Washington Capitals Sign Theodor Niederbach
According to a team announcement, the Washington Capitals have signed forward prospect Theodor Niederbach to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season. Washington shared that Niederbach will be paid a $1.025MM salary in the NHL and an $85K salary in the AHL.
Niederbach, 24, was drafted 51st overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. He was generally regarded as a solid playmaking prospect at the time, recording 15 goals and 48 points in 40 games with the J20 SuperElit’s Frölunda HC’s program.
Since then, it’s been all SHL for the Bjästa, Sweden native. Bouncing between Frölunda, Rögle BK, and MoDo Hockey. It was during his second year with MoDo during the 2024-25 campaign that Niedberbach broke out as a prominent two-way center overseas, scoring 10 goals and 33 points in 51 games with a +5 rating. After MoDo was relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan, Niederbach returned to Frölunda on a two-year deal that included an NHL opt-out clause.
It was much of the same for him this past season. He finished the 2025-26 campaign with 13 goals and 32 points in 52 games with a +10 rating. Given his back-to-back quality seasons in the SHL, relative youth, and the fact that the Red Wings let his signing rights expire two summers ago, Niederbach became a relatively prominent name on the international market. In late February, although the Boston Bruins were specifically mentioned, reports indicated that nearly half of the NHL teams had contacted Niederbach.
For his development, the Capitals organization is one of the best. Washington has a pair of bottom-six forwards that are scheduled for unrestricted free agency this offseason, giving Niederbach a path if he can earn a spot on the roster through training camp. Even if he doesn’t make the opening night roster, the AHL’s Hershey Bears are competitive nearly every season and will provide Niederbach with a great chance to transition to professional hockey in North America.
Bruins Linked To Theodor Niederbach
With European regular seasons near their ends, now is the time when many NHL teams start seriously demonstrating their interest in international free agent signings. One of those names is 23-year-old pivot Theodor Niederbach, whom Johan Svensson and Mattias Persson of Expressen report has received interest from “more than half the league” – including the Bruins, who sent a team of scouts to Gothenburg recently to watch him suit up with his club team, the SHL’s Frölunda HC.
Niederbach is far from an unknown in NHL circles. It wasn’t that long ago that he was a fairly highly-touted prospect. He ended up going midway through the second round of the 2020 draft to the Red Wings, but after he failed to demonstrate much progression over four years in the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan, they didn’t sign him by their June 2024 deadline and lost his signing rights.
The 6’0″ center immediately responded with a statement campaign for MoDo Hockey, tying for the team lead in scoring with a 10-23–33 line in 51 games. While he’d played a role in helping the club gain promotion from the HockeyAllsvenskan two years prior, he couldn’t help them avoid relegation last season. He thus left MoDo in the offseason and signed a two-year deal with Frölunda, with whom he’s registered 11 goals and 28 points with a +12 rating in 44 outings. He’s now slotting comfortably into a top-six role there, and he has the benefit of being teammates with potential 2026 first-overall pick Ivar Stenberg – ensuring he’ll have plenty of eyes on him down the stretch.
Evidently, Niederbach’s deal with Frölunda contains an NHL out-clause. He was drafted more as a two-way center, but has ended up as more of an offensively-inclined playmaker from the middle of the ice as he’s found his way into more responsibility in the SHL.
For the Bruins, Niederbach would join an already large group of young centers with offensively moderate, top-nine ceilings. Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten, and Matthew Poitras are already in the mix, and with all four of Boston’s current pivots under contract through next season, it’s hard to envision Niederbach making a legitimate play for a roster spot out of the gate. If he’s focused more on finding an organization that has a long-term home for him rather than finding a place where he can jump into the NHL right away, though, the Bruins’ hodge-podge of journeyman forwards and mid-tier prospects could provide an opportunity for him to break through the noise eventually.