The Capitals tried to trade up over 10 spots in the first round to select Lynden Lakovic, but he fell to them anyway

The Washington Capitals finished atop the Eastern Conference standings during the 2024-25 season and won their first playoff series in seven years. But because of this success, the Caps were slotted to pick at the back of the 2025 NHL Draft’s first round, selecting 27th overall.

The team ended up taking Canadian winger Lynden Lakovic with their first-round pick, but the selection wasn’t as straightforward as it may have seemed. In fact, the Capitals tried to jump up over 10 spots to pick him and were willing to part with significant draft capital to make it happen.

The news was revealed in a behind-the-scenes video published by the Capitals this past Tuesday. With the draft “decentralized” — teams manned war rooms in their respective cities rather than congregating in one place — the Capitals were able to document their selection process thoroughly.

The first significant moment revealed in the video is that the Capitals were in active negotiations with the New York Islanders to move up to 16th or 17th overall, which would have cost them their first- and second-round picks (27th and 37th overall). General manager Chris Patrick, assistant GM Ross Mahoney, President of Hockey Operations Brian MacLellan, and amateur scout Evan Marble were all involved in the discussions.

“There’s about 9 guys I like at 27 but we have to get [through] 12 picks to get there,” assistant GM Ross Mahoney told Marble. “It’s iffy. If we’re 21 or 22, you’re getting the guy you like.”

“Alright, [the Islanders] are not doing 16,” Patrick cut in after checking his phone. “He’ll let me know at 17.”

The goal of the trade was to jump ahead of teams to draft Lakovic, but ultimately, the Islanders decided not to make any deals. “[Mathieu] Darche (Islanders GM) is using both the picks,” Patrick said.

With the lack of movement, the Capitals were left anxiously waiting to see if they could find another trade partner before their primary target, Lakovic, came off the board.

“What do we have to give up to move up three or four spots?” Mahoney asked Patrick.

“27, 93, and a seventh,” Patrick replied, listing pick numbers. “Probably a sixth or a seventh next year if we want to do it.”

After another slew of first-round picks were rattled off, the Capitals’ top brass began to resign themselves to standing pat and making their first two picks where they originally lay in the draft order.

“At some point, too, if we think we can get a good player at 27 and 37, based on what’s going [on] here, we can just hold, too,” Patrick said.

Mahoney concurred and watched as the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chicago Blackhawks all skipped over Lakovic, leaving the Nashville Predators as the last team standing in the Capitals’ way. However, as soon as the Blackhawks took Czech forward Vaclav Nestrasil at 25th overall, Mahoney was already confident that the Caps had secured their guy.

“We’ll get Lakovic now,” Mahoney told Patrick. “Six-foot-four, winger, skates well, can score.”

“Good kid?” MacLellan chimed in.

“Lakovic? Yeah, he’s a good kid,” Marble replied. “We were willing to trade up for him, so…”

Mahoney ended up being correct, as the Nashville Predators selected a different winger, Ryker Lee, at 26th overall. And, after some technical difficulties with a headset mic connected to the league office, the Capitals confirmed Lakovic as their selection.

With their job for the day now done, Patrick joined a larger group of Capitals staff to celebrate their pick. “We almost traded for him at 16, I’m glad we just waited until 27,” he said, drawing laughs from the room.

The Capitals then went on to select Swedish center Milton Gastrin in the second round to start the second day of the draft. Mahoney had keyed in on Gastrin and Russian winger Alexander Zharovsky. When the Montreal Canadiens took Zharovsky at 34th overall, the Caps hoped to see Gastrin fall just a little longer.

The war room was likely left holding their breath after the Seattle Kraken acquired the pick right in front of the Capitals, but could breathe a sigh of relief when the Kraken opted to select defenseman Blake Fiddler.

“It’s funny how a lot of times just sitting back and waiting works out,” Mahoney said. “Lakovic, we started trying to move up to get him, and then he’s there when we pick. We talked about moving up and getting Gastrin, and he’s there when we pick.”

The Capitals would add three more players to their organization in later rounds, drafting German winger Maxim Schafer, American forward Jackson Crowder, and Swedish defender Aron Dahlqvist.

With the next draft also set to be decentralized, the team could again show more of their draft room’s inner workings — the Caps currently own six picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, including their first-round selection.