The Washington Capitals’ playoff journey came to an abrupt end following a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on May 15.
However, after finishing the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and taking down of the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery is holding his head high.
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The Capitals were simply outplayed by Carolina in the Second Round series, however, Carbery couldn’t be more proud of his players’ resiliency. “This 50th anniversary Caps team will go down in history,” he said.
“And I’ll just speak for myself, is this is one of the greatest I’ve ever been a part of as a coach and player.”
Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery after their loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.James Guillory-Imagn Images
“I told those guys I love them,” Carbery said of his locker room message. “What we went through as a group and what they accomplished and [Alex Ovechkin’s] record… I will never forget this group. Really, really memorable year.”
While Carbery gave Carolina their due after eliminating Washington in five games, his comment on Hurricanes defender Jaccob Slavin immediately turned heads on Thursday night.
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Carbery did not hold back his opinion on the 31-year-old veteran. “Another shout out, because he doesn’t get enough credit… but Slavin is, how he’s not in the Norris Trophy conversation every single year, it doesn’t seem right… He’s one heck of a player.”
One fan wrote, “Lots of respect for Carbury and a good coach.” One fan wrote, “class act. love that guy.” One X user added, “I just gained so much respect for Carbery after that post game presser.”
Another fan complained, “Because the Norris has become a ‘which defenseman scores a billion points” award.'”
The 2025 Norris Trophy finalists, voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, are Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, who won the award last season, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski.
Related: Capitals Make Spencer Carbery Announcement Before Round 2 vs. Hurricanes