{"id":517995,"date":"2026-03-11T23:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/517995\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T23:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:48:09","slug":"ethen-frank-calls-two-year-contract-extension-with-capitals-emotional-and-really-exciting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/517995\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethen Frank calls two-year contract extension with Capitals \u2019emotional\u2019 and \u2018really exciting\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ethen Frank<\/a> did not make the Washington Capitals out of training camp, passed through NHL waivers, and appeared destined to spend the season in the AHL with his career stalled out.<\/p>\n

But as he has done throughout his career, Frank did not give up and found another level in his game. He scored twice in Hershey\u2019s opening night game and earned a recall to the NHL on October 17 after a Pierre-Luc Dubois injury<\/a>. He briefly returned to Hershey for a one-game stint on October 25 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before being summoned back to DC after an injury to Dylan Strome on October 27<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nearly five months later, Frank, now a fixture on the team, signed a two-year, $4 million extension with the Capitals<\/a>, avoiding unrestricted free agency. The one-way deal will keep Frank with Washington through the 2027-28 season, and its value suggests the team expects him to remain in the NHL throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty emotional,\u201d Frank said. \u201cReally exciting, obviously. It means a lot to me and my family. We\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Frank, the contract, which will pay him $1.5 million in salary and a $500K signing bonus in 2026-27, and $2 million in 2027-28, came together quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there might have been like two or three phone calls,\u201d Frank said. \u201cI\u2019m glad it didn\u2019t take a while because I\u2019m probably one of the guys that\u2019s kind of like a ball of anxiety when stuff like that\u2019s going on. So I\u2019m glad it didn\u2019t take a long time. And I\u2019m happy to be sticking around for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only did the deal tug at Frank\u2019s heartstrings, but also at his head coach, Spencer Carbery\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, what a story,\u201d Carbery said. \u201cWhat a story. Even this year, he didn\u2019t make the team out of camp, which I can\u2019t even wrap my head (around). I\u2019m like, no, that was two years ago. No, that was actually this season, and (he) got through waivers, thankfully, and has come up and done such a fantastic job of earning an everyday spot in our lineup and thriving in that role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank has recorded 24 points (12g, 12a) in 54 NHL games this season, primarily skating on the team\u2019s fourth line with Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime before Dowd\u2019s trade last week to the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n

Frank\u2019s 12 goals are tied for the seventh-most on the Capitals and have come while being utilized mostly in a checking-line role. A top-line player who did not kill penalties with Hershey, Frank developed a more rugged and physical brand of hockey this season, making him an every-night player in the bottom six. His transformation has most notably made him more defensively responsible, and he has become a tenacious forechecker. Combined with some of the best skating in the NHL and a heavy, hard shot, Frank has earned the trust of Carbery to play every night, where he\u2019s even receiving regular power-play time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think every year is just a little more belief in myself, especially from the support staff, from my family to teammates to coaches to anybody that I\u2019ve worked with, has always had belief in me,\u201d Frank said. \u201cAnd so that kind of convinced me to believe in myself a little bit, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank\u2019s underdog status throughout his career and his struggles, at times, within the organization made the contract signing so powerful for Carbery. Undrafted, Frank signed an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears before finally earning his first NHL contract in 2023<\/a>. After struggling through the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, he was one of the team\u2019s best players as Hershey repeated as champions in 2024, leading the AHL in goals that playoff year with 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are people that you pull for,\u201d Carbery said. \u201cAnytime you see them get financially rewarded because they have grinded. He was a late bloomer in college, didn\u2019t go to Michigan. He went to Western Michigan. So he\u2019s taken the (long road) \u2013 that\u2019s not a slight. You can tell through his entire career, starting in Hershey. He was scratched in Hershey in the American Hockey League. I remember going to a game in the playoffs (in 2023). I think he was a scratch. And so just to continue to have the mental fortitude to just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and be rewarded with a two-year deal of $4 million is pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ethen Frank did not make the Washington Capitals out of training camp, passed through NHL waivers, and appeared…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-517995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}