Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan remade nearly a third of his team’s NHL roster over the last few weeks, making seven major acquisitions and signings since mid-June.
The Capitals now sport Pierre-Luc Dubois up the middle; Andrew Mangiapane, Taylor Raddysh, and Brandon Duhaime on the wings; Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy on the backend; and Logan Thompson in goal.
“I think [we’re done],” MacLellan told reporters on Wednesday at Capitals’ Development Camp. “I think so. Unless something comes up.”
MacLellan’s deals seemingly improve the Capitals roster from last year and allow some NHL players to slot better. But there’s a cost to those decisions too. The additions mean that several deserving minor leaguers who may have proved almost all they can at the AHL level will have to return to Hershey, including goaltender Hunter Shepard and forward Ethen Frank.
MacLellan practically guaranteed a roster spot to only one player from the Bears’ 2024 championship team: Hendrix Lapierre, the AHL’s Playoff MVP.
“I’m anticipating Lappy in the lineup, but he still has to have a good camp,” MacLellan said. “We’ll see where Miro’s at, what’s best for him, how he plays in camp. I think some other guys will get games but not guaranteed spots.”
With Lapierre on the team and TJ Oshie potentially starting the year on LTIR, the Capitals already have 22 out of 23 roster spots in Washington locked up. That number rises to 23 if Mike Sgarbossa makes the team out of Training Camp.
Frank’s wait for an NHL opportunity comes despite tying for the league lead in playoff goals with 10 and tallying 17 points in 18 postseason games. Frank led the Bears in goals as a rookie (2022-23) with 30 and again in his sophomore season (2023-24) with 29. He’s also led the team in power-play goals the last two years, combining for 23 over two seasons. Frank, 26, is also the quickest player in hockey, winning the AHL’s Fastest Skater Competition two years in a row with a time faster than Connor McDavid.
“Ethen Frank could get some games,” MacLellan said. “Training camp is going to dictate roster decisions and sometimes it can’t happen right away but you make it happen a little later. I think Training Camp is important for a lot of those guys.”
Shepard seemed primed for a possible backup opportunity in Washington behind Charlie Lindgren when the team traded Darcy Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings. But days later, they acquired Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights during the second day of the 2024 NHL Draft. Shep led the Hershey Bears to two straight Calder Cups, won playoff MVP in 2023, and was anointed the AHL’s best goaltender during the 2023-24 regular season.
MacLellan also mentioned earlier in the offseason that Bogdan Trineyev could potentially replace Beck Malenstyn’s role on the fourth line next season, but the Raddysh and Duhaime signings appear to block his path.
“We’ll see how it works in Training Camp but Duhaime definitely with Dowd and then we’ll figure out the right side as camp goes through,” MacLellan said. “The physicality I think is important. He’s a hard forechecker, finishes checks. I think we need that element in our game and I think it works well with Dowd. I think he and Hathaway played well together and I envision him and Duhaime will play well together.”
MacLellan’s roster decisions come as he’s had no known physical presence in Hershey (unlike his predecessor George McPhee), including during the last two championship runs. MacLellan has previously said he watches Bears games from home but has left much of the evaluation process up to associate general manager Chris Patrick. Head coach Spencer Carbery has also consistently been spotted at Hershey playoff games over the last two years.
“We have a number of people there,” MacLellan said. “Chris Patrick’s in charge of that, so a lot of my communication goes through him and Jason Fitzsimmons. We’ve got our whole development staff. I know Spencer was in and out on that stuff, so we have quite a few people there.”
Some Capitals’ analysts say that MacLellan likes to “overcook” his prospects to further develop them as a strategy, but some of the decisions the Caps’ GM has made over the past few seasons seem to suggest that even when guys are ready or have dominated the AHL, he’s unwilling to open up spots for them at the NHL level. The Capitals appear only ready to give certain prospects games if injuries arise at the NHL level. And if those injuries don’t happen, they don’t get chances at all.
Capitals’ projected roster (22)
Forwards (12)
Alex Ovechkin
Pierre-Luc Dubois
Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane
Dylan Strome
Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael
Sonny Milano
Brandon Duhaime
Nic Dowd
Taylor Raddysh
Hendrix Lapierre
Defense (8)
John Carlson
Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun
Rasmus Sandin
Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary
Ethan Bear
Alex Alexeyev
Goalie (2)
Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson
