The Washington Capitals made several impactful additions to their roster last summer, transforming their team and fueling a 27-10-4 first half of the 2024-25 season. While all seven players brought in have contributed to Washington’s hot start, perhaps no player has been more dominant than Logan Thompson.
Thompson, acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights for two third-round draft picks, is 17-2-2 in his first 21 starts for the Capitals with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. The 27-year-old netminder’s career-best start comes as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and, according to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, the Capitals have yet to offer him a new contract.
“The Capitals have been an amazing story all around this season,” Weekes tweeted Thursday morning. “Both their goalies are pending UFA’s at season’s end, playing very well. Thompson is 17-2-2 and (a) Vezina candidate, yet the Caps haven’t made a contract offer and the price is going up.”
Thompson is being paid under $767k this season, less than the current league minimum salary, so he is due a significant raise. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Capitals want to keep Thompson and Charlie Lindgren for the remainder of this season but are unlikely to hold on to both for future campaigns.
The NHL goaltending market has been active over the past month. First, the New York Rangers set the ceiling with their record-breaking 8-year, $92 million extension of Igor Shesterkin. Next, in late December, the Colorado Avalanche inked MacKenzie Blackwood to a five-year, $26.25 million extension.
Blackwood, 28, is a good contract comparable for Thompson. The two are close in age and have posted very similar stats in what appear to be their breakout seasons in the league.
| Goaltender | W/L/OT | GAA | SV% | GSAE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Thompson | 17-2-2 | 2.32 | .919 | 18.5 |
| MacKenzie Blackwood | 13-10-4 | 2.58 | .918 | 13.5 |
Per AFP Analytics, Thompson’s next contract was previously projected to be a four-year, $22.56 million deal with the current NHL salary cap estimations. The player valuation outlet gave Jordan Binnington’s six-year, $36 million contract that he signed with the St. Louis Blues in 2021 as the most comparable for Thompson’s upcoming negotiations.
The NHL’s salary cap is expected to rise to at least $92.5 million next year. The Capitals also have a slew of other pieces set for free agency, including Lindgren, Jakob Chychrun, Andrew Mangiapane, Lars Eller, Nic Dowd, Taylor Raddysh, and Jakub Vrana.
