July 1, 9:01 a.m.: Washington has made both of these depth extensions official, also inking RFA goalie Mitchell Gibson to a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$100K AHL). Gibson, 25, was a fourth-round pick of the Caps in 2018. Last year was his first pro season after a four-year career at Harvard. He played mostly with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, recording a .899 SV%, 2.56 GAA and three shutouts in 42 games.
June 30, 8:14 p.m.: Just hours after issuing a qualifying offer to Ethen Frank, the Capitals have reached an agreement on a new contract with him. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed the forward to a two-year contract. The NHL portion is the minimum of $775K in both years while the AHL salary is $250K next season before converting to a one-way agreement for 2025-26.
Meanwhile, PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the Caps have also re-signed pending UFA blueliner Chase Priskie to a one-year, two-way agreement. The deal pays $775K in the NHL and $400K in the minors.
Frank only has two full professional seasons under his belt after a five-year NCAA career. In his rookie campaign, the 26-year-old put up a strong 30 goals and 19 assists in 57 games with AHL Hershey.
This past season, he followed it up with a similarly strong showing, notching 29 goals and 18 assists in 64 regular season games. Despite that, he didn’t receive a recall from Washington during the season. Frank finished up on a high note, collecting 10 goals and seven assists in 18 postseason appearances, helping the Bears take home the Calder Cup.
As for Priskie, the 28-year-old has four career NHL appearances under his belt from 2021-22 with Florida but has played exclusively in the minors since then. This season, he had eight goals and 26 assists in 69 games with Hershey before adding 14 more points in 20 playoff contests. He’s in line to play a big role for them again next season.
Worse case scenario is the Hershey Bears will still be loaded for a threepeat!