LAS VEGAS -- The Washington Capitals have already been one of the most active teams in the NHL in the past two weeks, adding goalie Logan Thompson and forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane as part of what general manager Brian MacLellan called a “retooling.”
And they hope to do more.
“I think we all know that we need to get better and we’re trying to get better,” MacLellan said after the second day of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Sphere on Saturday. “At the same time, we’re trying to add prospects, we’re trying to get younger, we’re trying to get quicker.”
MacLellan acknowledged it was “an accomplishment” for Washington (40-31-11) to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season as the second wild card from the Eastern Conference after missing the playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2014. But being swept by the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round provided a reminder of how the Capitals need more young talent and speed to supplement what’s left of the core of their 2018 Stanley Cup championship team.
That includes captain and left wing Alex Ovechkin, who will turn 39 before next season; 37-year-old right wing T.J. Oshie, whose playing future remains in doubt because of a recurring back injury; 34-year-old defenseman John Carlson; and 30-year-old right wing Tom Wilson.
After sputtering in the first half of the season, Ovechkin scored 23 goals in Washington’s final 36 regular-season games to finish with 31 and reach 853 for his career, but was held without a point in the four playoff games. Unable to drive a team’s offense on his own as he heads toward his 20th NHL season, Ovechkin clearly needs some younger legs and skill around him to not only keep the Capitals competitive, but also to help him score the 42 goals he needs to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894.
Acquiring Dubois, who the Capitals envision playing on one of their top two lines, in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings for goalie Darcy Kuemper on June 19 was a start to that. The 26-year-old struggled this season with Los Angeles, getting 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 82 regular-season games and one goal in five playoff games. He had an NHL career-high 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) in 73 regular-season games with the Winnipeg Jets in 2022-23.
The next step was acquiring Mangiapane from the Calgary Flames on Thursday for a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The 28-year-old had 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) for the Flames in 75 games this season, but is only two seasons removed from setting NHL career highs with 35 goals and 55 points in 82 games in 2021-22.
“Top-six forward, a lot of energy, a little speed, a little offense, a little defense,” MacLellan said. “Just a really good all-around player. Excited to get him.”
MacLellan also likes that Mangiapane is entering the final season of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent after it expires.
“I think he’s motivated,” MacLellan said. “It’s a contract year for him, so I think we’ll get a good version of him.”
The trade Saturday to acquire Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights for third-round picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts was about providing an experienced goaltending partner for Charlie Lindgren after trading away Kuemper.
Lindgren is in line to be Washington’s No. 1 after he was 25-16-7 with a 2.67 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and six shutouts (tied for League lead) this season, but Thompson might push him for playing time. The 27-year-old was 25-14-5 with a 2.70 GAA, a .908 save percentage and one shutout in 46 regular-season games and 2-2 with a 2.35 GAA and .921 save percentage in the playoffs.
“Charlie has earned his spot here,” MacLellan said. “Hopefully, we have a competitive situation, and we’ll work it out from there.”
The next area where Washington would like to add, either via another trade or when the unrestricted free agent market opens on Monday, is on defense.
“We’re working on trying to make some changes there,” MacLellan said. “… We’re going to shop around and see what we can find."
In addition to the trades, MacLellan was happy with how Washington fared at the draft. After selecting forward Terik Parascak with the No. 17 pick in the first round on Friday, the Capitals picked seven more players Saturday: defensemen Cole Hutson (No. 43) and Leon Muggli (No. 52) in the second round, forwards Ilya Protas (No. 75) and Eriks Mateiko (No. 90) in the third round, goalie Nicholas Kempf (No. 114) in the fourth round, forward Petr Sikora (No. 178) in the sixth round and forward Miroslav Satan (No. 212), in the seventh round. Protas is the brother of Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas and Satan is the son of former NHL forward Miroslav Satan.
Washington traded forward Beck Malenstyn, a potential restricted free agent, to the Buffalo Sabres to acquire the No. 43 pick to select Hutson, the brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, who had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 51 games for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team.
“We didn’t want to move Beck,” MacLellan said. “We like what he’s done. We drafted him and he’s been a big part of our organization’s success in Hershey (American Hockey League). Had a good year last year. But I just think the opportunity for that pick, that we could use it to get a D and we ended up getting a D, that was our hope in making that pick.”
