Capitals’ perfect move in 2025 NHL offseason

The Washington Capitals have made the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons. This includes being the top team in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25. They had a quiet 2025 NHL offseason, but despite that, still made one perfect move this offseason.

The Caps missed out on the top free agents in the market after being connected to Nikolaj Ehlers. They made just one trade this summer, bringing in Declan Chisholm from the Minnesota Wild. They also saw T.J. Oshie officially retire. Overall, this summer was a bit of a disappointment for Washington. They lost players such as Lars Eller and Andrew Mangiapane. They also did not extend Alex Ovechkin, leading to the speculation that 2025-26 may be his last season in the NHL.

Now, the team has just $4.425 million in cap space, and may have to hit the trade market to salvage their offseason.  The Capitals' free agency signings were also a disappointment overall. General manager Chris Patrick would sign just six total players, but one does stand out above the rest.

The Capitals bring back Anthony Beauvillier

Anthony Beauvillier was the 28th overall pick of the New York Islanders in 2015. After spending time in the QMJHL, he would make it to the NHL ranks in 2016-17 with the Islanders. There, he played in 66 games, with nine goals and 15 assists. From 2017-18 through 2021-22, the Canadian forward would miss just 15 games, while also playing in 49 playoff contests. He was also highly consistent in those years, scoring 12 or more goals and having 28 or more points in each of those four seasons.

The forward would be traded mid-way through the best season of his career. In 2022-23, he played 49 games with the Islanders, tallying nine goals and 11 assists. He was then traded to the Vancouver Canucks in the deal that sent Bo Horvat to Long Island. He immediately made an impact for his new team, chipping in nine goals and adding 11 helpers in just 33 contests. That means he played in 82 contests and amassed 40 points over the two teams.

His production would decline in 2023-24. He would begin the season with the Canucks, but be traded to the Chicago Blackhawks and then, after just 23 games, be moved to the Nashville Predators. That year, he lit the lamp just five times while adding just 12 assists. His total of 17 points was the lowest of his NHL career.

To make matters worse for the former first-round pick, it was a contract year. Beauvillier would go on to sign a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins for just $1.25 million. The Penguins would ship him to the Caps in March of 2025. Now he has re-signed with the Capitals on a two-year deal worth $5 million.

Why the return of Anthony Beauvillier was the perfect move

The Canadian was a solid addition to the Caps last season. He only played in 18 regular-season games, but would find the back of the net twice and add three assists. Further, he was solid in the playoffs. He played in 10 contests in the playoffs, amassing six total points. That places him tied for third on the team in points during the playoffs.

He also had a bounce-back season in 2024-25, compiling 25 total points. This means he has had just one season in which he did not bring at minimum 20 points to his team. He has also been a 25-point player six times in his NHL career. At a cost of $2.5 million per season, and the notion that an efficient contract has a player scoring one point for every $100,000 of salary, Beauvillier will have the potential to meet that level based on his career numbers.

He is expected to play on the third line this year. That should pair him with Hendrix Lapierre and Ryan Leonard. Lapierre has played a total of 84 games over the course of three different NHL campaigns and is just 23 years old. Leonard is just 20 years old and has played just nine NHL games. Beauvillier only just turned 28 years old, but has 631 games of NHL experience. For two developing players, who the Caps hope can be cornerstones of the franchise in the future, having this veteran presence playing with them will be huge for their development.

Overall, this was a disappointing summer for the Caps. They are slowly preparing for a life without their core that brought them a Stanley Cup in 2018, with Oshie retiring, Nicklas Backstrom likely to never play again, and Ovechkin nearing the end of his career. This means a new core will need to step up. There are the bridge pieces from the old to the new, such as Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson, but a player like Anthony Beauvillier can also help in the development of this next generation of Capitals.