The Washington Capitals made a trade on the second day of the 2025 NHL Draft, bringing in 25-year-old defenseman Declan Chisholm from the Minnesota Wild.
The move gives the Caps another young option on their blueline heading into the 2025-26 season and sheds some light on what the team’s top brass believes their roster could look like moving forward. General manager Chris Patrick met with the media on Saturday and discussed where he believes Chisholm will fit and the rationale behind acquiring him.
“Yeah, [he’s] a guy who we can have a little control over the contract here, because he’s an RFA,” Patrick said. “We wanted to address our defensive depth this offseason, and if you go into the free agent market, you don’t have control over the costs. We thought this was a good chance to try to do that. We like where he’s trending as a player. Again, another guy that’s the right age, and I think he’s got a real good opportunity here to continue to build on what he was doing in Minnesota.”
Chisholm, a fifth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2018, played 66 games for the Wild last season. He recorded 12 points (2g, 10a) and the Wild were excellent at five-on-five during his minutes, seeing 51.1 percent of shot attempts, 53.9 percent of expected goals, 51.5 percent of scoring chances, and 55.7 percent of high-danger chances.
The Capitals now have nine defenders on their NHL roster under some level of team control, with Chisholm and Alex Alexeyev being restricted free agents. Included in that group of nine are all six of the club’s regular defensemen from last season, set to return for next year.
Patrick would not commit to tendering Alexeyev a qualifying offer this summer, which likely indicates that the 2018 first-round pick is headed for unrestricted free agency and a new team. He also seems to be already referring to Chisholm as the team’s seventh defenseman, which suggests that Dylan McIlrath may be last on the NHL depth chart or potentially headed back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears if he can clear waivers.
“I think it’s an area that you can always improve on,” Patrick said. “It’s a hard area. Having seven really good D means you have a really good defenseman that’s not happy, but I think it just gives us a lot of options during this offseason here. We were glad we were able to get him, and he’s really excited to come here. He sees where our organization is going, and he’s ready to be part of something special.”
The assertion that the trade gives Patrick “options” this offseason is also interesting. Chisholm graduated to a nearly full-time NHL role with the Wild last year, but the Capitals already have a locked down left side of their defense with Jakob Chychrun signed through the 2029-30 season, Rasmus Sandin signed through the 2028-29 season, and Martin Fehervary likely engaged in long-term extension talks this summer.
Patrick mentioned last month that the team might be interested in taking a “really big hack” on a player this offseason and expressed a desire to add another high-skilled forward. With prices of the big-name UFAs expected to be very high given the rising salary cap environment, the Capitals could delve back into the trade market if the right deal materializes. They could trade from a position of strength, like the left side of their defense, to fill a hole elsewhere.
The Capitals have now made two trades in the last week, acquiring both Chisholm and Justin Sourdif. Patrick revealed that targeting soon-to-be cash-strapped teams for their pending RFAs is a calculated strategy. The Caps inked Sourdif to a two-year deal and still need to come to terms on a new contract for Chisholm.
“The last month, I’m talking to every GM and asking what they’re doing,” Patrick said. “And before that, I’m talking with our hockey ops staff, and we’re identifying potential guys that aren’t free agents that might be a fit for the team. So yeah, so those names come up, and then you get calls back on them or you don’t.”
According to PuckPedia, with Sourdif on the roster, the Capitals are left with $8.55 million in cap space. The total will go down further once the details of Chisholm’s inevitable contract are revealed.
