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Caps sign Nic Dowd to three-year, $750,000 AAV deal

By Julia Karron

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April 11, 2019 1:18 pm

Nic Dowd joined the Capitals this off-season to compete with Travis Boyd for the fourth line center spot on a one-year, $650,000 contract.

That work has paid off and Dowd will be with the Caps for the next three years, signing a three-year, $750,000 average annual value deal with the Caps on Thursday. It’s a $100,000 raise per year from his $650,000 contract.

Since becoming a Capital, Dowd has posted the best season of his career, with eight goals and 14 assists, tying his career high of 22 points.

Not only that, but the Huntsville, Alabama and St. Cloud State product also scored the two goals that helped the Caps clinch a spot in the playoffs and the Metro Division title.

“I think Dowd’s come in and played well,” Caps GM Brian MacLellan told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. When asked about how he’s stepped into Jay Beagle’s role, MacLellan noted “Dowd’s 51-plus on faceoff percentages.”

Dowd will also get to spend this three-year tenure with his good friend Nick Jensen, who was signed to a four-year, $10 million deal when he was traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the Caps before the trade deadline.

More from the Capitals:

The Washington Capitals have re-signed center Nic Dowd to a three-year contract extension, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. Dowd’s contract will carry an average annual value of $750,000.

Dowd, 28, set a career high with eight goals this season and tied his single-season high with 22 points (8g, 14a). The native of Huntsville, Alabama, ranked fourth among Capitals’ forwards with at least 60 games played in penalty kill minutes per game (1:39). Additionally, the 6’2″, 197-pound center recorded a career-high three game-winning goals, including the playoff-clinching game-winner on March 28 versus the Carolina Hurricanes and the Metropolitan Division-clinching goal on April 4 against the Montreal Canadiens. Dowd also ranked first on the Capitals in face-off percentage among players with at least 100 draws taken (245 of 472, 51.9 percent).

In 195 career NHL games, Dowd has 48 points (17g, 31a).

Dowd attended St. Cloud State University (NCAA), serving as captain in his senior year. Dowd recorded 40 points (22g, 18a) in 38 games during his senior season and finished as a Hobey Baker finalist as the NCAA’s top player in 2014.

Dowd was selected by Los Angeles in the seventh round, 198th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

The Capitals signed Dowd to a one-year, $650,000 contract on July 1, 2018.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong