Washington improved by 20 points in 2024-25, finishing first in the Metropolitan Division, first in the conference, and second overall. Coach Spencer Carbery, in his first season helming the Capitals, won the Jack Adams Award. In addition, Alexander Ovechkin, despite missing time due to an injury, surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goal-scoring mark.

The Capitals benefitted from several players posting career-best totals. Dylan Strome, with 29 goals and 53, had a career-best season. He was joined up front by Pierre-Luc Dubois (20 goals, 46 assists), Aliaksei Protas (30 goals, 36 assists), Connor McMichael (26 goals, 31 assists) and Tom Wilson (33 goals, 32 assists) in that regard. Jakob Chychrun (20 goals, 27 assists) did the same from the blue line. Ovi, despite missing 17 games with an injury, tallied 44 goals in breaking the record.

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What the prior paragraph shows is that the Capitals were very balanced, but also, very fortunate that all those players had the type of season they did together. Some regression is expected, making their depth important. The team does have a handful of rookies who are expected to produce, reducing the reliance on those players mentioned previously. Carbery may experiment with mixing up the lines to create new looks.

As of now, the first line should be Ovechkin, Strome and Wilson. Ovi could be in his final season with the Caps and in the NHL, though no official confirmation has been provided. Strome, drafted third overall in 2015 by Arizona, raised his point total for the fourth straight season. Wilson, known for his physical play and at times, over the tap aggressiveness, showed he could be a scoring weapon.

The second line should be Anthony Beauvillier, Dubois and Protas. Beauvillier, who 25 points over 81 regular-season appearances between the Capitals and the Penguins, signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal to stay in Washington. He is at risk to land on the third line. Dubois, acquired for Darcy Kuemper, looked more like the player who was in Winnipeg in 2021-22 and ’22-’23 rather than one who collapsed in LA in 2023-24. Protas, despite almost no power play time, had a breakout season.

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The third line features a player with 39 total games of experience, a highly-touted rookie and McMichael. Moroshnicenko had 42 points in 53 at Hershey (AHL) last season but has yet to grab a hold of a full-time role. He should get that chance this season. McMichael is stuck behind Strome and Dubois but may see first unit power play ice time. Ryan Leonard scored 30 goals in 37 games at Boston College before turning pro. He notched just one goal and one assist in 17 games, including the postseason, for the Capitals, but the upside is highly evident.

Brandon Duhaime (165 hits), Nic Dowd (128 hits and 27 points) and Justin Sourdif make what should be a solid fourth line. Sonny Milano and Hendrix Lapierre wait in the wings. If Beauvillier is benched, Milano could get a chance at filling his spot.

John Carlson had another solid season, posting five goals and 46 assists with 131 blocked shots. He and Martin Fehervary saw time together, though Fehervary and Matt Roy were the shutdown duo. Roy also skates at times with Chychrun, who finally came close to living up to the hype. Rasmus Sandin and Trevor van Riemsdyk each chipped in at least 21 points and were a solid third pair.

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Logan Thompson, traded from Vegas to Washington, went 31-6-6 with a 2.49 goals-against average (GAA) and a .910 save percentage over 43 appearances. He led the Caps past the Habs in the first round before falling the ‘Canes. Thompson signed a six-year, $35.1 million contract with the Capitals in January. Charlie Lindgren was the 1B to Thompson’s 1A. He posted a 20-14-3 record over 39 appearances, despite a 2.73 GAA and subpar .894 save percentage.

Prediction:

The balanced attack continues in the Nation’s Capital with Ovechkin taking a slight step back. Protas and McMichael continue to grow while Leonard is in the Calder Trophy race.

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Chychrun and Carlson produce from the blueline while Thompson becomes the clear #1 netminder.

The Capitals regress slightly overall, finishing third in the Metro, and get bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.