Hendrix Lapierre came out strong for the Washington Capitals this fall, forcing his way back into the team’s plans after leading the NHL in preseason scoring. However, just four games into the 2025-26 regular season, Lapierre is already facing some of the same headwinds he has experienced in the past.
Lapierre opened the season centering the Capitals’ third line with Anthony Beauvillier and Ryan Leonard, but has already seen his role diminished since, being healthy scratched against the New York Rangers and then playing just 8:16 of ice time against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The early-season stumbling blocks have some of the league’s top insiders pondering Lapierre’s trade availability.
“One name that I have been keying in on over the last few days to start the season is Hendrix Lapierre from the Washington Capitals,” Frank Seravalli said on Bleacher Report’s Insider Notebook. “[The] center has been healthy scratched to start the season. Obviously, a first-round pick talent [and] can fly. What do the Caps do with Hendrix Lapierre down the middle? Is he a guy that they can maybe flip for someone that has a little bit of term that can play down the middle and fit with their group for the longer haul?”
While Seravalli was first to bring Lapierre’s name up, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also mentioned the 23-year-old center when discussing a slew of young talent in the league that may get a change of scenery, including other names like Brennan Othmann (NYR) and Nick Robertson (TOR).
“I’m sure another one that I kinda look at and say, ‘Where’s this gonna go?’ is Hendrix Lapierre in Washington,” Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “He’s been sort of in and out, and last year up and down. He’s going to be 24 in February. There’s a bunch of these situations in the league where there’s talented guys who haven’t done it or aren’t fitting in roster-wise in their first organization, and you look at it and you say, ‘Okay, can you see where this might go somewhere else for a fresh start?'”
Lapierre is currently in the Capitals’ lineup, but likely only because Pierre-Luc Dubois is missing a handful of games with a lower-body injury. Dubois suffered the injury when Lapierre was a healthy scratch against the Rangers, necessitating Lapierre’s return to play against the Lightning.
With Lapierre on the ice at five-on-five in three games this season, the Capitals have seen 47.7 percent of shot attempts, 57.8 percent of expected goals, 39.9 percent of scoring chances, and 57.4 percent of high-danger chances. Lapierre has yet to record a point, and the Caps have yet to score a goal with him on the ice.
The Capitals selected Lapierre with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and he has gotten into 87 career NHL games since then, recording 31 points (9g, 22a). Last season, Lapierre made the Caps out of training camp but struggled through 27 games before ultimately being sent down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears where he recorded 32 points (7g, 25a) in 32 games. During his AHL career, he has won two Calder Cups, been named AHL playoff MVP, and posted 79 points (27g, 52a) in 113 games.
Lapierre is no longer waivers-exempt after spending five years under contract with the Capitals and is scheduled to become a restricted free agent after this season. If the Caps were to trade Lapierre, the team has other depth options at center, including Connor McMichael, Justin Sourdif, Henrik Rybinski, and Ilya Protas.
