Devante Smith-Pelly is back on a road trip with the Washington Capitals, but not as a player.
DSP will join John Walton in the booth to help call all five games of the Capitals’ current road trip on the radio. He will also be on game-day coverage for Monumental Sports Network and interview players on the team’s digital channels.
Big news today as @smithpelly23 joins @JohnWaltonPxP on the radio call on the upcoming five-game road trip! https://t.co/UtU0BwMpJ9
— Caps Radio 24/7 (@CapitalsRadio) November 22, 2023
“I’m extremely excited, I knew right away that I wanted to try it out and I’m grateful for the chance,” Smith-Pelly told NHL.com’s William Douglas. “John Walton has been great, we’ve talked a lot over the last couple of weeks on how he prepares… He’s the expert, and I’m just going to kind of read off him.”
This slate of games as a radio analyst will be DSP’s first official foray back with the Capitals for an extended period of time since he retired from professional hockey back in December of 2022. He has stopped by DC in short spurts since then, notably dropping the puck at Capital One Arena on Black History Night.
Just six players remain on the Capitals from when DSP was part of the 2018 Cup-winning roster: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and TJ Oshie. Oshie and Backstrom will not be on the trip due to their respective injury issues.
“The first time talking to somebody, interviewing them, will be a little funny, I wouldn’t say awkward, but hilarious,” Smith-Pelly said. “I think as the trip goes on, it’ll become more of the norm.”
DSP told Douglas that he was inspired to do more from the media side of things after TSN brought him in as part of their coverage of the 2023 IIHF World Championship. “I really, really enjoyed it,” he said. “That’s when I realized I want to do a lot more of this.”
The Capitals will get their trip underway on Monday night in San Jose against the Sharks. They’ll then meet the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, and Arizona Coyotes over the next week.
DSP, the owner of seven of the most important playoff goals in franchise history, will be along for the entire ride.
Welcome back, legend!
Headline photo: Ian Oland/RMNB
