2017–18 Washington Capitals season

2017–18 Washington Capitals
Division	1st Metropolitan
Conference	3rd Eastern
2017–18 record	49–26–7
Home record	28–11–2
Road record	21–15–5
Goals for	259
Goals against	239
Team information
General manager	Brian MacLellan
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Alexander Ovechkin
Alternate captains	Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik
Arena	Capital One Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (49)
Assists	Evgeny Kuznetsov (56)
Points	Alexander Ovechkin (87)
Penalty minutes	Tom Wilson (187)
Plus/minus	Matt Niskanen (+24)
Wins	Braden Holtby (34)
Goals against average	Philipp Grubauer (2.35)

The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974. They played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They were led by head coach Barry Trotz in his fourth season as coach of the Capitals. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in organization history, defeating the inaugural-season Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The team finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they lost the first two games of their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning the next four games to advance to the Conference Semifinals against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended the Capitals' playoffs each of the previous two years. The Capitals defeated the Penguins in six games to advance the Eastern Conference Finals, their first trip to a conference championship series since 1998. The Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, after overcoming a 3-2 series deficit following a Game 5 loss for the first time in franchise history, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals faced the first-year Vegas Golden Knights and defeated them in five games to earn the organization's first ever Stanley Cup, while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Standings

Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	49	26	7	46	259	239	+20	105
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	29	6	45	272	250	+22	100
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	26	14	40	251	243	+8	98
4	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
5	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
6	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
7	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
8	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77

Conference standings

Top 3 (Metropolitan Division)

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	49	26	7	46	259	239	+20	105
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	29	6	45	272	250	+22	100
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	26	14	40	251	243	+8	98

Top 3 (Atlantic Division)

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	z – Tampa Bay Lightning	82	54	23	5	48	296	236	+60	113
2	x – Boston Bruins	82	50	20	12	47	270	214	+56	112
3	x – Toronto Maple Leafs	82	49	26	7	42	277	232	+45	105

Eastern Conference Wild Card

Pos	Div	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	ME	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
2	ME	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
3	AT	Florida Panthers	82	44	30	8	41	248	246	+2	96
4	ME	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
5	ME	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
6	ME	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77
7	AT	Detroit Red Wings	82	30	39	13	25	217	255	−38	73
8	AT	Montreal Canadiens	82	29	40	13	27	209	264	−55	71
9	AT	Ottawa Senators	82	28	43	11	26	221	291	−70	67
10	AT	Buffalo Sabres	82	25	45	12	24	199	280	−81	62

Schedule and results

Preseason

The Capitals' preseason schedule was released on June 7, 2017.

2017 preseason game log: 2–5–0 (Home: 0–3–0; Road: 2–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record 1 September 18 @ New Jersey Devils 1–4 0–1–0 2 September 20 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–2 1–1–0 3 September 22 St. Louis Blues 0–4 1–2–0 4 September 23 Carolina Hurricanes 1–4 1–3–0 5 September 27 New Jersey Devils 1–4 1–4–0 6 September 29 @ Carolina Hurricanes 1–3 1–5–0 7 October 1 @ St. Louis Blues 4–3 2–5–0

Regular season

The team released its regular season schedule on June 22, 2017.

2017–18 game log
October: 5–6–1, 11 points (Home: 1–3–0; Road: 4–3–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 5 @ Ottawa 5–4 SO Holtby Canadian Tire Centre 17,009 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 7 Montreal 6–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 9 @ Tampa Bay 3–4 OT Grubauer Amalie Arena 19,092 2–0–1 5 Recap 4 October 11 Pittsburgh 2–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–1–1 5 Recap 5 October 13 @ New Jersey 5–2 Holtby Prudential Center 13,458 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 October 14 @ Philadelphia 2–8 Grubauer Wells Fargo Center 19,817 3–2–1 7 Recap 7 October 17 Toronto 0–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 20 @ Detroit 4–3 OT Holtby Little Caesars Arena 19,515 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 October 21 Florida 1–4 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 October 26 @ Vancouver 2–6 Holtby Rogers Arena 18,293 4–5–1 9 Recap 11 October 28 @ Edmonton 5–2 Holtby Rogers Place 18,347 5–5–1 11 Recap 12 October 29 @ Calgary 1–2 Grubauer Scotiabank Saddledome 18,327 5–6–1 11 Recap
November: 9–5–0, 18 points (Home: 7–2–0; Road: 2–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 13 November 2 NY Islanders 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 6–6–1 13 Recap 14 November 4 @ Boston 3–2 Holtby TD Garden 17,565 7–6–1 15 Recap 15 November 6 Arizona 3–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 8–6–1 17 Recap 16 November 7 @ Buffalo 1–3 Grubauer KeyBank Center 17,146 8–7–1 17 Recap 17 November 10 Pittsburgh 4–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 9–7–1 19 Recap 18 November 12 Edmonton 2–1 SO Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 10–7–1 21 Recap 19 November 14 @ Nashville 3–6 Holtby Bridgestone Arena 17,113 10–8–1 21 Recap 20 November 16 @ Colorado 2–6 Grubauer Pepsi Center 15,070 10–9–1 21 Recap 21 November 18 Minnesota 3–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 11–9–1 23 Recap 22 November 20 Calgary 1–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 11–10–1 23 Recap 23 November 22 Ottawa 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 12–10–1 25 Recap 24 November 24 Tampa Bay 3–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 13–10–1 27 Recap 25 November 25 @ Toronto 4–2 Holtby Air Canada Centre 19,404 14–10–1 29 Recap 26 November 30 Los Angeles 2–5 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 14–11–1 29 Recap
December: 10–2–2, 22 points (Home: 8–0–0; Road: 2–2–2) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 27 December 2 Columbus 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 15–11–1 31 Recap 28 December 4 San Jose 4–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 16–11–1 33 Recap 29 December 6 Chicago 6–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 17–11–1 35 Recap 30 December 8 NY Rangers 4–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 18–11–1 37 Recap 31 December 11 @ NY Islanders 1–3 Holtby Barclays Center 11,053 18–12–1 37 Recap 32 December 12 Colorado 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 19–12–1 39 Recap 33 December 14 @ Boston 5–3 Holtby TD Garden 17,565 20–12–1 41 Recap 34 December 16 Anaheim 3–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 21–12–1 43 Recap 35 December 19 @ Dallas 4–3 OT Holtby American Airlines Center 18,112 22–12–1 45 Recap 36 December 22 @ Arizona 2–3 OT Grubauer Gila River Arena 10,904 22–12–2 46 Recap 37 December 23 @ Vegas 0–3 Holtby T-Mobile Arena 18,025 22–13–2 46 Recap 38 December 27 @ NY Rangers 0–1 SO Grubauer Madison Square Garden 18,006 22–13–3 47 Recap 39 December 28 Boston 4–3 SO Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 23–13–3 49 Recap 40 December 30 New Jersey 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 24–13–3 51 Recap
January: 6–2–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–0–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 41 January 2 @ Carolina 5–4 OT Holtby PNC Arena 11,989 25–13–3 53 Recap 42 January 7 St. Louis 4–3 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 26–13–3 55 Recap 43 January 9 Vancouver 3–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 27–13–3 57 Recap 44 January 11 Carolina 1–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 27–14–3 57 Recap 45 January 12 @ Carolina 4–3 Grubauer PNC Arena 16,239 28–14–3 59 Recap 46 January 18 @ New Jersey 3–4 OT Holtby Prudential Center 14,163 28–14–4 60 Recap 47 January 19 Montreal 2–3 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 28–15–4 60 Recap 48 January 21 Philadelphia 1–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 28–15–5 61 Recap 49 January 25 @ Florida 4–2 Holtby BB&T Center 14,033 29–15–5 63 Recap 50 January 31 Philadelphia 5–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 30–15–5 65 Recap
February: 6–6–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–4–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 51 February 2 @ Pittsburgh 4–7 Holtby PPG Paints Arena 18,652 30–16–5 65 Recap 52 February 4 Vegas 3–4 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 30–17–5 65 Recap 53 February 6 @ Columbus 3–2 Holtby Nationwide Arena 16,419 31–17–5 67 Recap 54 February 9 Columbus 4–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 32–17–5 69 Recap 55 February 11 Detroit 4–5 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 32–17–6 70 Recap 56 February 13 @ Winnipeg 3–4 OT Holtby Bell MTS Place 15,321 32–17–7 71 Recap 57 February 15 @ Minnesota 5–2 Grubauer Xcel Energy Center 19,027 33–17–7 73 Recap 58 February 17 @ Chicago 1–7 Holtby United Center 22,066 33–18–7 73 Recap 59 February 19 @ Buffalo 3–2 Grubauer KeyBank Center 18,228 34–18–7 75 Recap 60 February 20 Tampa Bay 2–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 34–19–7 75 Recap 61 February 22 @ Florida 2–3 Holtby BB&T Center 15,312 34–20–7 75 Recap 62 February 24 Buffalo 5–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 35–20–7 77 Recap 63 February 26 @ Columbus 1–5 Holtby Nationwide Arena 17,386 35–21–7 77 Recap 64 February 27 Ottawa 3–2 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 36–21–7 79 Recap
March: 10–4–0, 20 points (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 5–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 65 March 3 Toronto 5–2 Holtby Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 29,516 (outdoors) 37–21–7 81 Recap 66 March 6 @ Anaheim 0–4 Holtby Honda Center 15,910 37–22–7 81 Recap 67 March 8 @ Los Angeles 1–3 Grubauer Staples Center 18,230 37–23–7 81 Recap 68 March 10 @ San Jose 2–0 Grubauer SAP Center 17,562 38–23–7 83 Recap 69 March 12 Winnipeg 3–2 OT Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 39–23–7 85 Recap 70 March 15 @ NY Islanders 7–3 Grubauer Barclays Center 10,740 40–23–7 87 Recap 71 March 16 NY Islanders 6–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 41–23–7 89 Recap 72 March 18 @ Philadelphia 3–6 Grubauer Wells Fargo Center 19,687 41–24–7 89 Recap 73 March 20 Dallas 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 42–24–7 91 Recap 74 March 22 @ Detroit 1–0 Grubauer Little Caesars Arena 19,515 43–24–7 93 Recap 75 March 24 @ Montreal 6–4 Grubauer Bell Centre 21,302 44–24–7 95 Recap 76 March 26 @ NY Rangers 4–2 Grubauer Madison Square Garden 18,006 45–24–7 97 Recap 77 March 28 NY Rangers 3–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 46–24–7 99 Recap 78 March 30 Carolina 1–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 46–25–7 99 Recap
April: 3–1–0, 6 points (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 2–0–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 79 April 1 @ Pittsburgh 3–1 Grubauer PPG Paints Arena 18,639 47–25–7 101 Recap 80 April 2 @ St. Louis 4–2 Holtby Scottrade Center 18,841 48–25–7 103 Recap 81 April 5 Nashville 3–4 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 48–26–7 103 Recap 82 April 7 New Jersey 5–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 49–26–7 105 Recap
Win (2 Points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

The Capitals endured hardships during their first successful Stanley Cup run through 24 games, and simultaneously became the second Stanley Cup champion to trail at least once in all four playoff rounds (1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins) and drop the first two games of the first series at home (2010–11 Boston Bruins). This also makes such run the third-longest Stanley Cup run, tied with four other runs.

Player statistics

Final Stats

Skaters

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin 82 49 38 87 3 32 Kuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov 79 27 56 83 3 48 Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom 81 21 50 71 5 46 Carlson, JohnJohn Carlson 82 15 53 68 0 32 Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie 74 18 29 47 2 31 Eller, LarsLars Eller 81 18 20 38 –6 38 Wilson, TomTom Wilson 78 14 21 35 10 187 Orlov, DmitryDmitry Orlov 82 10 21 31 10 22 Niskanen, MattMatt Niskanen 68 7 22 29 24 36 Connolly, BrettBrett Connolly 70 15 12 27 −6 30 Vrana, JakubJakub Vrana 73 13 14 27 2 12 Burakovsky, AndreAndre Burakovsky 56 12 13 25 3 27 Beagle, JayJay Beagle 79 7 15 22 3 16 Chiasson, AlexAlex Chiasson 61 9 9 18 1 26 Stephenson, ChandlerChandler Stephenson 67 6 12 18 13 8 Smith-Pelly, DevanteDevante Smith-Pelly 75 7 9 16 −6 38 Djoos, ChristianChristian Djoos 63 3 11 14 13 10 Bowey, MadisonMadison Bowey 51 0 12 12 –3 24 Orpik, BrooksBrooks Orpik 81 0 10 10 −9 68 Chorney, TaylorTaylor Chorney ‡ || 24 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 8 || 8 Jerabek, JakubJakub Jerabek † || 11 || 1 || 3 || 4 || −1 || 0 Kempny, MichalMichal Kempny † || 22 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 1 || 14 Walker, NathanNathan Walker † || 7 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 Gersich, ShaneShane Gersich 3 0 1 1 –1 0 Boyd, TravisTravis Boyd 8 0 1 1 2 2 Ness, AaronAaron Ness 8 0 1 1 2 8 O'Brien, LiamLiam O'Brien 3 0 0 0 0 5 Peluso, AnthonyAnthony Peluso 2 0 0 0 0 4 Graovac, TylerTyler Graovac 5 0 0 0 –3 2

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Kuznetsov, EvgenyEvgeny Kuznetsov 24 12 20 32 12 16 Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin 24 15 12 27 8 8 Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom 20 5 18 23 –1 6 Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie 24 8 13 21 5 31 Carlson, JohnJohn Carlson 24 5 15 20 11 8 Eller, LarsLars Eller 24 7 11 18 6 18 Wilson, TomTom Wilson 21 5 10 15 11 31 Connolly, BrettBrett Connolly 24 6 3 9 4 6 Niskanen, MattMatt Niskanen 24 1 8 9 6 8 Smith-Pelly, DevanteDevante Smith-Pelly 24 7 1 8 –2 12 Vrana, JakubJakub Vrana 23 3 5 8 5 2 Orlov, DmitryDmitry Orlov 24 2 6 8 5 4 Beagle, JayJay Beagle 23 2 6 8 7 8 Stephenson, ChandlerChandler Stephenson 24 2 5 7 3 8 Burakovsky, AndreAndre Burakovsky 13 2 4 6 2 4 Kempny, MichalMichal Kempny 24 2 3 5 1 10 Orpik, BrooksBrooks Orpik 24 1 4 5 17 15 Chiasson, AlexAlex Chiasson 16 1 1 2 0 4 Djoos, ChristianChristian Djoos 22 0 1 1 5 4 Jerabek, JakubJakub Jerabek 2 0 1 1 –1 2 Walker, NathanNathan Walker 1 0 1 1 1 0 Gersich, ShaneShane Gersich 2 0 0 0 –1 0 Boyd, TravisTravis Boyd 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Holtby, BradenBraden Holtby	54	54	3,067:48	34	16	4	153	2.99	1,648	.907	0	0	0	2
Grubauer, PhilippPhilipp Grubauer	35	28	1,864:48	15	10	3	73	2.35	953	.923	3	0	1	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Holtby, BradenBraden Holtby	23	22	1385:45	16	7	50	2.16	639	.922	2	0	1	2
Grubauer, PhilippPhilipp Grubauer	2	2	105:23	0	1	8	4.55	49	.837	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 3, 2017 (2017-07-03)	To New Jersey Devils Marcus Johansson	To Washington Capitals FLA's 2nd-round pick in 2018 TOR's 3rd-round pick in 2018
February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)	To New York Rangers John Albert Hubert Labrie	To Washington Capitals Adam Chapie Joe Whitney
February 19, 2018 (2018-02-19)	To Chicago Blackhawks Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2018	To Washington Capitals Michal Kempny
February 21, 2018 (2018-02-21)	To Montreal Canadiens 5th-round draft pick in 2019	To Washington Capitals Jakub Jerabek

Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) John Albert Kärpät 1-year, $650,000 July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Anthony Peluso Winnipeg Jets 1-year, $650,000 July 3, 2017 (2017-07-03) Devante Smith-Pelly New Jersey Devils 1-year, $650,000 July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11) Wayne Simpson Providence Bruins 1-year, $650,000 October 4, 2017 (2017-10-04) Alex Chiasson Calgary Flames 1-year, $660,000 May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02) Juuso Ikonen Brynäs IF 2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09) Mathias Bau Hershey Bears 1-year, $700,000 entry-level contract May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09) Maximilian Kammerer Düsseldorfer EG 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref June 20, 2017 (2017-06-20) Chris Bourque Hershey Bears 1-year July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Karl Alzner Montreal Canadiens 5-year, $23.125 million July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Joe Cannata Colorado Avalanche 1-year, $650,000 July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Paul Carey New York Rangers 1-year, $650,000 July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Kevin Shattenkirk New York Rangers 4-year, $26.6 million July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Justin Williams Carolina Hurricanes 2-year, $9 million July 10, 2017 (2017-07-10) Garrett Mitchell Hershey Bears 1-year July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) Stanislav Galiev Ak Bars Kazan 2-year July 21, 2017 (2017-07-21) Tom Gilbert Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers 1-year August 15, 2017 (2017-08-15) Cody Corbett Idaho Steelheads 1-year September 13, 2017 (2017-09-13) Christian Thomas Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 1-year

Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Ref Nathan Walker Edmonton Oilers December 20, 2017 (2017-12-20)

Lost via waivers Player New team Date Ref Nathan Walker Edmonton Oilers December 1, 2017 (2017-12-01) Taylor Chorney Columbus Blue Jackets February 21, 2018 (2018-02-21)

Players released Date Player Via Ref

Lost via retirement Date Player Ref

Player signings Date Player Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22) Christian Djoos 2-year, $1.3 million June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23) T. J. Oshie 8-year, $46 million June 26, 2017 (2017-06-26) Brett Connolly 2-year, $3 million June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28) Pheonix Copley 2-year, $1.3 million June 29, 2017 (2017-06-29) Chandler Stephenson 2-year, $1.3 million July 2, 2017 (2017-07-02) Evgeny Kuznetsov 8-year, $62.4 million July 4, 2017 (2017-07-04) Andre Burakovsky 2-year, $6 million July 5, 2017 (2017-07-05) Travis Boyd 1-year, $650,000 July 6, 2017 (2017-07-06) Philipp Grubauer 1-year, $1.5 million July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) Liam O'Brien 1-year, $650,000 February 10, 2018 (2018-02-10) Lars Eller 5-year, $17.5 million contract extension March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22) Tobias Geisser 3-year, $2.6 million entry-level contract March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) Shane Gersich 2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract April 4, 2018 (2018-04-04) Brian Pinho 2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02) Axel Jonsson Fjallby 3-year, $2.58 million entry-level contract May 4, 2018 (2018-05-04) Ilya Samsonov 3-year, $4.425 million entry-level contract May 16, 2018 (2018-05-16) Aaron Ness 1-year, $650,000 contract extension May 18, 2018 (2018-05-18) Tyler Lewington 2-year, $1.35 million contract extension Draft picks See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago. Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League) 4 120 Tobias Geisser D Switzerland EVZ Academy (NLB) 5 151 Sebastian Walfridsson D Sweden Modo Hockey (J20 SuperElit) 6 182 Benton Maass D United States Elk River High School (USHS) 7 213 Kristian Roykas Marthinsen LW Norway Almtuna IS (J20 SuperElit) References