In the 31st of a 32 part series leading up to the start of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we will look at the key off-season transactions made by all NHL organizations with an overall grade. Here are the Washington Capitals.
The Capitals had a surprise season in 2024-25. They had a breakout season offensively from Dylan Strome (career high 53 assists and 82 points), incredible goaltending from Logan Thompson (record of 31 wins and six losses with a save percentage of .910 and goals against average of 2.49), and a record breaking performance from Alexander Ovechkin (now has the all-time goal scoring record if you haven’t heard?) So, after a 20 point improvement from the year before, the Capitals management, led by General Manager Chris Patrick, decided not to tinker with the lineup much at all. They did lose Andrew Mangiapane in free agency to the Edmonton Oilers, and added Justin Sourdif of Richmond, British Columbia for offensive insurance.
Justin Sourdif
Sourdif was traded from the Florida Panthers to the Capitals on June 27 for a second round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft and a seventh round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. Then on June 28, Sourdif signed a two-year contract worth $1.65 million. Due to the fact Sourdif did not play much at all with the Florida Panthers over the last two years, he did not win a Stanley Cup for the championship winning teams in 2024 or 2025, as the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in both seasons.
Sourdif’s 2024-25 NHL statistics
Sourdif only played one game this past season and had one goal. It came in a 4-1 Panthers win over the Nashville Predators on February 25. Sourdif’s goal was the game-winning goal at 4:21 of the second period from Jesper Boqvist of Falun, Sweden and Niko Mikkola of Kiiminki, Finland. At the time, the Panthers went up 2-0.
This was Sourdif’s fourth NHL game of his career as he did not register a point in 2023-24 in three NHL regular season games. Also in the Panthers’s three goal win over the Predators, Sourdif was a +1 with two shots on goal in nine minutes and 27 seconds of action.
Projected Grade
The Capitals had a great regular season in 2024-25. However, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs could have been considered a bit of a disappointment for the Capitals. Washington did beat the Montreal Canadiens in five games, but came up completely flat in the second round in a series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. By not adding anyone of substance in the offseason, I am giving the Capitals management an offseason grade of C.
