Spencer Carbery

Spencer Carbery thinks Connor McMichael’s a gamer: ‘When the game’s on the line, he wants the puck; he wants to be the guy’

ARLINGTON, VA–Connor McMichael will make his first appearance in the Capitals’ preseason lineup on Thursday, but it won’t be his first time playing under head coach Spencer Carbery. The two spent a season together with the Hershey Bears in 2020-21 before Carbery left to take an NHL job with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Carbery’s emphasis on young players’ development should mesh well with McMichael, who spent nearly all of last year with Hershey after a full rookie season with the Capitals in 2021-22. Now reunited in Washington, McMichael and Carbery are continuing to build on a foundation established back in the AHL.

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By Katie Adler 2 days ago

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Spencer Carbery gives update on Joel Edmundson after scrimmage injury: ‘Probably not good, but we’ll know more tomorrow’

ARLINGTON, VA–The Capitals may have to wait longer than expected to see offseason acquisition Joel Edmundson in action. Though Edmundson was not in the lineup for Sunday’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Sabres, he sustained an upper-body injury during an intra-squad scrimmage and did not practice Tuesday.

Edmundson is set to meet with team doctors Tuesday afternoon, head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters. Carbery wouldn’t have a firm sense of the injury until after that meeting, but he didn’t seem optimistic.

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By Katie Adler 3 days ago

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Spencer Carbery breaks down Capitals’ performance after first preseason game as head coach

The Capitals got their first taste of preseason action Sunday in a down-to-the-wire matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. After a late game-tying goal by Sonny Milano and a scoreless overtime, the Sabres ultimately emerged victorious in the shootout to win 4-3.

For Spencer Carbery, his first game as an NHL head coach offered an early chance to evaluate his team’s progress, albeit with a prospect-laden lineup. He offered a balanced take when speaking after the game, highlighting both where players shone and where they fell short.

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By Katie Adler 4 days ago

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Spencer Carbery to modify Capitals power play so teams ‘don’t know what’s coming’ and can’t neutralize Alex Ovechkin

The Washington Capitals opened a new era this week when head coach Spencer Carbery and the rest of his staff stepped out onto the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for Training Camp. The Caps hired Carbery in June after they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.

One of the contributing factors to that postseason absence was the performance of the team’s power play unit. The Caps have seen their once vaunted power play drop to the 20th best unit in the NHL.

Carbery, in his previous two seasons as an assistant for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was the mastermind behind the team’s power play that sat at or near the top of the league.

While the Caps’ power play hasn’t run drills yet, Carbery will experiment during the preseason as he considers bigger systematic changes versus smaller modifications.

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By Chris Cerullo 7 days ago

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Alex Ovechkin says Capitals must be ‘consistent’ and ‘on the same page’ to return to playoffs under Spencer Carbery

The Washington Capitals put into motion big changes to their coaching staff over the offseason after missing the playoffs in 2022-23. The Capitals hired Spencer Carbery to replace Peter Laviolette, and added assistants Mitch Love and Kirk Muller to join mainstay Scott Allen on the bench.

Missing the dance is unfamiliar territory for both the Capitals and Alex Ovechkin since the Russian superstar first debuted in the NHL during the 2005-06 season. Washington has missed the postseason only four times during the Ovechkin Era and only twice since Ovi became captain of the team on January 5, 2010.

The Carbery administration marks Ovechkin’s eighth new coaching staff in 19 seasons. With that much change during his career, the nine-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner had some advice for his teammates on how to have success early with new leadership as players learn new systems and strategies.

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By Ian Oland 7 days ago

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Spencer Carbery’s first lines and pairings as Capitals head coach

The Washington Capitals hit the ice for their second, full on-ice session of 2023 Training Camp on Friday. The Capitals’ roster may be split into three separate groups during their skates, but the team’s new lines and defense pairings appear to already be emerging under new head coach Spencer Carbery.

Unlike Peter Laviolette who would tinker near daily with his lines, Carbery has remained consistent early as the team learns his new system and strategies. And for good reason.

The Capitals’ first preseason game is on Sunday while their season-opening matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins is only two weeks away.

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By Chris Cerullo 7 days ago

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Evgeny Kuznetsov says there were ‘a lot of bad thoughts in my head’ last season, calls Spencer Carbery a ‘perfect match’

Thursday marked the official on-ice start of the Spencer Carbery Era in Washington as Capitals’ Training Camp got underway. After serving two years in Toronto as an assistant, Carbery, formerly head coach of both the Hershey Bears and South Carolina Stingrays, will lead a veteran-laden Caps group that missed the playoffs for the first time nine years.

One player that will hold special significance on if Carbery succeeds or struggles early is Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov, 31, is headed into his eleventh season with the Caps and is coming off of his worst-scoring campaign (55 points) since his sophomore year in the league.

The Caps are hoping that a youthful, energized head coach like Carbery will be able to push the reset button on Kuznetsov and get him producing at the level he has shown he can in the past.

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By Chris Cerullo 1 week ago

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Spencer Carbery says that Capitals will emphasize playing entry-level players: ‘They need opportunity, time, and they will develop’

When Spencer Carbery gets behind the Washington Capitals bench this season, he will find a roster with a veteran core joined by a crew of young players early in their careers. Carbery emphasized incorporating those developing players in his introductory team press conference and continued to do so in a recent episode of the Capitals’ Mike Vogel’s Break the Ice podcast.

The rookie bench boss spoke with Vogel about the value of bringing that youth into the lineup, as well as his expectations for the still-developing players. With several familiar faces from earlier in Carbery’s career when he was the head coach of the Hershey Bears, many of those relationships have head starts.

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By Katie Adler 2 weeks ago

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Behind the scenes of the Laughlin Family Foundation’s third annual golf tournament

Longtime Washington Capitals announcer Craig Laughlin had local sports celebrities traveling to Maryland for a good cause, Monday.

The Laughlin Family Foundation held its third annual celebrity golf tournament at the Crofton Country Club. The event allowed Capitals fans the opportunity to rub elbows or complete a round of golf with some of the biggest sports stars and personalities in the area. It also raised nearly a quarter million dollars ($220,000) for rare cancer research – the most in the foundation’s history.

Once anyone experiences a Laughlin event for the first time, it’s difficult to not return in future years. I’ll do my best to explain why.

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By Ian Oland 2 weeks ago

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Spencer Carbery on Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha: ‘I have great belief that they’re going to come in, be highly motivated’

As Spencer Carbery starts his first season in Washington, he’ll attempt to revitalize a team that failed to make the playoffs this spring for the first time in nine years. The Capitals’ bounce-back will depend in part on forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha, who both struggled last year. Though Kuznetsov and Mantha were apparently on the trade block this offseason, no trades have yet materialized.

Carbery spoke on the pair during a podcast interview on Mike Vogel’s Break the Ice, where he walked through his plan to help both players return to form.

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By Katie Adler 2 weeks ago

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