The Washington Capitals cut six players from their training camp roster on Friday morning. The group of names included Andrew Cristall, Ilya Protas, and Sheldon Rempal — players who all had impressive performances during camp.
The move allowed the Capitals to downsize to just one group at practice a day before their preseason finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. The final exhibition game is typically utilized as a dress rehearsal for Opening Night.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery put together all of his forward lines and defense pairings on the same ice sheet for the first time this fall. The most notable difference was that Connor McMichael had been moved back from center to the wing after Hendrix Lapierre’s brilliant camp.
Capitals lineup at 10/3 practice
Extras: Miroshnichenko, Frank, Milano, Iorio
Lapierre has played in four exhibition games, tied for the most on the team, and tallied a league-leading seven points (1g, 6a), a far cry from his subpar showing at last year’s camp. The performance has not only put him back into the discussion of making the Capitals’ roster again but also into their Opening Night lineup.
“My confidence level in him playing the middle and potentially earning that third-line center role has made us consider some different options,” Carbery said Friday. “Mikey’s a unique talent where you can be flexible. He enables me and our staff to be flexible with our lineup because he’s so comfortable moving back and forth from the wing to center. We’ve got a lot of different options. I think we’ll look at these next few days and the game tomorrow night to fine-tune some things to get us ready for next Wednesday.”
McMichael, who recorded a 57-point (26g, 31a) breakout season as a winger for the Capitals last year, entered camp penciled in as the team’s third-line center. While his natural position is still down the middle, McMichael had no qualms about staying on the wing.
“I feel fine [about the move],” McMichael said. “I think, for me, it’s always been pretty seamless. I don’t really even think about it too much. I just go out there and play. I’ve got no problems.”
Adding to the comfort factor is that Carbery reunited McMichael with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson, the team’s second line for the majority of last season. All three players recorded over 50 points during the 2024-25 campaign, with Wilson (65) and Dubois (66) eclipsing the 60-point mark.
“I always knew this was a possibility,” McMichael added. Even last year, I played a few games at center, so it’s always been on the table for me to switch around. I told Carbs I’m perfectly comfortable with that.
“Playing with Dubie and Willy makes it really easy for me, and I feel like I just go out there and play free. A lot of the success that I have comes from Dubie and Willy, to be honest. We had a little bit of rust the first time together in six or so months. It was fun to be out there again with them, and we’re going to have to find a way to click again pretty soon.”
Carbery has also reunited his top line from the balance of last year, placing captain Alex Ovechkin on the right wing with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas. Ovechkin’s move to the right was discussed multiple times last season, with the obvious benefits being that he is naturally a right-handed shooter.
Playing on his strong side allows Ovechkin to take passes more often on his forehand rather than his backhand and see more of the ice in the offensive zone. It also makes the defensive side of the game easier for the 40-year-old winger as he can play pucks along the boards in the D-zone without his back to the play. Chipping pucks out of the zone should be easier as well.
The rest of the team’s lineup appears self-explanatory, including the same six defensemen used for almost the entirety of last year. Therefore, the remaining focus turns to who was deemed extra at the skate. With 27 players left on the roster, the Capitals will need to cut four more players by the beginning of next week.
Given Friday’s setup, the last four cuts will likely come from a group of seven potential names: Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ethen Frank, Sonny Milano, Vincent Iorio, Declan Chisholm, Dylan McIlrath, and Clay Stevenson. The Capitals play a final preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, which will likely be the last chance for that group of players to impress Carbery and the rest of the club’s top brass.
The final 23-man roster is due at 5 pm on October 6, with the Capitals then opening their regular season at home against the Boston Bruins on the night of October 8.
