Now that the book has closed on the Washington Capitals 2024-25 season, there are several big questions to be answered on how the team will try and deliver an encore when the regular season begins in five months.
The Capitals’ masterful summer of 2024 helped the team take the top record in the Eastern Conference after barely qualifying for the playoffs the season before. What seemed to be another rebuilding year in October turned into a campaign where Washington was in the Stanley Cup conversation for much of the season. And, with some key prospects in or arriving in the nation’s capital or Hershey, certainly, where those players slot in will be part of the equation.
Heading into the summer, here are some of the most popular questions about the Caps and what may happen in the next few months.
Did “The Chase” hurt the Capitals’ playoff chances?
Now that Washington’s playoff fate is sealed, it’s hard to imagine Alex Ovechkin’s goal chase wasn’t a factor in the Capitals looking like they were running on empty as the playoffs progressed.
When Washington wrapped up a playoff spot on March 20, while normally a team would focus on rest or the postseason, this year it shifted to Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky. After pulling seven goals short in the playoff-clincher, as the team embarked on a road-heavy schedule, the focus on the media on both Ovechkin and the Capitals grew brighter as the media circus went on tour and Washington games became regular national television fare, and gave the national media fodder as the playoff races had mostly taken shape.
With there not as much focus on winning for the Capitals, the shifting of the offense focus to look to get Ovechkin the mark before the regular season expired became a major focus of the roster. And playing playoff-like games down the stretch just seemed to drain the tank a bit faster for the postseason.
The Capitals’ hard work paid off to break the record, as Ovechkin passed Gretzky on April 6 on Long Island, prompting a Capitals celebration not seen since Washington won their first Stanley Cup in 2018. But certainly the Caps never really returned to the form that got them a quick playoff clincher in the first place, and certainly the pursuit did seem to add to the wear and tear on the team, as they essentially got playoff-style attention a month early with added media and television exposure just two weeks before the actual playoffs began.
Certainly, chasing down the sport’s most valuable individual record is taxing on a team with the added attention and desire to help out their teammate. When Gretzky was chasing Gordie Howe during the 1993-94 season, the Los Angeles Kings went from a season where they went to the Stanley Cup Final to one where they missed the playoffs by 18 points. While like Ovechkin, Gretzky broke the mark late in the regular season, but unlike the Caps, the Kings’ fate had long been sealed.
The Capitals created a moment that none of the players or fans will forget, and it’s unclear how far Washington could have gotten in the postseason with more in the tank had it happened earlier in the year or next season. But it seems having both a record chase and a Stanley Cup in the same few months would require a lot of extra push and energy that the Capitals just didn’t have.
What is Ovechkin’s future?
Speaking of Ovechkin, there were some questions over what his future would be next season in the postgame media press conference.
Down the stretch of the regular season, the Capitals’ captain insisted he wasn’t retiring or going back to the KHL next season, as he still has one year and $9.5 million left on his five-year contract.
While he certainly wasn’t overly effective in the series against Carolina, getting just a 5-on-3 power play goal in Game 4, he still had 5 goals in 10 playoff games, and 44 goals in 65 regular-season games. And, with the Capitals seemingly on an upward trajectory again and being considered a Cup threat, it seems it would be an odd time for him to make a jump back overseas.
Ovechkin looked fatigued in the Carolina series, and that is likely the by-product of his pursuit of Gretzky, not to mention the recovery from missing 16 games sustained due to a broken leg in Utah in November.
With his close ties to the organization, it seems more likely the question would be how much beyond 900 goals he has his eye on, and he would sign a one-year extension to remain in Washington til age 41, more than leaving after it seems like there is unfinished business in Washington.
Editor’s Note: Ovechkin said at locker cleanout on Saturday that he will be returning next season.
What free agents will Washington bring back?
During the regular season, the Capitals took care of their major unrestricted free agent questions, inking both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren in goal as well as Jakob Chychrun and Dylan McIlrath on defense, and even Nic Dowd up front.
There are still a couple of players left on their list, whose futures are a bit murkier even with the salary cap going up in the next three seasons.
One who went to the top of the list of possible re-signings is Anthony Beauvillier, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline, and after a modest 5 points in the regular season (2 goals, 3 assists), he had 6 points in 10 playoff games, and was elevated to the top line during Washington’s season-ending loss in Game 5. Beauvillier, who bounced around the league after being traded from the New York Islanders in 2023, seemed to be a good fit in Washington’s system, and should he be a reasonably priced player – after accepting a one-year, $1,250,000 deal from the Penguins last summer – it seems like he’d be a good bet to return.
Andrew Magiapane is another UFA this summer, and with 14 goals and 14 assists, his price tag of $5.8 million per season would have to come down to consider a return, and with other prospects in the system, the club may opt to look for an internal replacement rather than bring back the winger acquired from Calgary in the offseason.
Lars Eller, who was brought back from the Pens in November, played a more defensive role in his second tour in Washington. He is now 36 and probably near the end of his NHL career, in which he scored the 2018 Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Capitals. Perhaps Eller accepts a lesser contract to stay – he had a cap hit of $2.45 million this season – but his Caps and NHL career may be coming to an end. With Denmark in the 2026 Olympic tournament, he likely will be skating somewhere, but perhaps not in North America.
Taylor Raddysh notched 27 points in the regular season, but just a single assist in 7 playoff games. However, Raddysh only had a $1 million cap hit, meaning he would be more affordable to return should they want to bring him back.
Defensively, the core is signed for next season, with the intriguing player being a restricted free agent, Alexander Alexeyev. While Alexeyev only played eight games in the regular season, he was pressed into duty in the playoffs with Martin Fehervary’s season-ending injury, and played in all 10 playoff contests. Alexeyev only made $825,000 last season, so it wouldn’t cost much to qualify, and it would be more difficult to establish a much higher pay scale being a healthy scratch most of the season. But certainly it seems likely the Capitals will either bring him back or send him elsewhere in another deal in an attempt to improve the roster.
Who is coming next season?
Washington’s brief rebuild has yielded them some good prospects who should arrive in Washington or Hershey next season.
Top one already arrived in March, as Ryan Leonard came from Boston College in March, and although he seemed to have flashes of strong play with Washington seems like a player who would benefit from a full camp with the Capitals. Although Leonard got a few more games in Washington than expected thanks to Boston College’s early playoff exit, the jump from college to the NHL is a big one, and he seemed to need time to adjust to the speed and additional physicality at this level.
One prospect who almost was a Capital this season was Andrew Cristall, who really was in a tough spot at the end of preseason as being too young for Hershey and was sent back to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League, where he recorded 72 points in 29 games. Now 20 years old, the Capitals almost certainly will either keep him on the NHL roster or send him to the Bears either for the Calder Cup run or in the fall, and the 2023 second-rounder seems like he will be a regular soon in Washington.
Another top prospect with a familiar name is Ilya Protas, brother of the Caps’ Alexei, and he recorded 124 points in 61 games for the Windsor Spitfires. The younger Protas is currently in Hershey learning the ropes of professional hockey.
A late addition for Washington likely will be Cole Hutson, who was Hockey East’s Rookie of the Year at Boston University, and is perhaps further along at his age than his brother Lane, who is a Calder Trophy candidate for Montreal. Cole had 48 points in 39 games with the Terriers, and if all goes well, it seems he will be joining Washington on Hershey at the end of next season.
How active will the Capitals be in free agency?
With the salary going up next season, the Capitals figure to be at least somewhat busy in the trade and free agency market, likely to upgrade the team’s offensive depth.
According to PuckPedia, Washington will have $8.6 million of cap space next season after being over $100 million in salary this season. But besides the aforementioned unrestricted free agents coming off the books, the sizeable contracts of both Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie will expire, finally allowing them to fall off the cap. Sonny Milano, who missed all but three games this season with injury, has one year left with a $1.9 million cap hit that seems like it will be either placed on on LTIR or sent away by the time October rolls around.
With the salary cap rising to $95.5 million next season – and numerous teams having ample space – the price tag for top free agents likely will be staggering. Clearly, the route to making a deal to improve a club that won’t break the bank will be via trade, and that’s a route the Capitals used last summer so likely seems like it may be used again.
But it does seem clear the Capitals want to make another push for a Stanley Cup, so seems likely they would make a push to be at or over the cap, depending on LTIR.
So after a memorable 2024-25 season, Washington seems poised for an interesting off-season as they appear to try and get closer to winning the franchise’s Stanley Cup.
