While the subtractions from the team’s roster made the biggest headlines, the Washington Capitals added just as much as they lost at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.
After moving Nic Dowd and John Carlson out west, the Capitals acquired two players to fill their spots: center David Kampf and defender Timothy Liljegren. The two skaters, Kampf coming from the Vancouver Canucks and Liljegren from the San Jose Sharks, were previously teammates on the Toronto Maple Leafs, where they were coached for two seasons by then assistant coach Spencer Carbery.
Carbery, now the head coach of the Capitals, evaluated his two newest weapons ahead of the team’s road game against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
“Yeah, a little bit of a Maple Leaf reunion,” Carbery said. “I got a few texts from the old staff there, getting the band back together. Know them both really, really well. David Kampf, very similar to a Nic Dowd; he plays that same type of role. He’s a defensive specialist, takes a lot of D-zone draws, can penalty kill, so that’s his M.O., and he knows his identity and role to a T.
“Timothy Liljegren, right-shot defenseman, so he’s sort of your prototypical puck mover, good defender, can give you a little bit at the offensive blue line, but also takes pride in his defensive game. I would say he’s your 200-foot puck-moving defenseman that will come in and give us some depth on the right side.”
Both Kampf and Liljegren had career-best seasons with Toronto when Carbery was on the team’s staff. Kampf posted 27 points (7g, 20a) in 82 games during the 2022-23 campaign, while Liljegren recorded 23 points (5g, 18a) in 61 games during the 2021-22 season.
With Dowd now in Vegas, Kampf is expected to assume the checking-line center and penalty-killing responsibilities that have been left behind. In 38 games for the Canucks this season, Kampf has a 52.7 percent win rate in the faceoff circle and has played 1:32 of shorthanded ice time per game.
Liljegren will likely be tasked with soaking up some of the 22:51 time on ice per game that Carlson was playing for the Capitals. In 43 games for the Sharks this season, he’s recorded 11 points (1g, 10a) and averaged 20:08 of ice time per game.
The Swedish blueliner was once Rasmus Sandin’s defense partner in Toronto and could resume that role as soon as Monday night against the Calgary Flames. Neither Liljegren nor Kampf traveled to Boston after their trades; instead, they’ll meet their new teammates back in the DC area for practice on Sunday morning.
