{"id":758290,"date":"2026-07-12T09:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/758290\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T09:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:27:13","slug":"i-just-thought-itd-be-a-great-fit-former-capitals-winger-brandon-duhaime-explains-why-he-signed-with-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/758290\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I just thought it\u2019d be a great fit\u2019: Former Capitals winger Brandon Duhaime explains why he signed with Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brandon Duhaime<\/a> moved on from the Washington Capitals earlier this month<\/a>, signing a three-year, $7.8 million contract with the\u00a0Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After inking his free-agent deal, the rambunctious winger explained why he felt Toronto was the right destination for him, citing the organization\u2019s history and the club\u2019s moves to strengthen its roster following its first playoff miss in a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just, looking at the history of this team and how good they\u2019ve been over the years, I just thought it\u2019d be a great fit,\u201d Duhaime said during his introductory meeting with Toronto media<\/a>. \u201cAnd obviously, they added some really good pieces over free agency and from the end of the year. I\u2019m just really excited to join the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of Duhaime, the Maple Leafs have also acquired Darren Raddysh<\/a>, Emil Andrae<\/a>, Sergei Bobrovsky<\/a>, Troy Stecher<\/a>, Jack Roslovic<\/a>, Colton Sissons<\/a>, Teddy Blueger<\/a>, and Nick Paul<\/a> this offseason. They were also the first team on the clock in the 2026 NHL Draft, adding Gavin McKenna to their forward ranks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The move north of the border also carries some personal significance for Duhaime.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father\u2019s from there,\u201d Duhaime said. \u201cI think he moved away pretty early in his life, but yeah, he\u2019s from there, so it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Duhaime spent two seasons with the Capitals, serving as a penalty killer and primarily playing to the left of Nic Dowd<\/a> at five-on-five. He was also a notable prankster<\/a> and one of the team\u2019s top enforcers<\/a>, becoming an incredibly popular presence in the locker room.<\/p>\n

The love his teammates had for him\u00a0was evident on multiple occasions this past season, highlighted by a standing ovation<\/a> after he fought Jacob Trouba<\/a> in a January game against the\u00a0Anaheim Ducks<\/a>, avenging a borderline hit from the rearguard that had injured Ryan Leonard<\/a>, and when he received a team fist-bump line at the penalty box<\/a> after he fought Utah\u2019s Brandon Tanev<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n

Duhaime plans to bring that hard-nosed identity with him to Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a part of my game,\u201d Duhaime said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I go looking for it. I think it\u2019s more so just anytime you play a hard-checking game, stuff like that kind of finds you. It\u2019s super important to continue to play on the edge while being able to help a team win, and just being right on that line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before joining the Maple Leafs, Duhaime had the opportunity to spend two seasons alongside Alex Ovechkin<\/a>, watching the Capitals captain become the NHL\u2019s all-time leading goal scorer. Ovechkin signed a one-year contract to return to the Caps<\/a> shortly before Duhaime\u2019s media availability, and the 29-year-old forward was asked to reflect on his time as a teammate of the legendary winger.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I mean this guy\u2019s incredible,\u201d Duhaime said. \u201cWhat is he, 41, 42? Just incredible that this guy is still finding ways to put up 30-goal seasons, and just as a fan of the game, just to be able to watch him, and over the past two years, be able to see him break those records was pretty surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up watching him and then being part of that was absolutely incredible. And, you know, obviously wish him nothing but the best this season, and just a really incredible story, and just really happy for him and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duhaime, an aspiring social media influencer\/vlogger with his spearfishing exploits<\/a>, is currently back home in Florida, where he spends his summers. He plans to prep for his first season with the Maple Leafs down south before heading up for his first training camp with his new team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s where I\u2019m from, where I grew up, and I feel really comfortable down here,\u201d Duhaime said. \u201cI have a really good gym, pretty local. A lot of players are spending summers in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami area, so we end up getting some really good skates down here and have some really good skills coaches as well. It\u2019s a pretty good little program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duhaime will head into the 2026-27 campaign with 70 career points (33g, 37a) in 375 games. He played in all 164 games for the Capitals over two seasons, recording a career-high 21 points (9g, 12a) in 2024-25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brandon Duhaime moved on from the Washington Capitals earlier this month, signing a three-year, $7.8 million contract with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-758290","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\/758290","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=758290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}