The Washington Capitals were both buyers and sellers at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, dealing veterans Nic Dowd and John Carlson and acquiring pending unrestricted free agents Timothy Liljegren and David Kampf for a fourth- and sixth-round pick. Capitals GM Chris Patrick did not fully lean into either strategy (he neither maximized future assets nor wobbled the team enough to secure the best possible first-round draft pick in 2026, and he didn’t make a swing to to improve the team as much as possible), leaving the Capitals with a weaker roster down the stretch.
The day of the trade deadline, the Capitals had the fifth-worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference, but were four points out of the final wild card spot, having played two more games than most of the teams in front of them. Making the playoffs would be daunting and seemed like a coin flip at best, but going for it, at least somewhat, in what could be Alex Ovechkin’s final season and still reaping high-end draft picks for coveted veterans, made sense. Perhaps the Capitals were even giving the new players, who previously played under Carbery while he was an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs, auditions for next season to see if they fit in well with the team.
What has been harder to understand is Liljegren and Kampf’s usage since then — both intentional and due to circumstances beyond the team’s control. Liljegren, a top-four defenseman, has played in just three games while Kampf, a fourth-line center, has appeared in two. The skaters the Capitals traded two draft picks for have played a combined five times out of 30 opportunities (15 games), essentially wasting the draft capital they spent. So what gives?
“Yeah, it’s just been a tough scenario,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said after Tuesday’s skate. “Acquiring them at the deadline, we sort of, Chris, management team, okay, depth, trying to stay in this playoff race, even though we just moved out John Carlson and Nic Dowd. This gives us some depth to be able to continue to push the envelope, especially if an injury comes up.
“So what’s happened is a couple things,” he continued. “One, an injury has not come up. Two, Cole Hutson comes in out of college, maybe call it a little bit early. And now, Pro (Ilya Protas) coming, and the health of our forwards, it just hasn’t provided a lot of opportunity for them to get in the lineup, which is unfortunate because both guys, veteran players, are deserving of being able to play.
“We just have felt like with our young players, Trevor van Riemsdyk’s play, our whole D-corps as a whole, us playing well, whatever our record’s been, we’ve gone pretty consistently with the same lineup. So it is unfortunate.”
Liljegren was acquired by the Capitals from the San Jose Sharks on March 6. The Swedish defender practiced with his new teammates for the first time on March 8. He was initially held out of the Capitals’ lineup for the team’s game against the Calgary Flames on March 9, with head coach Spencer Carbery wanting him to watch a game before being inserted into the lineup.
After sitting out healthy against Calgary, Liljegren made his Capitals debut on March 11 against the Philadelphia Flyers. He played in two more games directly after that, against the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins, but has been healthy scratched since, as top prospect Cole Hutson made his NHL debut on March 18 and has played in every game since.
Kampf was also traded to Washington on March 6, coming from the Vancouver Canucks. His story is even more complicated. Kampf practiced with the Capitals for the first time on March 8, but missed out on making his debut with the club due to work visa issues. Kampf ended up missing four straight games due to those issues and then returned to Vancouver to be with his wife as the couple awaited the birth of their second child.
While back in Canada, the visa issues were finally settled, and Kampf joined the Capitals on their road trip out west to end last month. Kampf did not end up playing in any of those road games, instead making his Capitals debut at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 31. He played in that game and in the team’s game against the New Jersey Devils on April 2, then returned to the press box for the Capitals’ last two outings this past weekend.
Neither player was used in Spencer Carbery’s starting line rushes during practice on Tuesday, suggesting they will be healthy-scratched again against the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the Toronto game, the Capitals have three games remaining in the season.
“I’ve talked to both of them a lot about the scenario because obviously, when you get acquired at the deadline, you’re hoping that you’re going to play consistently, and that hasn’t happened,” Carbery said. “That’s just a product of you know those reasons I just described.”
