We have a winning team in Washington, which has been hard to come by in recent years. The Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) have been lights out this year, currently holding the #1 spot. Their success has been unprecedented, though, as they have not won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup Final in 2018. However, this year – things have taken a new course. The Capitals have gone from a fringe playoff team to a metropolitan powerhouse in just one offseason.
Offseason Acquisitions
There is no doubt that the Capitals have been lacking roster strength in the past years. They have had solid teams, but nothing has put them over the hump from playoff team to contenders. In July 2024, after the 23-24 season had ended, Brian MacLellan, the Capitals general manager for 10 seasons, handed the title to Chris Patrick. Patrick was ready to make big moves and eventually made three major trades. These players were some of the most impactful on this year’s roster. In the offseason, the Caps traded defenseman Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round-pick for defenseman Jakob Chychrun. In addition, Capitals owned third-round-picks in both the 2024 and 2025 NHL drafts were exchanged for goalie Logan Thompson, and goalie Darcy Kuemper was exchanged for forward Pierre Luc-Dubois.
Patrick put on an absolute masterclass, securing all players for a small price. The Caps have already signed Thompson to a six-year $35.1 million contract after his incredible start to the season. Thompson is one of the most cost-effective goalies in the league and one of the best at that. Chychrun is also in contract talks, as his past agreement ends next summer. Although Chychrun is a defenseman, his impact on offense, with 17 goals this season, has shown his strength as a team player. Luc-Dubois has been phenomenal, having the third most points on the team with 48.
Player Progression
Two of the most influential players on the team, Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael, have taken a big step up this year. The two linemates have severely improved this year to become top dogs in the league. McMichael has already broken his career high in goals from last year with 20 and assists with 23. Protas has done the same, with 23 goals and 27 assists. Protas’ previous career high through the entire 23-24 was a lackluster six goals. He has had quite the step up. Protas has been documented as staying after every practice to work on the basics, like skating maneuvers and balance. All of the extra work has paid off immensely for him. The pair are also linemates, working with Luc-Dubois on the second line. These three have been lightning in a bottle and outperforming the first line. If there were a most improved player award in the NHL, these two would be the frontrunners.
Both photos taken by Alan Dobbins, RMNB
The Gr8 Chase
How can you mention the Caps without mentioning our very own Ovi? Alex Ovechkin is currently chasing the all-time NHL career goals record, which Wayne Gretzky holds at 894 goals. At the time of writing, Ovechkin is just six short of the record at 889 goals. Ovechkin has been chasing this record for a while, and just a couple of years ago, it was uncertain if he would beat it. All suspicions should be cleared up now, as he can take the record this very season.
Carbery described the effect the chase has on the team as “it adds one more notch of guys being hungry, excited, trying to find ways to recover more pucks on the power play so we can be effective. It just gives us a bit of juice…”
Coaching
Head coach Spencer Carbery was appointed the head coach of the Capital’s in May of 2023. In his first year as head coach, he coached the team to the playoffs. This team was….. not good; they missed the playoffs in the 22-23 season. With the Caps’ much-improved roster this season and a real roster, Carbery is currently the heavy favorite to win the Jack Adams award (coach of the year), according to numerous sportsbooks.
Several factors have contributed to the Capitals increased success this season, and they are all working in perfect unison. Several players are over-performing and team chemistry is at an all-time high. There is finally a real contender here in Washington, and it is more than exciting to see.
