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Capitals Sign Patrick Thomas To Entry-Level Contract

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The Washington Capitals have signed forward Patrick Thomas to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team release. The contract is slated to begin next season.

The team’s fourth round selection in the 2023 draft, Thomas, 20, spent the last four seasons in the OHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. This past season he served as team captain and lit up the stat sheets to the tune of 27 goals and 104 points in 66 games. His 104 points placed him fifth in league scoring, while his 77 assists placed first overall. The six-foot, 178-pound forward finishes his OHL career averaging exactly a point-per-game (253/253). Thomas, a left-shooting center, added 28 points in 36-career playoff contests in the OHL, including seven points this season. He finishes his time with the Bulldogs with a plus-61 rating (including playoffs).

Thomas’ contract carries an average annual value of $878,333 at the NHL level and $82,500 in the AHL. It will be interesting to see where Thomas starts the 2025-26 season. If he builds upon his success from his last year in junior hockey and perform well during training camp, he could make a push for a spot in Washington. However, a start in the AHL seems like a logical landing spot to start his professional career.

Lauded for his high hockey IQ and passing abilities, Thomas joins former Boston College forward and fellow Caps prospect Ryan Leonard in recently signing with the team. Selected eighth overall by Washington in 2023, Leonard spent the last two seasons in the NCAA before agreeing to a three-year, entry-level deal with Washington on March 31. However, Leonard, also 20, has already started his career in the NHL, appearing in four games and registering his first career goal since signing his deal just nine days ago.

Poll: Which College Signing Will Make The Biggest Impact In 2024-25?

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A contract signing frenzy has broken out across the NHL as the NCAA season draws to a close. Teams are in a mad dash to lock up their star prospects, or sign impactful free agents who slipped through the cracks of the draft. The range of outcomes for these fresh pro recruits will stretch across the hockey world. Some will finish their seasons on amateur try-out contracts in the minor leagues, while others have earned a proud AHL shot, and even more find themselves suddenly thrust into the NHL lineup. The group of signees is headlined by prospects with years of anticipation behind them, joining teams with important games left on the docket. Those big additions lead to the natural next question – which college signing will make the biggest impact through the remainder of the year?

University of Minnesota star Jimmy Snuggerud may be an easy top guess. The 20-year-old right-wing has joined a St. Louis Blues team in the midst of a nine-game win-streak that’s propelled them into a confident playoff spot. St. Louis’ success has come in no small part thanks to rookie Zachary Bolduc, who has 16 goals and 31 points in 65 games this season. He’s been backed by other thriving young forwards, like Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours. The Blues have leaned into their youth movement by promoting top AHL scorer Dalibor Dvorsky to the top flight, after he potted 20 goals and 43 points in 57 minor league games. Now, St. Louis also adds the snappy shot of Snuggerud after he managed a dazzling 24 goals and 51 points in 40 games of his junior season. Snuggerud doesn’t shy away from physicality and plays a cool, calm, and collected game that should blend well with a Blues offense that’s firing on all cylinders since the calendar turned over.

But St. Louis’ Central Division rivals have a pair of new faces who could find their way to a big splash. The Chicago Blackhawks may be well outside of postseason contention, but they’ve received their own injection of young potential by signing Snuggerud’s UMN teammates, centerman Oliver Moore and defenseman Sam Rinzel. Both players filled top-end roles for the Gophers this season, to dazzling results. Rinzel took home the Big Ten’s ’Defenseman of the Year’ honors this year, after recording 10 goals and 32 points in 40 games of his sophomore season. Moore just narrowly outscored him, potting 12 goals and 33 points in 38 games of his own. The pair have already made their NHL debuts – and while neither scored, they were both instantly noticeable amid a Blackhawks offense that’s slowed down as of late. Chicago is looking towards the future as the season draws to a close, and strong performances out of Moore or Rinzel could go a long way towards cementing their top-of-the-lineup role through next season. It seems Rinzel’s spot may already be locked up – after he recorded over 20 minutes of ice time and four shots on net in his debut.

There’s even more to watch from Gopher alums in the Central Division – with Matthew Wood inking a deal with the Nashville Predators after completing his junior year at UMN. Wood ranked second on the Gophers in scoring behind Snuggerud, with 17 goals and 39 points in 39 games this season. It was an impressive performance for the fresh-transfer – but perhaps even more impressive, it was Wood’s first time not leading his team in scoring since he made his junior hockey debut in the 2020-21 season. He’s a fierce shooter, with the heft and skating to push his way into space, even against top competition. He could quickly find a role on a Predators team that lost Mark Jankowski at the Trade Deadline – and one that’s in desperate need of a booming top prospect to spark hopes.

While the Gophers look to take control of the Central Division, the Metropolitan Division could soon be controlled by Eagles. Boston College stars Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault have inked their first pro deals, signing with the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers respectively. The duo are absolute top prospects who have spent the vast majority of the last four seasons playing on the same line. Leonard is a beefy sniper capable of driving down the boards with speed and getting the puck on net quick. Perreault is a bit more nimble – and uses a strong drive to overwhelm opponents on the forecheck and quick hands to beat them in his paths to the net. Both have done nothing but sparkle with their individual efforts, and seem fully capable of translating at least some of their upside to the NHL right away. Leonard will join the best team in the league, while Perreault will join a squad currently in tight contention for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card. Both roles should lead to major roles that could lead the top names to quick scoring.

Plenty of other signings across the hockey world could pay off sooner rather than later. Even if they don’t, the chance to watch top prospects finally donning their NHL jerseys is hard no to be excited over. Who do you think will make the biggest impact? Vote below:

For mobile users, click here to vote.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Capitals Sign Ryan Leonard To Entry-Level Contract

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11:59 a.m.: The Capitals confirmed Leonard’s deal, confirming it’ll carry the maximum ELC cap hit of $950K.

10:39 a.m.: The Capitals are expected to sign top forward prospect Ryan Leonard out of Boston College, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. He’ll sign a three-year entry-level contract beginning immediately and will likely make his NHL debut tomorrow against his hometown Bruins.

Leonard turning pro is far from unexpected. Selected eighth overall by Washington in 2023, he’s spent the last two seasons dominating collegiate play with Boston College. A natural center who can shift to the right wing, he boasts 61 goals, 48 assists and 109 points across 78 NCAA outings – giving him the most goals in the country by a margin of 16 since 2023-24. The 20-year-old has also posted a combined +66 rating over his past two collegiate seasons, often centering fellow 2023 first-rounder and Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault.

While Leonard’s time at BC didn’t result in a national championship, he’s won gold medals for the United States at top-level international junior play in three consecutive seasons. He captained the Americans at this year’s World Juniors, leading the team’s forwards in scoring with 5-5–10 in seven games.

The younger brother of former Sharks winger John Leonard now looks to prove he can be an impact goal-scorer at the NHL level with immediate effect. He’ll have a ton of support in a deep Washington lineup that leads the league in scoring with 3.63 goals per game, driven by a stratospheric team shooting percentage of 13.1. In terms of actual shot generation, the Caps rank a concerning 21st in the league at 27.6 per game. Adding one of the best shooters outside the NHL down the stretch should help boost that number slightly heading into postseason play, where he’ll compete to land a top-nine role ahead of names like Anthony Beauvillier, Brandon Duhaime, Andrew Mangiapane, and Taylor Raddysh.

This year aside, the news kicks off what should be an illustrious career for Leonard in D.C. as he aims to eventually take over as the team’s top sniper when Alex Ovechkin decides to end his record-breaking career. He’s the clear-cut No. 1 prospect in Washington’s system, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines, and ranks as the No. 4 forward prospect in the NHL behind Ivan Demidov, Will Smith, and Berkly Catton.

Ensuring Leonard is available for next season’s lineup is an essential piece of the puzzle for the Caps, who guarantee a cost-effective top-nine contributor to replace a pending UFA like the high-priced Mangiapane ($5.8MM AAV). They’ll have north of $12MM in cap space to fill just four roster spots, per PuckPedia – all at forward – allowing them to be a legitimate threat to sign one of the top 10 players available this summer.

With Leonard’s ELC going into effect immediately, it’ll expire and make him a restricted free agent following the 2026-27 campaign. That’s the same summer in which Ovechkin’s, John Carlson’s, and Connor McMichael’s current deals expire, along with a few other important depth contributors.

Image courtesy of Eric Canha-Imagn Images.

Ryan Leonard Hopes To Win Before Joining Washington

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One of the more interesting prospect developments of the summer is the desire from former-eighth overall pick, Ryan Leonard, to forego his entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals to return to Boston College for his sophomore season. Leonard had a fantastic season in 2022-23 with the U.S. National U18 Team leading to him being a top-10 selection in the 2023 NHL Draft.

As a freshman with the Eagles, Leonard proved to be one of the best prospects in the league by scoring 31 goals and 60 points in 41 games played. Flanked by Cutter Gauthier, Gabe Perreault, and Will Smith, the quartet occupied four of the top-six scoring leaders and represented one of the most dominant offenses in the NCAA.

Before it was time to make a run at the National Championship, Leonard joined the United States U20 Team for the 2023-24 IIHF World Junior Championships. Leonard scored three goals and six points in seven games throughout the tournament and helped the United States capture their first gold medal since 2021.

Boston College coasted to the National Championship behind a powerful offense with strong wins over Michigan Tech University, Quinnipiac University, and the University of Michigan. Unfortunately, the offense ran dry in the last game of the season as the University of Denver shut them out to take home the trophy.

In a write-up of day two of the World Junior Summer Showcase, Mike G. Morreale of the NHL writes that Leonard hopes to capture the only trophy that has eluded him up to this point before turning pro. Leonard said, “We have some unfinished business, honestly. Maybe if our game against Denver goes the other way, it could have been a little bit different and I could have played the end of the season with the Capitals. But Washington has been really supportive. They told me whenever I was ready, they’d be grateful and happy. Leaving my team after losing that last game against Denver was just something I couldn’t do”.

Whether or not Leonard can help the Eagles win their first National Championship since 2012, the additional year in the NCAA should be a huge benefit to his development regardless. Leonard was already one of the best players last year as a freshman and should be top-five in the scoring leader conversation once again at the season’s end.

The Capitals still have a Nicklas Backstrom-sized hole down the middle of their top six but will attempt to bridge the gap with a combination of Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois next season. With a legitimate claim of being the team’s future top-line center, Leonard will give Washington one of the better looks down the middle of any team around the league. A combination of Strome, Dubois, Leonard, and Hendrix Lapierre down the middle of the ice will give opposing teams a lot of problems to match up against.

Morning Notes: Islanders, Paquette, Leonard

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Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News writes that the New York Islanders’ recent trade of draft picks with the Chicago Blackhawks could be a prelude to a bigger move. Rosner wonders if the extra second-round draft pick the Islanders acquired might be used to clear salary cap space in a similar fashion to the trade the Islanders made last summer in which they traded Josh Bailey and his $5MM cap hit a second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations.

The Islanders have several contracts on the books that they would love to move to acquire additional help in the top 6, but most of those contracts would require a sweetener to facilitate a trade. The Islanders are slated to have just over $6MM in cap space available heading into the summer.

In other morning notes:

  • Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette has reportedly signed a two-year extension with Dynamo Moskva of the KHL (as per KHL). Paquette is a veteran of 448 NHL games and last played in the league back in 2021-22 with the Montreal Canadiens tallying two assists in 24 games. The 30-year-old won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020, before eventually moving on to play for Ottawa, Carolina, and eventually Montreal. Paquette spent his final season in North America split between the NHL and AHL before signing in the KHL in 2022 with Dinamo Minsk. Since making the move overseas, the Gaspe, Quebec native has seen his offensive numbers trend upwards as he enjoyed his best offensive season in a decade last year with 22 goals and 13 assists in 57 games.
  • Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside is reporting that if Boston College forward Will Smith signs his entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks as expected, it could create a ripple effect that might see his teammate Ryan Leonard move to sign his ELC as well. A report surfaced a few weeks ago that the Washington Capitals would re-engage in contract talks this summer with the 19-year-old in the hopes of having him turn pro, but now with the possibility of his teammate leaving the NCAA, it seems more likely that Leonard would move on as well. The Amherst, Massachusetts native had a terrific freshman year posting 31 goals and 29 assists in 41 games with the Eagles.

Snapshots: Devils, Leonard, Berube

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At the beginning of the season, the Devils weren’t expected to be picking in the top ten but that’s where they find themselves after the lottery earlier this week.  Speaking after the lottery, GM Tom Fitzgerald indicated to reporters including team reporter Amanda Stein that it’s not a guarantee he’ll use the tenth pick next month, suggesting it’s an option to be moved if the right trade presents itself.  It’s not very often that top-ten picks are dealt but with New Jersey being a team in win-now mode, they could be inclined to try to use that selection for someone who is more established and can contribute right away.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Capitals prospect Ryan Leonard opted not to sign with Washington for their playoff run, instead choosing to stay at Boston College instead. However, with San Jose getting the first-overall pick (which is expected to be used on Macklin Celebrini), it’s possible that Celebrini signing will also result in San Jose getting Will Smith to turn pro and become their one-two punch down the middle.  If that happens, Colby Cohen suggested on a recent Daily Faceoff appearance (video link) that Washington could then try to re-engage on getting Leonard, a current teammate of Smith, to sign for 2024-25.  Leonard had a dominant campaign, putting up 31 goals and 29 assists in 41 games in his freshman year.
  • While the Kings haven’t decided on if they’ll remove the interim tag from Jim Hiller who took over as head coach midseason, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports in his latest Toronto Star column that Los Angeles is kicking the tires on Craig Berube. Berube has also been speculatively linked to the openings in New Jersey and Toronto and appears to be well-positioned to return behind an NHL bench in the coming weeks.  The 55-year-old has been an NHL bench boss for parts of eight seasons with his teams playing to a .584 points percentage.

Ryan Leonard To Remain At Boston College Next Season

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Following a dominant freshman year at Boston College and the fact that the Capitals are heading to the playoffs, some wondered if prospect Ryan Leonard would opt to turn pro and potentially suit up for Washington in the postseason.  However, that will not be the case as GM Brian MacLellan released a statement (Twitter link) announcing that Leonard will return for his sophomore year:

Ryan Leonard indicated his desire to return for his sophomore season at Boston College. We support Ryan’s decision to return to one of the best programs in the nation to continue his development. Ryan showed great leadership and made tremendous progress during his first year, which saw him score the most goals by a freshman in Boston College program history and the third-most goals in the NCAA. We will continue to monitor his development and progress next year and look forward to watching Ryan build upon his successful freshman season.

The 19-year-old was the eighth overall pick back in June and has only seen his stock go up since then.  Leonard appeared in 41 games with the Eagles this season, tallying 31 goals and 29 assists, good for third on the team in scoring but also fourth in NCAA Division I scoring.  He played a key role for Boston College on their way to the Frozen Four finals where they were ousted by the University of Denver.

Now, Leonard will set his sights on helping the Eagles have another long run next season.  While they’ve lost Cutter Gauthier to the pros, their forward group still features – for now, at least – Will Smith and Gabe Perreault, two high-scoring first-rounders from last year, giving Boston College a very strong core to work from to do just that.

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