Spencer Carbery isn’t ready to take a full vacation from hockey just yet.
Days after serving as an analyst for ESPN’s Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage, the Washington Capitals head coach is one of three assistants headed to Switzerland to serve on Misha Donskov’s Team Canada staff at the 2026 World Championship, per TSN’s Darren Dreger.
Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska and interim Los Angeles Kings head coach DJ Smith will join Carbery to complete the group.
Carbery, the NHL’s reigning Jack Adams Award winner as NHL coach of the year, has prior experience coaching his national team at the junior level, serving as an assistant coach for Team Canada Black at the 2017 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. He was also the head coach of Team Canada Blue at the under-17 level the same year.
The Victoria, British Columbia native is coming off his third season with the Capitals and first without a playoff appearance. The Caps went 43-30-9, finishing as the last team out of the Eastern Conference’s race for the postseason.
Outside of Carbery, the only other confirmed Caps representative at this year’s World Championship will be forward Ryan Leonard. The 21-year-old winger announced he would be playing for Team USA during his Breakdown Day media availability last month.
Canada and the United States are in different preliminary groups, so they will only potentially meet in the playoff rounds. The tournament is set to begin on May 15, with the gold medal game taking place in Zurich on May 31.
Update (5/4): Team Canada has officially announced the news. Capitals goaltending coach Scott Murray will join Carbery on the staff.
Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:
Spencer Carbery and Scott Murray named to Team Canada Coaching Staff for 2026 IIHF World Championship
Carbery will serve as an assistant coach and Murray will serve as goaltending consultant
ARLINGTON, Va. – Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery and goaltending coach Scott Murray have been named to Canada’s coaching staff for the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, Hockey Canada announced today. Carbery will serve as an assistant coach and Murray will serve as goaltending consultant. The 2026 IIHF World Championship will be held in Zurich and Fribourg from May 15-31.
Carbery, 44, recently completed his third season as head coach of the Capitals. The Victoria, British Columbia native has a 134-83-29 record (.604 point percentage) in three seasons with Washington. The Capitals rank tied for eighth in the NHL in wins since Carbery took over in 2023-24. The 2025 Jack Adams Award winner is the only individual to win coach of the year awards in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.
The Capitals posted a 43-30-9 record (95 points) with Carbery behind the bench this season. Washington’s 43 wins were tied for the 10th-most in the NHL, while its 95 points were tied for the 12th-most. In addition, the Capitals ranked tied for fifth in the NHL in five-on-five goal differential (+32), tied for seventh in goals against per game (2.90), tied for third in points by defensemen (212) and tied for fifth in points by rookies (94). Washington’s 94 points by rookies marked their highest single-season total since 2005-06.
Murray, 47, completed his ninth season as the Capitals’ goaltending coach in 2025-26. The St. Clements, Ontario, native has primarily worked with goaltenders Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren the past two seasons. This past season, Thompson had a career-best 2.44 goals-against average and reached the 30-win mark for the second straight year. The Capitals ranked sixth in the NHL in five-on-five save percentage in 2025-26.
