The Capitals continue to welcome players back to DC with less than two weeks to go before the start of training camp. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren and offseason acquisition Declan Chisholm were both on the ice Saturday morning, joining a group of teammates for an informal skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.<\/p>\n
Other participants at the skate included Martin Fehervary, Ryan Leonard, Andrew Cristall, Aliaksei and Ilya Protas, Ludwig Persson, Eriks Mateiko, Mitch Gibson, and Ryan Chesley. Capitals skills coach Kenny McCudden led the on-ice skills session.<\/p>\n
After signing a three-year extension in March<\/a>, Lindgren is set to kick off his new deal this fall alongside goaltending partner Logan Thompson. The pair spent much of the 2024-25 season alternating starts before Thompson emerged as the team\u2019s primary starter, playing in all 10 of Washington\u2019s playoff games this spring.<\/p>\n Lindgren posted a record of 20-14-3 in 2024-25, earning a .896 save percentage and a 2.73 goals-against average. Though he admitted some frustration<\/a> with his statistics during the season \u2014 especially after a breakout year in 2023-24, he told reporters at the team\u2019s breakdown day in May that he was ultimately happy with his performance.<\/p>\n \u201cI think took another step forward this year,\u201d he said then. \u201cThree years in Washington, it\u2019s been an absolute treat. Couldn\u2019t be more thrilled that I\u2019ll be back here in September to continue on this journey with a lot of the same guys that were on the team this year.\u201d<\/p>\n The Capitals traded for Chisholm at the 2025 NHL Draft<\/a> amid a largely quiet offseason, acquiring the 25-year-old defenseman and a sixth-round pick from the Minnesota Wild for Hershey Bears defenseman Chase Priskie and a fourth-round pick. Chisholm played 66 games for Minnesota last season, recording 12 points (2g, 10a), and saw his team earn 51.1 percent of shot attempts and 53.9 percent of expected goals while on the ice at five-on-five.<\/p>\n With a large salary cap increase raising the price of unrestricted free agents, general manager Chris Patrick saw the trade as an opportunity to add depth without breaking the bank.<\/p>\n \u201c(He\u2019s) a guy who we can have a little control over the contract here, because he\u2019s an RFA,\u201d Patrick said in June<\/a>. \u201cWe wanted to address our defensive depth this offseason, and if you go into the free agent market, you don\u2019t have control over the costs. We thought this was a good chance to try to do that. We like where he\u2019s trending as a player. Again, another guy that\u2019s the right age, and I think he\u2019s got a real good opportunity here to continue to build on what he was doing in Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n