The Washington Capitals have been mentioned as interested in a couple of big-time players who have become available via trade this season, namely Quinn Hughes and Artemi Panarin.
While the NHL’s trade market has been paused until later this month due to the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Capitals are reportedly undaunted by missing out on a big fish thus far. According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli on a recent episode of Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, the club still has the intention of pursuing a needle-moving addition ahead of the league’s March 6 trade deadline.
Seravalli’s revelation came after Stauffer asked which team he believed would be the most aggressive in procuring talent after the break.
“I think the Washington Capitals are in that category,” Seravalli said. “They, like Carolina, have cap space for the future. They’ve got a lot of prospects, and they’ve got their draft picks. So for Washington, it’s not really about this year. Like, they’d like to get in [the playoffs], obviously. But whatever available talent they could add in their top six, it’s about this year and the future. So they’re in on a bunch of different things. They’d like to make a splash.”
As Seravalli notes, the Capitals are currently projected to have plenty of salary cap space in a still-growing cap environment for much of the near future. Per PuckPedia, the Caps will have $12.7 million in space at this year’s deadline, $35.7 million in the summer, $55.9 million ahead of the 2027-28 season, and $63.9 million for the 2028-29 campaign.
Outside of sorting out potential short-term commitments with franchise legends Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson, the only other player who could soon take a chunk of all of that space is Connor McMichael. The 25-year-old forward is set to be a restricted free agent after this season, likely seeking a significant raise on his $2.1 million salary.
Unlike other teams preparing for a run at this year’s postseason, the Capitals do seem unwilling to commit to a pure rental as Seravalli indicates. While Panarin and Hughes were both soon scheduled to be free agents, the Caps seemed to have interest in acquiring the two stars only with a contract extension in place.
With the 2026 trade deadline now less than a month away, more impactful, offensive players are reportedly becoming available. The Athletic’s Chris Johnston recently released his sixth “NHL trade board” of the year, and a few names could be fits in DC.
The star names being thrown around the league and on Johnston’s list include St. Louis Blues first-line center Robert Thomas, New York Rangers pivot Vincent Trocheck, Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch, Blues winger Jordan Kyrou, and Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. Kyrou is the lone player there who has been tentatively linked to a move to Washington by insiders.
Trade activity in the NHL is allowed to resume on February 23, and the Capitals play their first post-break game against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 25. The team currently sits four points behind the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division and four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
