The Washington Capitals have had a busy offseason so far. They addressed their offense by acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois (from the Los Angeles Kings) and Andrew Mangiapane (from the Calgary Flames). They also gained a backup goalie by grabbing Logan Thompson during Day Two of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft from the Vegas Golden Knights. With all of that action, the Capitals were still not done. General manager Brian MacLellan and his staff continued making moves on July 1 with a trade and through free agent signings. They specifically made some changes involving their blueline by dealing with the Ottawa Senators for Jakob Chychrun and signing Matt Roy from the Kings.
Washington also inked Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh for bottom-six forward roles. Whether these are all the moves they make for the rest of the offseason, the 2024-25 Capitals roster should be a breath of fresh air.
Chychrun and Roy Bolster Defense
The defensemen who donned the Capitals sweater last season were John Carlson, Rasmus Sandin, Martin Fehervary, Nick Jensen, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Joel Edmundson, Ethan Bear, Alexander Alexeyev, Lucas Johansen, Dylan McIlrath, Vincent Iorio, and Hardy Haman Aktell. With Carlson not having too many seasons left on his current contract and wanting to boost the defensive position, MacLellan went to both the trade market and the free agent market to take care of business.
One of the moves they made was acquiring Chychrun from the Senators. The full deal was Chychrun coming to D.C., while Ottawa received Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick. In free agency, Washington then made a splash with one of the top defenders available, locking up Roy from the Kings in a six-year contract worth $34.5 million.
Chychrun has been a solid defender who is also known for point production as well. He mainly spent time with the Arizona Coyotes before joining the Senators via trade for parts of two seasons. Since being selected in the first round (16th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, he has put up the following numbers:
- 2016-17 (Coyotes): seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 68 games
- 2017-18 (Coyotes): four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 50 games
- 2018-19 (Coyotes): five goals and 15 assists for 20 points in 53 games
- 2019-20 (Coyotes): 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 63 games
- 2020-21 (Coyotes): 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points in 56 games
- 2021-22 (Coyotes): seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 47 games
- 2022-23 (Coyotes): seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points in 36 games
- 2022-23 (Senators): two goals and three assists for five points in 12 games
- 2023-24 (Senators): 14 goals and 27 assists for 41 points in 82 games
As for Roy, he joins the Capitals after being in Los Angeles for parts of six campaigns. He was drafted by the Kings in the seventh round (194th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. His best statistical season so far came in the 2022-23 season, when he tallied 26 points in 82 games (nine goals and 17 assists). Last season, he finished having suited up for 81 regular-season contests, producing five goals and 20 assists for 25 points. In his entire career in L.A., Roy has posted the following statistics:
- 2018-19: two goals and four assists for six points in 25 games
- 2019-20: four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 70 games
- 2020-21: two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 44 games
- 2021-22: two goals and 19 assists for 21 points in 67 games
- 2022-23: nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points in 82 games
- 2023-24: five goals and 20 assists for 25 points in 81 games
Right-shot defenders are considered a crucial commodity in the league, and MacLellan has done a solid job obtaining skill in that position. Washington already had Carlson, one of the best to ever play defense for the franchise, along with Bear and van Riemsdyk. Now they have Roy added to the mix.
Related: Capitals Sign Rasmus Sandin to Five-Year Extension
On the other side, Chychrun joins other left-shot blueliners like Sandin, who has been locked up long-term. They also have Alexeyev and Fehervary in that group. Overall, it is impressive for the Capitals to have a blueline core that includes Carlson, Sandin, Chychrun, and Roy. It will be a huge help for the team, particularly their own goalies, Charlie Lindgren and Thompson.
Addressing the Bottom-Six
The Buffalo Sabres were not done adding former Capitals after trading a second-round choice for Beck Malenstyn on Day Two of the 2024 Draft. They also signed winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year deal. That is the second bottom-six talent Buffalo took from Washington. MacLellan inked bottom-six forwards Taylor Raddysh and Brandon Duhaime to address these new holes. Duhaime signed a two-year contract worth $3.7 million, while Raddysh inked a deal for one year and $1 million.
Duhaime entered the NHL as a member of the Minnesota Wild. They selected him for the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2016 Draft. He played for the Wild starting in the 2021-22 campaign and suited up for them for three seasons. In 2023-24, he was traded from Minnesota to the Colorado Avalanche. In 18 games for the Avalanche, he scored one goal and provided four assists. In his entire career in the league, he has 20 goals and 20 assists for 40 points in 211 games. A cool moment for Duhaime with the Capitals was when Washington drafted his father, Trevor Duhaime, back in the 1991 Draft. Now, he gets to play for the same team.
Raddysh comes to D.C. and is already familiar with one of his teammates. He and Capitals forward Dylan Strome played together for the Erie Otters along with other future NHL talents in Connor McDavid, Alex DeBrincat, Mason Marchment, and Travis Dermott. Since entering the NHL, Raddysh has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks. He has posted the following since entering the league:
- 2021-22 (Lightning): five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 53 games
- 2021-22 (Blackhawks): six goals and four assists for 10 points in 21 games
- 2022-23 (Blackhawks): 20 goals and 17 assists for 37 points in 78 games
- 2023-24 (Blackhawks): five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 73 games
Both Raddysh and Duhaime have the potential to be nice replacements for the subtractions of Malenstyn and Aube-Kubel.
MacLellan Making Significant Impact
Simply put, the results for Washington were not good enough in 2023-24. Yes, they made the postseason, but they did not even win a playoff game and got swept by the New York Rangers. MacLellan and his management group needed to get to work so that last season’s ending does not happen again. So far, it appears that the Capitals have delivered. It looks great on paper right now with the additions of Mangiapane, Dubois, Chychrun, and Roy, among other moves, but now it is up to the players and head coach Spencer Carbery to bring it all together. The old and new players have to find the right lines to gel, and hopefully, they can get some better results. MacLellan took care of things on his end; now it is time to see what results on the ice follow.
