The Capitals have wasted little time getting their top pick under contract. The team announced that they’ve signed winger Lynden Lakovic to a three-year, entry-level deal. The agreement will pay Lakovic $975K in the NHL and $85K in the AHL per season. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the contract contains $250K in Class A bonuses in years two and three, pushing the AAV of the deal to $1.14MM.
The 18-year-old was the 27th pick in last month’s draft, slipping that far after being rated in the top 20 by many scouting agencies.
In his first full season at the WHL level in 2023-24, Lakovic didn’t light up the scoresheet but still managed a solid 18 goals and 21 assists in 68 games with Moose Jaw before adding eight points in 20 playoff contests in the Warriors’ run to the Memorial Cup.
Armed with a bigger role last season after several top players moved on, Lakovic led Moose Jaw in scoring despite missing 21 games due to injury. However, the Warriors struggled mightily, finishing at the bottom of the league standings with just 15 wins. Still, Lakovic, who took over as team captain late in the season, had 27 goals and 31 assists in 47 games along with just four penalty minutes despite his 6’4 stature.
In Washington’s team release, it noted that the expectation is that Lakovic will return to Moose Jaw for the upcoming season. Assuming that happens, his contract will ultimately slide and still have three years left on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign.