The Washington Capitals experienced immense success during the 2024-25 season, retransforming themselves into a Stanley Cup contender. They finished first place in the Eastern Conference and saw career-best performances up and down the lineup. But one sore spot was the team’s third line. And one player that was particularly humbled early was Hendrix Lapierre.
Fresh off being named AHL Playoff MVP after winning a second consecutive Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears, Lapierre earned the Capitals’ third-line center spot out of training camp and was set for his first full season in the NHL. Instead, after some lackluster early play, the Capitals hit the escape button on the situation.
Lapierre, averaging 9:48 of ice time per appearance, scored no goals and had only eight points (all assists) in 27 games for the Capitals. His faceoff winning percentage was 39.6.
With Lapierre on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals were outscored 11 to 7, and saw negative differentials in scoring chances (114 to 108) and high-danger chances (57 to 38). The Capitals owned only 42.5 percent of the expected goals with Lapierre over the boards at five-on-five despite the 23-year-old forward receiving 87.5 percent of his starts in the offensive zone.
The team made a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire Danish centerman Lars Eller in November, and by December, Lapierre, who was in the final year of his entry-level contract, was back in the American Hockey League.
“With the way the season’s gone and the depth at the center position and with Lappy’s minutes, being in the stands, we felt as an organization it was best for him to get playing in Hershey, in the AHL,” head coach Spencer Carbery said then. “Get his game in a good spot, confident again rather than him being here playing limited minutes or, for that matter, right now, being in the stands.”
Speaking to RMNB shortly after the demotion in early January, Lapierre admitted that the situation was “frustrating” and “obviously, you don’t want to be down here.”
But he kept a good attitude and delivered a performance the Capitals’ front office was looking for. Lapierre was a point-per-game player for the first time in his AHL career (7g, 25a, 32pts in 32 games) and became more aggressive about putting the puck on net, averaging 2.31 shots per game. He had re-found his confidence. There were also more detailed, non-dashboard-stat-related things where the Capitals saw progress.
“On a personal level, coming back in December wasn’t easy,” Lapierre said during his Breakdown Day interview on Thursday. “The first couple of weeks being down here, I was just trying to re-find myself and what kind of player I was and stuff. Being with those guys and the coaching staff, the organization itself, really helped me.”
“When we sent Hendrix down, we had a good, hard talk with him about what the expectations are going down to Hershey and what we’re going to be looking for,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick added. “To his credit, he’s gone down there and done that. Not just from what the coaches are saying and what we’re seeing, but from the different analytics that we track. He’s done a really good job of taking what we said to heart. I think that’s put him in a good position here to say, ‘Hey, I’m deserving of this opportunity.’ I hope he comes in and has a great training camp and really comes in and makes some tough decisions for the coaching staff.”
Lapierre was gracious about the direction the team gave him in that meeting and is determined to take the next step again in the fall.
“When I got sent down, I had a good discussion with CP and Carbs,” Lapierre said. “We were on the same page, knew exactly what I had to work on, and that was much appreciated because obviously you don’t want to get sent down and be like, ‘Okay, well, what do I have to work on now?’ So it was great to have that conversation. Me and Carbs had a lot of conversations, too, during the season, where I think I kind of failed him because he was trying to explain stuff to me, and then the game after, I wouldn’t do that well. It was kind of frustrating for me because I was like, ‘Well, actually, you know, I want to do this,’ but I wasn’t performing as good as I wanted to.
“Coming down here, I think I cared,” Lapierre added. “I tried my best. I worked hard. You know, I tried to do everything that they were talking to me about. And, again, there’s always room for growth and improvement. But I feel like, in the most part, I had a good mindset. And I’ll keep working at it this summer. I’ll probably rewatch all my games from this year and work hard. And I know good things will happen. I’m confident. I know I can do those things that they’re asking me to do. And I’m looking forward to next season.”
Henrik Rybinski, one of Lapierre’s closest friends on the team, was impressed by how Lapierre rebounded from the setback. The differences between the NHL and AHL are vast: from the hotels and travel to the attention from fans and media. The plan was for Lapierre to stay all season long with the Caps.
“In my eyes, he’s an everyday NHL player,” Rybinski said to RMNB. “Obviously Washington was an incredible team this year, first in the league. And I think it’s just, I was talking about earlier with adversity and you can kind of let it affect you. And I think he just came in with the right mentality. I think it’s so easy to be in the NHL and then you get sent down and you’re like, ‘Oh, like, what am I doing here? Screw this.’ But he had a great attitude and he came to the rink every day and had a smile on his face. And that, that can be really hard to do, honestly. He was just really positive and yeah, I’m just really proud of him for that.”
Similar to Connor McMichael in years past, Lapierre needed to find growth defensively and be better at the smaller details of the game, where there is a narrower margin for victory in the NHL. Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson helped McMichael find another level and he challenged Lapierre throughout the season to improve in other areas.
“He understands that obviously he’s gifted offensively,” Nelson said. “He has great speed. He has good offensive instincts. Just like any pro player that wants to make the jump, you know, just defensive awareness. That’s one thing, and just competing for loose pucks. It’s more of a will. Everybody talks about strength, he still could get stronger, every young kid can. He’s still very young. But we talked about that. He understands that.”
Part of why Lapierre may have hit a proverbial wall this season could have been just the sheer amount of hockey he’s played over the last few years. During his rookie 2022-23 season in the AHL, Lapierre played 60 games in the regular season and 20 games in the playoffs as Hershey went on to capture the Calder Cup on June 21. His offseason didn’t start until July.
Lapierre split the 2023-24 season in the NHL and AHL, playing 72 total games in the regular season (51 in the NHL and 21 in the AHL). He played in all four games of the Capitals’ 2024 playoff appearance, a sweep by the New York Rangers, before appearing in all 20 of Hershey’s playoff games. Hershey would repeat as champions on June 24 — Lapierre would be named MVP of the postseason — and the prospect’s offseason again began in July.
“You go from playing at Madison Square Garden against the best team in the league last year were the Rangers, or one of the best teams in the league, and then you come to play here against Lehigh Valley, and it’s a little different, a little different atmosphere,” Lapierre said. “I’ve been through a lot. I think those experiences are super, super good for me, especially at a young age, going through all that adversity, going through all those emotions, those big games.”
When he returned this season, Lapierre didn’t seem to have the same oomph as years prior. He played his first 27 games in the NHL before finishing the year with 32 in Hershey. The Bears’ playoff appearance in 2025 lasted only eight games, where Lapierre registered only three assists. Hershey’s season ended on May 21, giving Lapierre a much more normal offseason to train and recuperate.
“In fairness to him, the last couple of years, he’s had short summers,” Nelson said. “And so now, Vincent Iorio falls into that category as well. They have a lot of time to train their bodies and get ready for a training camp. And so we’ve got to view this as a positive for these prospects of getting stronger and getting ready for camp and hopefully fighting for a job in Washington.”
When asked if he was fatigued in January, Lapierre was adamant he wasn’t, replying, “I don’t like to use excuses.” He gave himself more grace as the Bears packed up their lockers on Thursday.
“Obviously, physically it’s extremely hard, but we’re in good shape,” Lapierre said. “We take care of ourselves, so physically it’s been good. But I think just at one point, you’re just kind of – a little tired, you know?
“First year you got that, everything’s new, you got that fire, and I still have it, obviously, but first year everything’s just like, ‘Wow,’ and then you’re playing Coachella, you’re going to Coachella for the first time, you’re down two games, you’re making a comeback, all that stuff. And last year, obviously, it was hard as well, and then you come in this year, and it’s like, all right, we’re going to do this again, and it’s hard, and then you’re down 2-0, and you’re like, ‘Alright, we’ve got to find a way to win three in a row, and dig in deep (in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs).
“Obviously, it didn’t work out, but yeah, I think it’s been incredible for my personal development and experience and stuff like that,” he added. “But, obviously, if you look on the negative side, it’s just been a little hard physically and mentally. I would never trade these two Cups for anything in the world, no matter how tired or whatever it makes me. It’s been extremely beneficial. I think it will be beneficial right now to get an extra month, month and a half of training. I was talking to Todd Nelson just now (in my exit interview), and both years you come back home July 4th, start training July 15th, whatever it is, and then it’s training camp right away. So I feel like it’s going to be good to get a little bit of extra time.
“I think we’re in those years, us young guys, where we’re trying to get a nice physique for later in our career, and you want to gain muscles and strength and stuff like that. So it’ll be good to get that extra month. As I said, obviously, it sucks (to lose early in the playoffs). It’s terrible to be here in that position today. But try to look at the positives for now, just to kind of get through that sad emotion and get back in the gym and on the ice and be ready for next year.”
Headed into next season, the Capitals could potentially flip Connor McMichael back to center full-time or acquire another pivot during the offseason. But Lapierre thinks he can reinsert himself into that conversation with a good summer.
“I’m just grateful for the journey, and I’m looking forward to everything that’s ahead right now,” Lapierre said.
