Capital depreciation
Trading away Carlson, Dowd expands D.C.'s doldrums.
Associated Press photo
Finally, spring seems ready to arrive in a mid-Atlantic region that has seemed like the dominion of Snow Miser for months now. But it doesn’t take a groundhog to predict that D.C.’s professional sports lengthy cold snap isn’t likely to end any time soon.
When the Capitals unloaded veterans Nic Dowd (to Las Vegas) and especially John Carlson (to Anaheim) before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, it lowered the already-slim chances that any Washington franchise will hoist a trophy in the next five years or more — and essentially ended any hopes Alex Ovechkin harbored of a second Stanley Cup.
To be fair, the Caps weren’t anyone’s favorites this season, anyway; they entered play Friday four points out of the NHL’s final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 21 games left. And the return of prospects and draft picks from the two trades sets them up to add young talent to an aging roster best represented by Ovechkin’s salt-and-pepper beard.
Still, becoming deadline sellers sure looks like waving a white flag on what is almost certainly Ovechkin’s final NHL season. And it means the Capitals — the city’s most consistent team since Ovi first suited up in 2005 — have joined their D.C. brethren in rebuilding mode.
Look around. The Nationals are entering Year 7 of what former general manager Mike Rizzo originally called a “reboot” with several strong prospects but no veteran leadership and little chance of seeing the playoffs before 2028.
The Commanders took a major step back last fall after their dream 2024 season raised expectations to unsustainable levels. Entering free agency and the draft, they still have plenty of roster holes and questions, most notably how to keep Jayden Daniels healthy.
Then there’s the Wizards, who are in perpetual rebuilding mode and continue to tank despite recent trades for Trae Young and Anthony Davis. Young’s long-awaited debut Thursday night couldn’t prevent a home loss to the equally moribund Utah Jazz.
D.C. United has been miserable for years, and the Mystics have regressed since their 2019 title and Elena Della Donne’s retirement. That essentially leaves the Spirit, who made last year’s National Women’s Soccer League title match and re-signed star Trinity Rodman to a huge new contract, as Washington’s only legitimate contenders.
For two decades, the Capitals fit that description. They have failed to reach the postseason just twice since 2007 and won the Cup in 2018. But they’ve won only one playoff series since then, and while Ovechkin is still a goal-scoring force at age 40, injuries ended the careers of fellow veteran stalwarts Niklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.
Understandably, the Capitals have made an effort to get younger while also enabling Ovechkin’s move to the top of the NHL career goals record (921 and counting). Trading away Carlson (36) and Dowd (35) continues that unsentimental trend, but it probably deep-sixes any faint playoff hopes the team had for this season — and unofficially ends the most successful era in the club’s half-century history.
Carlson played more games as a Capital (1,143) than anyone other than Ovechkin (1,554) holds every meaningful club record for defensemen. He remains one of the league’s best offensive defensemen and anchored the team’s power play for 17 seasons. He was also a respected leader and teammate.
Ovechkin told reporters after Friday’s practice that he was “in shock” and wasn’t sure about his plans beyond this season. Tom Wilson, who is set to become the team’s elder statesman whenever Ovi calls it a career, was even more candid.
“Today sucks. It’s brutal,” he said, becoming emotional. “I’m sure there are some guys that want to cry. That’s the reality of it. Today you can cry and tomorrow you got to wake up and be a big boy and play hockey. We have to do our job.”
The Capitals now have a solid young nucleus in centers Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas (both 25), right wing Ryan Leonard (21) defenseman Martin Fahervary (26) and goalie Logan Thompson (29). They also have a combined three first-round picks in the next two drafts.
(And because Carlson is a free agent, he could conceivably re-sign in the off-season for a lower salary — although that seems unlikely, given his unexpected departure.)
All that bodes well for the Capitals’ future, but it likely means no playoffs in a full calendar year for the Caps, Commanders, Wizards and Nationals. For D.C. fans, that has become a familiar feeling.