after Carlsson's offer sheet made him the League's highest-paid player this season. 

With Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli, 21, and Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier, 22, remaining unsigned as restricted free agents, there could be more impact on the market for players at a similar stage in their careers, such as Leonard.

"There's some other contracts that need to be signed potentially in the next several weeks here and I think a lot of people are curious to see where those go and that might indicate what the impact of the Leo Carlsson deal was on this league," Patrick said. "So, there's a couple players, RFA's right now without a contract yet, that I think will be a good signal for where the market's going on these types of players."