Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin became the first player in NHL history to reach 900 career goals, an exclamation point on the Gretzky chase he completed last spring. The team around him slipped and missed the playoffs as the supporting cast aged a year, and the deadline trade of franchise icon John Carlson to Anaheim after 17 seasons signaled the front office's pivot toward the future, with Carlson's all-time franchise records among defensemen now closed for good. The post-Ovechkin rebuild planning is the front-office headline, with Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome carrying the next era's torch alongside rookies Ryan Leonard and Cole Hutson.
Cap situation · 2026-27
Lines · cap by group
5-year points history
Regular-season points, last five seasons.
Organization strength
Similar historical cores
Closest historical team-seasons by points pace, goals for, and goals against (era-normalized z-score, since 1967–68). Click any card to open a side-by-side compare.
2026 Draft Class
Full board →1 selection in rounds 1-3. Prospect pages; NHL roster spots come as they sign.