NHL teams copycat the Washington Capitals; re-tool model
Photo credit: NHL
After barely sneaking into the playoffs in 2023-24, and missing it altogether two years before that, the Washington Capitals finished the 2024-25 season 1st in the Eastern Conference. The Washington Capitals did this by retooling their roster on the fly.
The Capitals re-tooled by adding NHL-ready players in the 2024 offseason, rather than picks and/or prospects.
Now, other teams are trying to emulate the Caps' formula for success in one summer. According to Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic, the Pittsburgh Penguins are perhaps the only team that are selling this offseason.
"The Penguins are listening [from other teams] on pretty much everyone other than their legacy guys," Lebrun wrote. "It could put [them] in a unique position with the lack of sellers to cash in on that leverage. But overall, it's really interesting how many teams, regardless of their place in the standings, are looking to add to some degree. It's a one-sided market, at least at the onset of the offseason."
Pens are a team in transition, as they've fired head coach Mike Sullivan after missing the post-season in three consecutive years, and replaced him with Dan Muse.
The only unavailable players right now on Pittsburgh are Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, the longtime championship core of the team.
Also, Rust, who's coming off a career-best in points (65p, 31g, 34a) in 71 games, and is himself a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, is signed for another three years at a $5.125MM cap hit. However, his no-movement clause expires this summer.
Pittsburgh is also expected to dangle Erik Karlsson as trade-bait, as well as Ryan Graves, Noel Acciari, and Kevin Hayes, players that could command some interest from other teams.
The point of all of this is that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has his eye on the 2026 NHL Draft, where the consensus number 1 pick is Gavin McKenna who, at age 17, may well be the next generational player.
Pittsburgh has its own 1st-round choice in the 2026 draft. They may be also looking to remove NHL talent from their roster in an attempt to tank and improve their odds at landing Gavin McKenna.
The Penguins have $24.5MM in cap space this summer; Dubas can use this to buy-up bad contracts from teams looking to get salary flexibility, and in turn get draft compensation.
All eyes are on the 2026 NHL Draft.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 13 | 41 ANSWERS NHL teams copycat the Washington Capitals; re-tool model Do you think Sydney Crosby will ever play for a team other than the Pittsburgh Penguins? | ||
| Yes | 9 | 22 % |
| No | 32 | 78 % |
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