Washington Capitals <\/p>\n
Current Cap Hit: $91,375,000<\/a> (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)<\/p>\n Entry-Level Contracts<\/p>\n F Ryan Leonard<\/a> (two years, $950K)<\/p>\n Potential Bonuses As expected, Leonard joined the Capitals once his college season came to an end and while he was largely a regular moving forward, they limited his minutes.\u00a0 That probably won\u2019t be the case this season as a middle-six role seems likely.\u00a0 That should give him a chance to maybe hit one or two of his \u2018A\u2019 bonuses worth $250K apiece.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level<\/p>\n D John Carlson<\/a> ($8MM, UFA) McMichael had to settle for a bridge deal last season with cap space pretty tight for a Capitals team that spent all of the year in LTIR.\u00a0 The good news is that he had a career year and remains a key part of their long-term plans.\u00a0 With arbitration rights next summer, he\u2019s well on his way to tripling his current price tag if he winds up around the 55-point mark again.\u00a0 Milano missed most of last season due to injury and ran hot and cold in the first year of the deal.\u00a0 As a bottom-sixer counted on to produce as a secondary scorer, that\u2019s a hard niche to maintain.\u00a0 Barring a 15-goal, 30-point season or somewhere thereabouts, Milano could find himself making closer to half of this on his next contract.<\/p>\n Duhaime\u2019s first season with the Capitals was a successful one as he locked down a bigger role and set a new personal best in points.\u00a0 He\u2019s still someone who is more of an energy player than a scorer though which won\u2019t help his value.\u00a0 That said, as an effective bottom-six checker, he should be able to push past the $2MM mark on his next agreement.\u00a0 Lapierre didn\u2019t do much in limited action last season and if it weren\u2019t for the fact he\u2019s now waiver-eligible, he\u2019d probably be on the outside looking in at a roster spot.\u00a0 But waiver eligibility should give him a long leash and now it\u2019s up to him to establish himself as an every-game regular.\u00a0 If he can do that, doubling this contract could be realistic.<\/p>\n Carlson continues to be an above-average offensive performer who can still be counted on to play big minutes.\u00a0 It\u2019s telling, however, that GM Chris Patrick indicated<\/a> back in the spring that there were no plans to hold offseason extension talks.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be 36 when his next deal starts and while a decline is bound to happen at some point, he still could get a multi-year pact in the $6MM or so range.\u00a0 With what they have tied up in their back end already, perhaps that\u2019s not something they\u2019re willing to do just yet.\u00a0 As for van Riemsdyk, he has fit in well on their third pairing for the last several seasons.\u00a0 Being a right-shot defender, the side that\u2019s always highly coveted, a small increase even heading into his age-35 year seems reasonable.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2026-27<\/p>\n F Anthony Beauvillier<\/a> ($2.75MM, UFA) Dowd has been a slow developer but he has worked his way from a depth player to a trusted checker who has reached double-digit goals in five straight years.\u00a0 That was enough to more than double his current AAV in exchange for a reasonable two-year term at 35.\u00a0 It would be surprising to see him beat that in 2027 unless the point production heads more toward the 40s than the mid-20s.\u00a0 Beauvillier rebounded a bit after a tough 2023-24 campaign and his playoff showing certainly helped his marketability as well.\u00a0 Barring him getting back to the 40-point threshold, it\u2019s difficult to see his market being too much stronger two years from now.\u00a0 Sourdif is an interesting case with just four NHL games under his belt.\u00a0 The Capitals paid a fairly high price for him (a second-round pick plus a sixth) so they clearly feel he\u2019s capable of being a full-time contributor.\u00a0 If he is, he\u2019ll have arbitration rights in 2027 which would set him up nicely for his next contract.<\/p>\n Chisholm came over from Minnesota at the draft and quickly signed with Washington looking to avoid an arbitration hearing.\u00a0 Last season was basically his first as being a regular so he didn\u2019t have a great case to make for a big raise.\u00a0 But he looks like a late bloomer and if he continues as a regular with the Capitals, he could move past the $2MM mark next time.\u00a0 McIlrath has primarily been an AHL player in recent years, leading to this price just above the minimum.\u00a0 He\u2019s likely to be in a reserve role this season once again which should keep the cost low moving forward.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2027-28<\/p>\n G Charlie Lindgren<\/a> ($3MM, UFA) It took a few years for Strome to establish himself but he has turned into quite the center in recent years for the Capitals, posting a point-per-game showing last season.\u00a0 That type of production for the price of a second liner is quite the bargain.\u00a0 If he can stay around this level of points over the next three seasons, his price tag could move more into the $8MM to $9MM range on his next contract.<\/p>\n Lindgren didn\u2019t have the best of seasons in 2024-25 but his body of work with Washington has been that of an above-average backup.\u00a0 This price comes in a little below the top of the backup market so if he can bounce back a bit relative to last season, Washington should do fine here.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2028-29 <\/p>\n F Aliaksei Protas<\/a> ($3.375MM, UFA) Considering that Protas hadn\u2019t been much of a scorer at the time he signed this contract, the five-year term carried some risk.\u00a0 But after he had a breakout season that saw him score 30 goals (after combining for a total of 13 on his entry-level deal), this looks like quite the bargain already, even if he winds up taking a step back offensively.\u00a0 This is one contract that shouldn\u2019t be an issue for them.<\/p>\n There was always going to be some projection in Sandin\u2019s deal and he did set new career bests offensively last season in the first year of the agreement.\u00a0 Playing behind a couple of veterans who rack up the points and power play time, Sandin\u2019s point ceiling might not be too much higher in the short term but if he continues at the level he did last season, this will work out to be a fair market contract.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer<\/p>\n D Jakob Chychrun<\/a> ($9MM through 2032-33) Dubois had a nice bounce-back year after his lone year in Los Angeles didn\u2019t go as well as expected.\u00a0 He has quietly hit the 60-point mark in three of the last four seasons now although his goal production has dipped over the last couple of seasons compared to the previous two.\u00a0 He\u2019s producing like a second center and being paid more like a first.\u00a0 With Strome being on a team-friendly deal, it\u2019s largely a wash when you put them together but Dubois has a ways to go before providing positive value on this contract.\u00a0 Wilson had himself quite the season last year, setting new personal bests across the board including a 33-goal season.\u00a0 If he stays at that level for a few more years, Washington will get enough surplus value out of the contract to cover the back half where his rugged style of play is likely to catch up with him.<\/p>\n
Leonard: $1.5MM<\/p>\n
F Brandon Duhaime<\/a> ($1.85MM, UFA)
F Hendrix Lapierre<\/a> ($850K, RFA)
F Connor McMichael<\/a> ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Sonny Milano<\/a> ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Alex Ovechkin<\/a> ($9.5MM, UFA)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk<\/a> ($3MM, UFA)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25767786-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>After a rough first half in 2023-24, Ovechkin was better down the stretch that year and carried it over into last season where he went back over a point per game and broke Wayne Gretzky<\/a>\u2019s goal record.\u00a0 Even at this stage of his career (he\u2019s 39), he still provided above-average value on his contract, something he has largely done even as the most expensive winger in NHL history in terms of total earnings.\u00a0 There has been plenty of speculation as to whether Ovechkin will want to play beyond the upcoming season and if he did, it wouldn\u2019t be shocking to see the Capitals ponder offering a deal with some incentives if they wanted to try to load up for one last kick at the end.\u00a0 Alternatively, returning to finish his career back home in Russia is a very realistic possibility as well.<\/p>\n
D Declan Chisholm<\/a> ($1.6MM, UFA)
F Nic Dowd<\/a> ($3MM, UFA)
D Dylan McIlrath<\/a> ($800K, UFA)
F Justin Sourdif<\/a> ($825K, RFA)<\/p>\n
F Dylan Strome<\/a> ($5MM, UFA)<\/p>\n
D Rasmus Sandin<\/a> ($4.6MM, UFA)<\/p>\n
F Pierre-Luc Dubois<\/a> ($8.5MM through 2030-31)
D Martin Fehervary<\/a> ($2.75MM in 2025-26, $6MM from 2026-27 through 2032-33)
G Logan Thompson<\/a> ($5.85MM through 2030-31)
D Matt Roy<\/a> ($5.75MM through 2029-30)
F Tom Wilson<\/a> ($6.5MM through 2030-31)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/USATSI_25484453-212x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Chychrun was Patrick\u2019s big move to help out the back end last summer, acquiring him on the opening day of free agency with the hope that they\u2019d be able to work out a long-term deal.\u00a0 The change of scenery was good for him as he had a career year offensively with 20 goals and 47 points.\u00a0 That, coupled with the announcement of sharper cap increases for three years, was enough for Washington to up its offer to the point of getting this done.\u00a0 It\u2019s higher than any contract handed out to a blueliner in free agency this summer but there\u2019s a good chance that teams would have had higher offers than this had he got that far.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t to say it\u2019s a team-friendly deal by any stretch but rather that they still probably got a small break on the AAV.<\/p>\n