Charlie Lindgren got a new goalie mask this summer with a design paying tribute to the relationships he’s built as a member of the Washington Capitals. Specifically, he swapped out the “Lindy” nickname that has long adorned the chin of his mask for a design with “Ch Ch” — a moniker bestowed upon him by captain Alex Ovechkin.
“That was Ovi, yeah,” Lindgren told reporters at training camp on Friday. “I don’t even know why I had ‘Lindy’ on my mask the last couple years, I probably should’ve just scraped it after the first year, but I’m also really bad at coming up with what I want on my helmet.”
The Capitals initially used “Chuckie” to refer to Lindgren after he arrived in DC in 2022, a nickname he’s long used with previous teams. Eventually — though Lindgren didn’t specify a date — Ovechkin opted to shorten that to “Ch Ch.”
While Ovechkin came up with the new nickname, centerman Connor McMichael appears to be the first to say it publicly, using it during a pregame tunnel ritual in March 2024.
Lindgren more than earned his teammates’ praise that season, becoming arguably the Capitals’ most valuable player in the club’s late-season playoff push. After starting the year as the expected backup, Lindgren wrested control of the starter’s role with a 25-16-7 record, a .911 save percentage, and a 2.67 goals-against average.
The nickname caught on quickly — by the time Lindgren stopped 17 of 18 shots against the Detroit Red Wings the following month, the whole locker room was using it. Since then, “Ch Ch” has joined “Chuckie” as one of his default names among the team.
When it came time to design a mask for his fourth Capitals season, making the swap was an easy choice.
“Lindy was one of things that I’d had it on my mask since I came to Washington and I kind of look back on it like, ‘Nobody’s really calling me that anyways.’ It’s always been Chuck,” Lindgren explained. “I just don’t put too much emphasis on [the design], but finally this year I just said, ‘Lindy is done, Ch Ch is the way we’re going this year.'”
Alongside adding his new nickname to the chin, Lindgren opted for a simple star-spangled mask design, likely from his longtime artist Dave Gunnarsson. The mask features a silhouetted Weagle pattern along the sides with the signature dual white zig-zags Lindgren uses on his leg pads. “Ch Ch” is written in large, thin letters with a more detailed Weagle logo in the center.
The back of Lindgren’s mask includes a lion and a cross as well as a more personal detail — the name and birthdate of his daughter, Molly Mae. Molly, Lindgren’s first child, was born on May 16, 2025, just 15 hours after the Capitals’ season ended with a Game 5 loss in the second round to the Carolina Hurricanes.
After returning to DC for training camp, Lindgren told reporters that being a new dad has been a “game changer, in the best way.”
“It’s been nuts,” he said. “It’s been absolutely incredible. It’s funny — you look back at it, she literally came into the world the day after the season ended last year. And yeah, she’s just been rocking and rolling every day since. She’s constantly doing something new every single day, it seems like. It’s just been the best thing ever, and now my favorite title is Dad.”
Lindgren also got a new set of pads to match his updated mask for the 2025-26 season. He kept his trademark zig-zags but swapped the colors to put navy on top and red on the bottom, with matching designs on his blocker and catching glove.
Charlie Lindgren debuts new pads at Capitals’ informal skate
He joins fellow Capitals netminder Logan Thompson in debuting all new, full-color pads for the 2025-26 campaign, though Lindgren insists the rollouts weren’t coordinated.
“No, me and Logan didn’t even talk about it,” he told reporters Friday. “Both of us we’re just kind of feeling it. I had the same look the last two years, figured I’d mix it up this year and it turned out awesome. Probably one of my favorite set ups of all time.”
While some goaltenders feel that their pad colors can impact their on-ice success, Lindgren insists that his new armor is purely for the aesthetics. He told reporters that he doesn’t buy into the idea that full-color pads contrast against the white net and make it easier for shooters to score.
“I don’t worry about that stuff — that stuff is so minuscule to me,” he said. “You also think of it, if you’re wearing darker pads the shooters think there’s more net or whatever, maybe it plays in the goalie’s favor…I don’t know. I don’t look too much into it. I’ve worn dark pads before, even like my retro set, it was all black. I don’t really care.”
