- Despite winning in overtime in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals had an injury scare late in the third period when defenseman Alexander Alexeyev left the game due to being high-sticked by Jake Evans. Fortunately, Alexeyev’s absence will not be lengthy, as Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports he will rejoin the lineup tomorrow night. It’s an important injury update for the Capitals as the team recently lost defenseman Martin Fehérváry for the postseason due to knee surgery.
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Capitals Rumors
Capitals’ Martin Fehérváry Out For Season After Knee Surgery
The Washington Capitals have announced that defenseman Martin Fehérváry will miss the entirety of the postseason after undergoing surgery to address a meniscus injury in his right knee. Fehérváry sustained the injury in the final game of Washington’s regular season. The injury held him out of Washington’s playoff opener on Monday. In his place, the Capitals utilized depth defenseman Alexander Alexeyev – who only appeared in eight regular season games this season.
Fehérváry was getting run as a top-pair defenseman in Washington’s final few games. He averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time through his final 10 games of the season, bringing his season long average up to an even 19 minutes per game. Fehérváry showed well in his middling role in the lineup, with 25 points and a plus-18 in 81 games – all career-highs. He’s proven to be an effective defender on his own side of the blue line, with a long reach and strong physical play that made him the set-back match for aggressive partners like Matt Roy and John Carlson. Fehérváry was set to be leaned on heavily through the postseason, on a left-hand side that would have made the Capitals absolutely formidable – behind Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin.
Instead, the Capitals will have to turn towards the untested Alexeyev in their must-win matchups. Unforutnately, even that plan may be knocked awry after Alexeyev lost some teeth in the third period of Game 1. He was hit in the mouth by the skate of Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans and had to leave the game, only to return during the overtime period. Head coach Spencer Carbery shared postgame that Alexeyev would need some “significant dental work” after the incident, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.
It’s unclear if Alexeyev will need to sit out of Game 2. If he does, the absence will be another pile on the string of injuries and absences that held Alexeyev to just 11 games combined between the NHL and AHL this season. He underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, with a rehab that dragged into the summer. Alexeyev went on to miss time due to personal reasons and routine healthy scratches throughout this season. He managed no scoring in eight NHL games, but did have two assists in three AHL games – production that Washington will need to tap into this Spring. If Alexeyev is forced to miss time, the Capitals will have to turn towards extra defenseman Ethan Bear. Bear was the star of the AHL’s Hershey Bears this season, with a team-leading 46 points in 62 games. He is the only extra defenseman on Washington’s roster, though they could also recall Vincent Iorio or Brad Hunt from the minor leagues.
Metro Notes: Sullivan, Penguins Goaltending, Fehervary
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be among the few teams looking for a new bench boss this summer. In an article from Wes Crosby of NHL.com, the Penguins will retain head coach Mike Sullivan through the 2025-26 NHL season.
Sullivan’s tenure as the longest-serving coach in franchise history is a story of two distinct coaching periods. He guided Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, and into the playoffs for another five years after.
Unfortunately, the dream ended in 2022-23, as the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Throughout his first 507 games behind the bench, he coached Pittsburgh to a 297-156-54 record. Since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, the Penguins have only mustered a 112-99-35 in the last 246 games under Sullivan’s tutelage.
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- In a separate article from Michelle Crechiolo, General Manager Kyle Dubas indicated that netminders Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic would compete for the spot they wanted in training camp. Indirectly, that confirms that the Penguins intend to keep both netminders on the team throughout the summer, and that won’t be an area they’ll look to improve externally. Both goalies showed flashes of quality play throughout the 2024-25 season. Still, Pittsburgh finished the year with a 30th-ranked 3.50 GA/G and a 27th-ranked .884 SV%.
- Defenseman Martin Fehérváry isn’t in the lineup for the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their opening-round matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, as alluded to by Sammi Silber of The Hockey News this morning. Fehérváry continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered in Washington’s penultimate game of the season. Still, it granted an opportunity for Alexander Alexeyev, who’s taken Fehérváry’s spot in the lineup for tonight’s contest.
Capitals Sign Bogdan Trineyev To Two-Way Extension
The Capitals signed left-winger Bogdan Trineyev to a one-year, two-way extension on Sunday. He’ll earn the league minimum $775K salary if on the NHL roster next season and $100K when in the minors.
It’s Trineyev’s second contract with Washington. A fourth-round pick of the Caps in 2020, the 23-year-old has spent parts of the last four seasons with AHL Hershey after signing his entry-level contract in May 2022. He was set to be a restricted free agent this offseason with that deal expiring.
Trineyev was the first selection Washington made in that draft after selecting Hendrix Lapierre with the No. 22 overall pick. The 6’3″, 203-lb Russian was coming off a gold medal-winning performance at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and flashed his speedy power forward game at the junior level, eventually logging 31-52–83 in 113 MHL games across four seasons with Dynamo Moscow’s U20 club. While he remained mostly in the Russian juniors or minors (VHL) until signing his ELC with the Caps, Washington loaned him back to Russia for the first year of that deal in 2022-23. That gave him the opportunity to see extended professional minutes for the first time, posting 2-11–13 in 39 KHL games with Dynamo before the Capitals ended his loan and brought him over to Hershey.
After seeing a pair of regular-season and postseason games with Hershey over the prior two seasons, Trineyev skated full-time for the Bears in 2023-24. He was a capable bottom-six checking presence in the minors, recording 9-7–16 in 63 games with 18 PIMs and a +12 rating. He added four assists in 20 playoff games to help Hershey to its second straight Calder Cup championship. Here in 2024-25, Trineyev bettered his offensive output with a 14-8–22 scoring line in 62 games, adding 23 PIMs and a +13 rating, the latter of which ranked third on the team.
Trineyev is a deep cut in a high-end Capitals prospect pool that includes names like first-rounder Ryan Leonard and dynamic collegiate defenseman Cole Hutson near the top, but his promising two-way and physical play in a depth role in the minors suggests there could still be a fourth-line role for him on Washington’s NHL roster in a couple of years’ time. Extending him for 2025-26 gives Washington another chance to see how his offensive game grows in his third year playing in the pros in North America before considering him for his first NHL call-up.
The Caps now have 33 contracts signed for 2025-26, leaving them up to 17 slots to fill.
Capitals Notes: Fehervary, Protas, Chychrun
Martin Fehervary and Aliaksei Protas did not practice for the Capitals today, per NHL.com reporter Tom Gulitti. He adds that defender Jakob Chychrun did practice despite a puck deflecting into his face at practice yesterday.
Fehervary appeared in 81 games in the regular season but missed the final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an ankle injury. The 25-year-old defender scored 25 points on the year to go along with a plus-18 rating, 150 blocked shots and 139 hits. He also averaged 19 minutes of ice time per game, so his return will play a major factor in the team’s Stanley Cup aspirations. The same can be said for Protas, who burst on the season this year and produced 30 goals, 66 points, and an incredible plus-40 rating. He’s been out since April 4 with a foot injury.
Head coach Spencer Carbery was vague in discussing the potential return of Fehervary and Protas, recently stating: “I’m just going to leave it as we’ve got a bunch of guys working through some things, progressing, potentially playing on Monday, potentially not. Once we get going in the series, I can give you more updates as guys are obviously warming up and in the lineup or not.”
Chychrun has appeared to avoid any serious injury after being struck with a puck in practice yesterday. His return to practice today is obviously a great sign for the Capitals, especially considering the unknown return of Fehervary. Chychrun produced 20 goals and 47 points from the blueline on the season and serves as a key member of the team’s top power play unit.
Capitals Recall Ethan Bear
The Capitals have recalled defenseman Ethan Bear from AHL Hershey, the team announced today.
Washington already had Alexander Alexeyev and Dylan McIlrath rostered as extra defensemen entering their first-round series against the Canadiens. With AHL Hershey set to begin a playoff run of their own, recalling Bear, the minor-league club’s top defenseman this season, comes across as a surprise. It’s an indication that at least one of John Carlson, Martin Fehérváry, and Matt Roy, all of whom sat out the final game of the regular season to rest, is questionable for Game 1 on Monday (Carlson also sat out the 80th and 81st games of the regular season).
Few teams have better call-up options available than the Capitals have in Bear, though. The 27-year-old righty didn’t get a crack at NHL minutes this year after clearing waivers during training camp, but he brings 275 games of regular-season experience and another eight of playoff experience to the Caps’ complement of depth defensemen.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Washington insert Bear into the playoff lineup ahead of Alexeyev or McIlrath, given that the duo combined for just 25 appearances and spent most of their time in the press box. Bear, who leads Hershey in scoring with 10-36–46 in 62 games and has a +33 rating, has far more two-way upside. Unlike Alexeyev and McIlrath, he also has experience averaging top-four minutes in the NHL. Bear began his career with the Oilers, where he averaged north of 20 minutes per game across 132 appearances from 2017 to 2021.
Regardless, it’s still been quite a while for Bear. Questions about his NHL readiness being dropped into a playoff series are fair. His last big-league appearance for Washington came on March 13, 2024. The 5’11” rearguard had 1-3–4 with a minus-five rating in 24 showings for the Caps in 2023-24 after signing a two-year, $4.13MM contract, not enough to keep him in the fold this season.
A pending unrestricted free agent, a passable playoff showing for Bear – if he gets inserted into the lineup – could go a long way toward ensuring he lands another NHL contract over the summer.
11 Teams To Carry Bonus Overage Cap Penalties In 2025-26
The end of the regular season also means the end of daily salary cap calculations across the NHL. With no more cap-related transactions left in the year, 11 teams have officially finished over the salary cap because players on entry-level or 35+ contracts earned performance bonuses that put them above the upper limit. They’ll carry bonus overage penalties in 2025-26 as a result. Those teams break down as follows, per PuckPedia:
Carolina Hurricanes: $33K – $1.076MM
Carolina’s numbers vary wildly here because of the $1.0375MM bonus rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin will incur if he wins the Conn Smythe. Their guaranteed $33K penalty comes from Logan Stankoven’s post-acquisition games-played bonuses. There’s the potential for an additional $5K penalty if rookie Juha Jaaska plays at least two playoff games. Carolina ends the year in LTIR, so they can’t afford any bonuses. They don’t have any other cap charges next year.
Dallas Stars: $368K
The Stars ended the year in LTIR, so all of Wyatt Johnston’s $319K in Schedule A bonuses and Logan Stankoven’s $49.5K games-played bonus, which they paid out before he was traded to the Hurricanes, count as penalties next year. Their total dead cap charges will total $1.801MM with another year of Ryan Suter’s buyout on the books.
Detroit Red Wings: $871K
Detroit ended the year with a comfortable $2.02MM in cap space but had $2.888MM in performance bonuses to dole out, so they’ll get hit with a six-figure penalty next year. Patrick Kane hit $1.75MM in games played bonuses this year as part of his 35+ contract, while Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper each hit multiple Schedule A bonus categories for $638K and $500K in respective bonuses. They also have a $1.056MM cap charge next season for the final year of Justin Abdelkader’s buyout, bringing their total dead cap next season to $1.927MM.
Edmonton Oilers: $150K – $250K
All of the Oilers’ penalties stem from Corey Perry’s 35+ contract after ending the season in LTIR. He’s already earned $150K in games played bonuses and could earn up to $100K in playoff bonuses – $50K if the Oilers win two rounds and Perry plays in either half of the second-round games or half of the total first and second-round games, and another $50K if they win three rounds and Perry plays in either half of the Western Conference Final games or half the total games through the WCF. That’s on top of the $2.3MM cap charge Edmonton faces from buying out Jack Campbell.
Los Angeles Kings: $213K
It’s simple here – the Kings couldn’t fit the performance bonus earned by Brandt Clarke for hitting 25 assists. That gives them $813K in dead cap next year, combined with the Mike Richards buyout.
Minnesota Wild: $1.1MM – $1.15MM
The Wild ended the year with just $36K in cap space, so virtually all of the performance bonuses earned by Marco Rossi and Brock Faber hitting their full complement of Schedule A targets ($850K and $250K, respectively) will count as a penalty. The number could increase slightly if rookie defenseman Zeev Buium plays five playoff games or wins the Conn Smythe, each landing him a $25K bonus. Minnesota’s total dead cap charges will be at least $2.767MM with Zach Parise’s and Ryan Suter’s buyouts still on the books, albeit at a drastically reduced cost from the last few years.
Montreal Canadiens: $1.728MM – $2.308MM
All of the Canadiens’ performance bonuses awarded this season will count toward their overage because they ended the year with Carey Price on long-term injured reserve to remain cap-compliant. Star rookie Lane Hutson maxed out his Schedule A bonuses for $750K, Juraj Slafkovsky earned $500K in A bonuses for finishing top-six among Montreal forwards in average time on ice and top-three in plus-minus rating, defenseman Kaiden Guhle maxed out his $420K in A bonuses, and rearguard Jayden Struble earned his $57.5K games played bonus. Their penalty will increase based on the performance bonuses rookie Ivan Demidov incurs in the postseason. He’ll earn $25K for five playoff appearances, $30K for 10, and a whopping $525K bonus if he wins the Conn Smythe Trophy. The Habs don’t have any other dead cap charges next year, but still have to contend with the final year of Price’s deal.
New Jersey Devils: $1MM
The Devils ended the season in long-term injured reserve and thus can’t afford reigning Calder Trophy finalist Luke Hughes’ $1MM in Schedule A bonuses. At present, it’s the only dead cap charge New Jersey will have next year.
New York Islanders: $600K – $850K
Mathew Barzal’s and Semyon Varlamov’s LTIR placements kept the Isles cap-compliant at season’s end, so the entirety of Matt Martin’s $100K in games played bonuses and Maxim Tsyplakov’s $500K in Schedule A bonuses (plus-minus and ice time). If Tsyplakov makes the NHL’s All-Rookie Team, he’ll incur an additional $250K bonus. New York doesn’t have any other dead cap charges next year.
St. Louis Blues: $2.153MM
The Blues are currently set to incur the most significant bonus overage penalty of any team next year. Most of that comes from the $2.225MM in performance bonuses awarded to veteran Ryan Suter in his 35+ contract last summer. He earned all of them, while sophomore Zachary Bolduc earned a $212.5K bonus for finishing in the top three in plus-minus rating among St. Louis forwards. Those, less the Blues’ $284K in season-ending cap space, give them a bonus overage carryover penalty of $2.153MM. Barring any buyouts this summer, that will comprise their entire dead cap hit for 2025-26.
Toronto Maple Leafs: $626K
Since they ended the season in LTIR, the performance bonuses Max Pacioretty earned for playing 37 games on his 35+ contract will count against the Leafs’ cap next year. As things stand, they could begin the year with an additional $300K in dead cap if Ryan Reaves and Matt Benning are buried in the minors as they were to end 2024-25.
The Capitals could find themselves added to this list if rookie Ryan Leonard wins the Conn Smythe. He’s owed $275K if he does, which the Caps can’t accommodate after ending the year in LTIR.
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.
Capitals Sign Nic Dowd To Two-Year Extension
The Capitals announced they’ve re-signed center Nic Dowd to a two-year, $6MM contract. He’ll remain in Washington through the 2026-27 campaign and carry a $3MM cap hit for the next two seasons.
A crucial part of Washington’s bottom-six forward group since his arrival in 2018, the 34-year-old will forego free agency on the heels of a career-best season offensively. Dowd has 14-13–27 in 81 games. While that’s a slightly lower points per game pace than he’s put up over the last few years, this is his first fully healthy season since the shortened 2020-21 campaign.
That production comes despite Dowd being used almost exclusively as a shutdown center at even strength. The Alabama native has started over 80% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone, and his 5-on-5 oZS% ranks lowest in the NHL among qualified forwards. He’s also averaging north of 15 minutes per game for the second year in a row, including 2:35 per game shorthanded.
One of the league’s premier fourth-line centers, Dowd has been remarkably consistent over his seven years in Washington. He’s scored 75-75–150 in 450 games as a Cap with a +47 rating. He’s currently on his fourth contract with Washington, joining on a one-year, $650K pact for 2018-19. He landed a three-year, $2.25MM extension the following year and then signed a three-year, $3.9MM deal in November 2021, which is wrapping up this season. He would have been in high command on the open market, potentially even landing a deal north of $3.5MM per season, but instead chooses to stay with what’s been a perfect fit over the last decade-plus as Washington returns to being a playoff and championship contender.
A seventh-round pick of the Kings back in 2009, Dowd is the first NHL player in history from Alabama and will easily play north of 700 career games when all is said and done – high value for such a late-round selection. With the extension, the Caps are now down to $8.6MM in cap space for next season, but only have two roster spots to fill. They’ve been fervent in keeping their pending UFAs off the market, also coming to terms on extensions with Jakob Chychrun, Charlie Lindgren, and Logan Thompson throughout the year. Their only remaining pending UFAs are all depth forwards – Lars Eller, Anthony Beauvillier, Taylor Raddysh, and Andrew Mangiapane. The contracts of LTIR-bound forwards Nicklas Bäckström and T.J. Oshie are also coming off the books.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Capitals Prospect Cole Hutson Likely To Return To School
Star Washington Capitals defense prospect Cole Hutson is leaning towards returning to Boston University for his sophomore season, per Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff and sources available to ProHockeyRumors. Hutson won the Hockey East ’Rookie of the Year’ award this season, after leading all freshmen in scoring with 14 goals and 46 points in 37 games this season. Hutson’s BU Terriers lost the National Championship game to Western Michigan University this weekend. He had no points in the championship game.
This news will see Hutson look to right that wrong and carry Boston University back to a National bid next season. He’s defiantly a star prospect and already seems to have outperformed his second-round, 43rd-overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Hutson has earned that acclaim on the back of a season filled with highlight-reel plays, using nifty head-fakes and quick cuts to dance defenders out of their skates and open clear lanes to the net. They’re the same traits that earned him first-round acclaim from many last season, after he scored 51 points in 51 games with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP).
Hutson is the younger brother of star Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson, who is making a valiant push for the NHL’s Calder Trophy and record for most points from a rookie defenseman this season. The two play an unmistakably similar style, each using elusive skating and flashy dekes to draw opponents in and beat them clean. Like Lane, Cole has struggled at times to translate his dominant impact to his play away from the puck – struggling to match physicality and clear opponents out of the danger areas in the defensive zone. But Lane has come along well in all regards over the course of his rookie season, and continues to shed many of the concerns surrounding his defensive game. Cole could go through the same arc soon – but first, like his older brother, he’ll return for a sophomore season at BU.
Hutson will be set up for a clear path towards star minutes with the Terriers next season. He became the third-straight Terrier to win Hockey East’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award this season – alongside brother Lane and star center Macklin Celebrini over the last two years. With a return for year two, Cole will get a chance to chase the Hockey East MVP title as well, stealing it away from rival Boston College after Ryan Leonard won the award this season. Should he continue his phenomenal scoring, he’ll be an early-season favorite for the Hobey Baker Award as well. That momentum and a return to the National Championship should go far in giving Hutson the momentum needed to make a strong impact on the Capitals lineup at the end of next season.
Capitals Recall Clay Stevenson
The Capitals announced they’ve recalled goaltender Clay Stevenson from AHL Hershey. Fellow netminder Hunter Shepard is headed back to the minors in a corresponding move.
The transaction amounts to a temporary backup swap for Washington over the season’s final two games while Logan Thompson nears a return from his upper-body injury. Shepard was recalled as Charlie Lindgren’s temporary No. 2 option and has been rostered for the Caps’ last five games. He only made one start, a fateful 7-0 loss against the Blue Jackets in which he stopped 19 of 26 shots for a subpar .731 SV%.
That was the 29-year-old Shepard’s fifth career NHL start. The other four came last season with Washington, posting a 2-1-1 record with a .894 SV% and 3.19 GAA. The spot start against Columbus was emblematic of a disappointing season for the Minnesota native in the minors. Coming off back-to-back Calder Cup championships with Hershey and AHL Best Goaltender honors in 2023-24, he’s floundered with a .891 SV% and 2.81 GAA in 37 appearances for the Bears. That’s still good enough for a 22-11-3 record behind one of the league’s strongest skater corps, but a disappointing result nonetheless on an individual level.
Now, the 26-year-old Stevenson gets a chance to start one of Washington’s final two games to allow Lindgren some rest in case he’s needed for Game 1 of their first-round series against either the Canadiens or Blue Jackets. While he was rostered briefly last season, he didn’t get into a game, so a start would mean his NHL debut. Like Shepard, his 2024-25 campaign with Hershey has been marred by individual regression. He’s posted a .888 SV% in 33 games after logging a .922 mark in his first full AHL season last year, adding a 2.94 GAA and two shutouts with an 18-8-5 record.
Shepard is a pending unrestricted free agent, although Stevenson is under contract for another two years after signing a three-year, $2.33MM extension midway through the 2023-24 campaign. He earns a one-way salary of $775K next year and in 2026-27, indicating the Caps had high hopes for him to assume an NHL roster spot. This year’s numbers plus extensions for Lindgren and Thompson have thrown a wrench into that plan, though, so he’ll instead serve as an expensive AHL option for the remainder of his deal.