The Washington Capitals made a single trade on deadline day, bringing in winger Anthony Beauvillier from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 27-year-old forward is making his way to DC and will arrive late on Friday night but has already picked out his jersey number with the club. Beauvillier will don number 72, which he also wore in Pittsburgh this season.
Anthony Beauvillier will wear 7️⃣2️⃣ with the Washington Capitals#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/s3U98o8rpu
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 7, 2025
Beauvillier has worn four different jersey numbers with the five teams he played with before becoming a Washington Capital. He started his career wearing 72 with the New York Islanders for two seasons before switching to number 18 five seasons. The switch was required after Lou Lamoriello became president and general manager of the club, as he dislikes players wearing numbers above 40.
“I didn’t really choose [18],” Beauvillier said in 2022. “When [Lamoriello] came in, I just walked into the locker room, and I had 18 on my jersey. So, I’m like, ‘Okay.’ I didn’t say anything. I was just 18. It’s been there for a couple of years now.”
After being traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2022, he went back to 72 for a season. The Canucks then traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks where he wore 91 for 22 games before being dealt to the Nashville Predators. In Nashville, he wore 21 for 15 games and then returned to 72 after signing with the Penguins in free agency last July.
Only two players in Capitals franchise history have worn 72 before Beauvillier. The latest was Pierrick Dubé, who donned the number in his first three NHL games for the team last season. Travis Boyd, a member of the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Capitals, was the lone player to wear it before that.
