Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals

Over parts of nine seasons in the NHL, Konopka played 346 games for seven teams. He is the most recent player in league history to record more than 300 penalty minutes in a season, doing so in 2010-11 while with the New York Islanders. Konopka also played a total of 303 games in the AHL and was recently named part of the Syracuse Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2025 for his contributions to the Syracuse Crunch.

"Honestly, I think it started like last year," Cristall said. "I think Willy just like, I had some good flow going last year and Willy called me that one time and kind of stuck on with him."

Sportico, a leading resource for sports business news, presented its 2025 valuations of every team in the NHL on Wednesday, and the Caps are ranked ninth out of the 32 clubs. While that ranking may not sound impressive, the valuation certainly is. Sportico estimates the Capitals crossed the $2 billion mark for the first time and are worth $2.3 billion. The franchise's valuation has increased by 24 percent from the $1.86 billion valuation it received at the same time last year.

"aliaksei is smiling,"

"Today on the plane, I told the guys, 'If I score, I'm going to bring out the roar one more time for old time's sake,'" McMichael told RMNB's Ian Oland. The 24-year-old forward kept his word, going full grizzly mode after sniping home a shorthanded goal at the 1:07 mark of the third period. "I'm glad I got a chance to do it," McMichael added.

Smallman, 29, was re-signed to a two-year contract extension by the Capitals in April after playing his first season in Hershey. The 2024-25 campaign was a career-best for Smallman, as he recorded 34 points (10g, 24a) in 62 games for the Bears. The Prince Edward Island native was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and has previously played in the Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche organizations.

The Washington Capitals made the first round of cuts to their 2025 training camp roster on Tuesday. Nine players were cut in total, trimming the team's roster to 53 from the 62 players that began camp at the end of last week. Two players will head back to their junior clubs, while the other seven will report to the AHL's Hershey Bears once the Capitals' AHL affiliate gets its camp underway later this month.

"Yeah, it sucked, but it was part of it," he said. "Stay positive. And I knew I was eventually going to come back, so I just had to stay with it."

The Washington Capitals opened up their 2025 preseason schedule with a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday evening. The Capitals assembled a mixed roster of NHL veterans, AHL stars, and top prospects, with number-one goalie Logan Thompson playing half the game. Sonny Milano starred early, scoring twice in his first taste of NHL action since November of last season. Hendrix Lapierre, who fed Milano for one of his goals, also potted one into Boston's net.

While with the Capitals, Irwin saw one of the biggest moments of the now-completed goal chase firsthand as Ovechkin scored his 802nd career goal and passed Gordie Howe for second on the NHL's all-time goals list. Irwin was in the team's lineup for the historic December 23, 2022 game against the Winnipeg Jets, skating 17:36 of ice time in the 4-1 victory.

The base of the jersey is the same hue of red as the team's main sweaters, as opposed to the white and blue base in the previous iteration of the jersey, and they will feature many Easter eggs that reference the local history and landmarks of Washington D.C. The shoulder patch will include a rendering of the U.S. Capitol building with two hockey sticks crossed in front, which is an homage to the team's logo in the 1990s and 2000s.

Get a look at the kids at the Naval Academy and some space to talk amongst yourselves. Probably (hopefully?) our last open thread for a bit, as the Caps hit the ice for training camp in less than a week...but for now, please just enjoy Ryan Leonard vs. Cam Allen yesterday on the Naval Academy obstacle course (and don't worry, we all hate the ropes, Leno):