The Washington Capitals are reportedly perusing the market to bolster their offense.
According to hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, the Capitals have made their desire to acquire some goal-scoring talent quite clear over the past week. Friedman identified those wants in his latest 32 Thoughts column for Sportsnet on Saturday.
22. Washington, as good a pick to win the East as anyone, made things very clear this week: they are going to grab the best offensive player they can. They feel every goal is work for them.
Friedman’s latest report comes after the Capitals were involved in the Quinn Hughes sweepstakes, which saw the high-scoring, star defenseman be traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild. According to several sources, the Capitals offered a strong enough trade package to Vancouver, but the Wild just outbid them to acquire Hughes.
Head coach Spencer Carbery also made headlines recently when he stated his belief that the Capitals are missing game-breaking offensive talent.
“We don’t have those really, really high, high-end difference makers in our forward group that can do some of those things,” Carbery said. “So we’ve got to do it by committee.”
Earlier this season, Friedman reported that the Capitals were looking to add more “speed” to their lineup. Over the summer, the Caps tried to ink speedy, free-agent winger Nikolaj Ehlers to a long-term contract but were ultimately beaten out by the Carolina Hurricanes.
While the 2026 trade deadline is still months away (March 6), several players are reportedly available or soon to become available who could add offense to the Capitals’ lineup. The Athletic’s Chris Johnston recently released his second “NHL trade board” of the year, and a few names could be fits in DC.
Among the top options are wingers Kiefer Sherwood (VAN) and Alex Tuch (BUF). Sherwood, also one of the most physical wingers in the NHL, has 16 goals in 34 games for the Canucks this season, while Tuch has 29 points (11g, 18a) in 32 games for the Sabres.
Other offense-first names on the list include Steven Stamkos (NSH), Nazem Kadri (CGY), Yegor Chinakhov (CBJ), Jonathan Marchessault (NSH), Bryan Rust (PIT), Alexander Wennberg (SJS), and Erik Karlsson (PIT).
According to PuckPedia, the Capitals currently have $5.25 million in cap space. With more space accruing over time, they’re set to have $14.75 million in space at the deadline.
