Capitals Loaded Up and Ready to Chase the Cup

Washington missed the playoffs last spring by three points, finishing fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 95 points. The front office responded by acquiring two proven 30-goal scorers, signing a versatile veteran forward and a reliable defenceman, and convincing Alex Ovechkin to come back for one more run. That is an aggressive, coherent response to a near-miss, not a rebuild in disguise.

Last season in review

The 2025-26 Capitals were a decent team that ran out of runway. A 43-30-9 record and 95 points would have won the Pacific Division, but in the Metro it left them watching the playoffs from home. They scored 261 goals, 15th-best in the NHL, and allowed 238, tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the seventh-fewest in the league. Ovechkin led the team with 32 goals and 64 points at age 40. Tom Wilson matched him almost stride for stride with 30 goals and 62 points. John Carlson contributed 60 points from the blue line before being traded. Logan Thompson went 31-21-6 with a .912 save percentage, good enough to land him second on ESPN's preseason fantasy goaltender board behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. The power play was the real problem, finishing 25th in the league. Ovechkin managed just five power-play goals, the third time in 21 seasons he failed to reach 13.

Ins and outs

• In: Jordan Kyrou (traded from St. Louis Blues for Connor McMichael, Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft)
• In: Alex Tuch (sign-and-trade from Buffalo Sabres; signed to eight-year, $84 million contract)
• In: Boone Jenner (signed as a free agent, four-year, $23 million contract)
• In: Vincent Desharnais (signed as a free agent, four-year, $16.8 million contract)
• In: Timothy Liljegren (re-signed, two-year, $6.5 million contract)
• In: Alex Ovechkin (re-signed, one-year deal up to $9 million, announced July 2)
• In: Ryan Leonard (re-signed to eight-year, $84 million extension)
• In: Spencer Carbery (signed to multi-year contract extension as head coach)
• Out: Connor McMichael (traded to St. Louis Blues)
• Out: Milton Gastrin (traded to St. Louis Blues)
• Out: David Kampf (traded to Buffalo Sabres)
• Out: Hendrix Lapierre (traded to Pittsburgh Penguins)
• Out: Trevor van Riemsdyk (signed with Pittsburgh Penguins)
• Out: Brandon Duhaime (signed with Toronto Maple Leafs)
• Out: John Carlson (traded during 2025-26 season)

The big question

Rasmus Sandin tore his ACL on April 22 and had surgery the same day, putting him on a six-to-nine-month recovery timeline. That likely means he misses at least the first three months of the season, and possibly more. Sandin was one of Washington's better defencemen last year, and his absence puts real pressure on a blue line that is already navigating the integration of Desharnais and a 20-year-old rookie in Cole Hutson.

X-factor

Jordan Kyrou is the player who could define this season. He posted 30 or more goals in three straight years before slipping to 18 last season in St. Louis. Washington traded real assets, including McMichael, to get him, banking on a change of scenery to unlock the version of Kyrou who was one of the Blues' best forwards. If he finds that form again, the Capitals' top six becomes genuinely dangerous. If he does not, the trade looks costly.

Bold prediction

Washington wins the Metropolitan Division. The forward depth is now legitimate, the goaltending is proven, and the rest of the Metro has questions of its own. Carolina is the defending champion and the obvious competition, but the Capitals open at Carolina on Oct. 2 with a roster built to go toe-to-toe.

The outlook

This is a team that knows exactly what it is trying to do. General manager Chris Patrick filled the gaps, kept the core together, and got Ovechkin back on a structure that reflects his age without shortchanging his value. Sportsnet's preseason power rankings had Washington third in the league. The window is open, the roster is deeper than it has been in years, and the only real variable is whether the pieces fit together fast enough in a shortened training camp.