Washington Capitals training camp is only a couple of weeks away. The 2024-25 season is almost here. With training camp and the preseason close to kicking off, there is speculation about how the forward lines may look. The Capitals added some new talents to their lineup. Former general manager Brian MacLellan traded for Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois. He also added wingers Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh in free agency. Head coach Spencer Carbery and his staff will see what line combinations work best in the preseason and training camp. What could the lines look like?
First Line: Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin is the captain, leader, and face of the franchise. He is among the best players in the NHL and is 42 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky as the all-time goals leader. There is no question he will be the starting left winger on the first line. Dylan Strome will most likely be the starting center. Since coming to D.C., Strome has produced his best offensive stats. Below are his stats since playing for Washington:
- 2022-23: 23 goals and 42 assists for 65 points in 81 games
- 2023-24: 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points in 82 games
Strome’s career high in points before the Capitals was with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018-19 with 51 points. He has found a great fit in Washington and will be their starting center in 2024-25.
Lastly, Tom Wilson will be the first-line right winger. Last season was a little bit of a down year offensively. In 74 games, Wilson scored 18 goals and registered 17 assists for 35 points. A couple of seasons prior, in 2021-22, he had 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points in 78 games. Which Wilson do the Capitals get in 2024-25? Does he rebound from an offensive dip last season? He will be someone to keep an eye on during the regular season.
Second Line: Pierre-Luc Dubois-Connor McMichael-Andrew Mangiapane
This second line will be especially intriguing for the 2024-25 season, considering that two of the three players were recently acquired through trade. MacLellan brought Pierre-Luc Dubois in from the Los Angeles Kings, sending goalie Darcy Kuemper in return. Dubois has also been considered a center, but the Capitals already have many NHL-caliber centers. Dubois can also play left wing, so it is natural to think that is where he may be placed at the beginning of the season.
Despite a tough campaign in 2023-24 for Dubois, he has shown his talents in previous years. He had impressive campaigns, both with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Winnipeg Jets. Dubois was a 20-goal scorer in his rookie season. He has been close to 30 goals on three separate occasions. Dubois has had 27 goals for both Columbus and Winnipeg before, and his career-high in goals is 28 (he accomplished this with the Jets in 2021-22).
On the opposite wing is newly-acquired Andrew Mangiapane. The 28-year-old previously played his entire career with the Calgary Flames. In 2023-24, he netted 14 goals and accrued 26 assists for 40 points in 75 games. He is a couple seasons removed from his career high in goals. He scored 35 during the 2021-22 campaign. I firmly believe the Capitals can get 30 goals out of Mangiapane. I do not think that was a fluke stat. If this line clicks, he could have another 30+ goal campaign under his belt.
Connor McMichael gets an important top-six role as the second-line center for Washington. Last season, he tallied 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points in 80 games. This is a line that will try to grow some chemistry with one another, if put together. All three players on this line were on different teams last season. Having solid veteran wingers in Dubois and Mangiapane should help out McMichael’s production. I think having another full NHL season under his belt is a big positive too. If this line can provide an offensive spark, that is two lines who could be dangerous this season for Washington.
An intriguing aspect to this line is that both Dubois and McMichael can play center and wing. Some have speculated that Dubois will be the second-line center and McMichael will be the left wing. It is great for Carbery and his coaching staff to have two players who can interchange where they are on the ice. That kind of flexibility could come in handy for some games this season.
Third Line: Sonny Milano-Hendrix Lapierre-Taylor Raddysh
Forward Sonny Milano has been a nice bottom-six player for the Capitals. He had good secondary scoring stats during his first campaign with the club in 2022-23. During that season, he netted 11 goals and produced 22 assists for 33 points in 64 games. Last season, Milano had 15 goals but only had a total of eight assists in 49 games. I am curious what his stats could look like this season playing alongside forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Taylor Raddysh.
Lapierre will be potentially playing in his first full NHL season this year. He has gone back and forth between suiting up for the Capitals and playing in the AHL for the Hershey Bears. Last season, Lapierre played in 51 NHL games. During that time, he scored eight goals and notched 14 assists. While in Hershey, he suited up in 21 games. He had five goals and provided 12 assists for 17 points.
Lapierre was a crucial part of Hershey’s offense during the back-to-back Calder Cup championships. He produced the following stats during both Cup runs for the Bears.
- 2023 postseason: three goals and three assists for six points in 20 games
- 2024 postseason: seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points in 20 games
Those AHL championships will be a big help as Lapierre transitions to being a full-time NHL talent.
Joining the third line is right winger Taylor Raddysh. So far in his career, he has played games for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks. His career-best campaign statistically came in Chicago for the 2022-23 season. Raddysh produced 37 points in 78 games (20 goals and 17 assists). I believe Raddysh can get around 15 goals at least with this line, if not more. Milano and Lapierre may be the line mates who can get him back to being a 15-20 goal scorer again.
Fourth Line: Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Aliaksei Protas
Nic Dowd is a nice veteran player for the Capitals’ fourth line. He has been in Washington since the 2018-19 campaign. Last season, he netted 12 goals and provided 10 assists for 22 points. Joining him at left wing is newcomer Brandon Duhaime. Duhaime spent the 2023-24 season split between the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche. He played mostly for the Wild, before he was dealt to the Avalanche for a 2026 third-round pick.
To complete this possible fourth line is Aliaksei Protas. He enters his second full season in the NHL. Last year, he put some complementary points in his role. He had six goals and 23 assists for 29 points in 78 games. There is a real chance he could build off of his totals from last season and get a new career high in points. He definitely can accumulate more assists than he did last season. He can be one of the forwards that strengthens how good the bottom-six forwards are for the Capitals.
Extra Forwards: Ivan Miroshnichenko, Jakub Vrana
Forward Ivan Miroshnichenko was drafted by Washington in the first round (20th overall) in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut in the Capitals system last season. Miroshnichenko mainly played with the Bears, where he had nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 47 games. He did get some NHL time during the 2023-24 season as well. In 21 games, Miroshnichenko tallied two goals and four assists for six points.
Miroshnichenko only played in one NHL playoff game, but did get valuable postseason experience with Hershey. He scored seven goals and registered five assists for 12 points in 20 playoff games. He was a factor in the Bears winning their second straight Calder Cup championship. I think there is a real possibility that Miroshnichenko spends more time in 2024-25 with the Capitals than in the AHL.
Then, there is Jakub Vrana. I think he impresses the Capitals enough in training camp and preseason that he is officially signed to a one-year contract. Washington signed Vrana to a professional tryout agreement (PTO) on August 15. He last played for the Capitals during the 2020-21 campaign. Vrana played in 39 games for Washington and had 11 goals and 14 assists. He was traded as part of a major deal with the Detroit Red Wings for forward Anthony Mantha. He spent time with both the Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, before signing the PTO last month.
If Vrana does return to the organization, I am sure fans would be happy to have him back. He played for the Capitals for parts of five seasons and was a member of the 2018 Stanley Cup championship squad. Maybe GM Chris Patrick bringing him back to where his career began will benefit him for the 2024-25 campaign. He will be someone to watch during training camp and the preseason.
