The NHL released its projected lines for the Washington Capitals a month away from the start of training camp across the league.
Over the offseason, former general manager Brian MacLellan acquired seven different players through free agency or trade including Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Logan Thompson, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, Taylor Raddysh, and Brandon Duhaime. Meanwhile, five regulars left town: Darcy Kuemper, Beck Malenstyn, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Nick Jensen, and Max Pacioretty.
The Capitals are coming off an up-and-down 2023-24 season where they made the postseason during their final game of the regular season but were swept by the New York Rangers in the first round. Alex Ovechkin led the team with 31 goals and Dylan Strome paced the team in points with 67. Charlie Lindgren took over the starting spot in goal, posting a 25-16-7 record and a .911 save percentage.
This is what NHL Network and NHL.com think the Capitals’ lines could look like for Opening Night.
Washington Capitals projected lines for the 2024-25 season
NHL Network
NHL.com
Will the @Capitals make another trip to the #StanleyCup Playoffs in 2024-25 with this projected lineup? 🦅
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— NHL (@NHL) August 10, 2024
Note: The projected lines were published before the Capitals signed Jakub Vrana to a professional tryout offer on Thursday.
Both line projections have Dylan Strome centering the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Pierre-Luc Dubois lining up on the second trio. With five NHL-caliber centers on the roster and only four available spots, Connor McMichael suits up as the second-line left wing while Hendrix Lapierre centers the third line. Both lists have Nic Dowd centering Aliaksei Protas and Brandon Duhaime on the fourth line.
There’s disagreement about TJ Oshie’s status, who is listed in NHL.com’s lineup but not on NHL Network’s. Oshie is unsure if he will continue his playing career next season after suffering through back issues the last few years and wanting a solution to his health issues.
Both projections show an intriguing new defensive core. John Carlson skates with Jakob Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin lines up on the second pairing with Matt Roy, and Martin Fehervary skates with Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Charlie Lindgren edges out Logan Thompson in goal after his breakout year in Washington.
With so many new additions in Washington and several prospects pushing for spots from Hershey (Ivan Miorshnichenko, Ethen Frank, Alex Limoges, and Bogdan Trineyev), the forward lines could have a much different look for Opening Night as head coach Spencer Carbery will search for chemistry during the preseason. Dubois will likely get a long look with Ovechkin on the first line, considering the French Canadian’s affinity for playing with Russians and his cap hit ($8.5 million).
“Yeah, we’ll look at that,” Carbery said earlier in the summer. “We’ll look. But I don’t think it’s fair to say Pierre-Luc coming in is going to now have the responsibility to set up [Ovechkin]. He’s a big body, can control the game, can skate, has shown through his career being able to be productive down the middle, from a point production, from starting in his defensive zone, moving the puck, and ending in the offensive zone. A lot of different things that you could say will set up O, but it’ll just help us play at a higher level, help us have the puck more.”
The Capitals’ refresh comes as management looks to take pressure off Alex Ovechkin during his age-39 season. Ovechkin is 42 goals away from becoming the NHL’s new, all-time goals king with two seasons remaining on what could be his final NHL contract. The Capitals captain scored 31 goals last season, becoming only the sixth player in NHL history to begin a season at age 38 or older and score 30 goals per Capitals PR.
Next season will mark the Capitals’ 50th anniversary as a franchise.
How do you think the Capitals will line up next season? Drop your lines combinations in the comments below.
