2019–20 Washington Capitals season

The 2019–20 Washington Capitals season is the 46th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.[1] The Capitals entered the season as the 4-time defending Metropolitan Division champions. They would go on to win the division for the fifth year in a row.

2019–20 Washington Capitals
Metropolitan Division champions
Division	1st Metropolitan
Conference	3rd Eastern
2019–20 record	41–20–8
Home record	18–10–5
Road record	23–10–3
Goals for	240
Goals against	215
Team information
General Manager	Brian MacLellan
Coach	Todd Reirden
Captain	Alexander Ovechkin
Alternate captains	Nicklas Backstrom John Carlson
Arena	Capital One Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (48)
Assists	John Carlson (60)
Points	John Carlson (75)
Penalty minutes	Tom Wilson (93)
Plus/minus	Michal Kempny (+19)
Wins	Braden Holtby (25)
Goals against average	Ilya Samsonov (2.55)

The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3] On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled.[4]

Standings

Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Washington Capitals	69	41	20	8	31	240	215	+25	90
2	Philadelphia Flyers	69	41	21	7	31	232	196	+36	89
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	69	40	23	6	29	224	196	+28	86
4	Carolina Hurricanes	68	38	25	5	27	222	193	+29	81
5	Columbus Blue Jackets	70	33	22	15	25	180	187	−7	81
6	New York Islanders	68	35	23	10	24	192	193	−1	80
7	New York Rangers	70	37	28	5	31	234	222	+12	79
8	New Jersey Devils	69	28	29	12	22	189	230	−41	68

Source: National Hockey League[5]

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	PCT	Qualification
1	Boston Bruins	70	44	14	12	38	227	174	+53	.714	Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament[6]
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	70	43	21	6	35	245	195	+50	.657
3	Washington Capitals	69	41	20	8	31	240	215	+25	.652
4	Philadelphia Flyers	69	41	21	7	31	232	196	+36	.645
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	69	40	23	6	29	224	196	+28	.623	Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round[6]
6	Carolina Hurricanes	68	38	25	5	27	222	193	+29	.596
7	New York Islanders	68	35	23	10	24	192	193	−1	.588
8	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	36	25	9	28	238	227	+11	.579
9	Columbus Blue Jackets	70	33	22	15	25	180	187	−7	.579
10	Florida Panthers	69	35	26	8	30	231	228	+3	.565
11	New York Rangers	70	37	28	5	31	234	222	+12	.564
12	Montreal Canadiens	71	31	31	9	19	212	221	−9	.500
13	Buffalo Sabres	69	30	31	8	22	195	217	−22	.493
14	New Jersey Devils	69	28	29	12	22	189	230	−41	.493
15	Ottawa Senators	71	25	34	12	18	191	243	−52	.437
16	Detroit Red Wings	71	17	49	5	13	145	267	−122	.275

Source: NHL Eastern Conference Points percentage

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 17, 2019.[7]

2019 preseason game log: 5–1–0 (Home: 3–0–0; Road: 2–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record 1 September 16 Chicago 4–3 OT 1–0–0 2 September 18 St. Louis 3–2 2–0–0 3 September 21 Carolina 3–2 3–0–0 4 September 25 @ Chicago 6–0 4–0–0 5 September 27 @ St. Louis 3–4 4–1–0 6 September 29 @ Carolina 4–3 5–1–0

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.[8]

2019–20 game log
October: 9–2–3, 21 points (Home: 2–1–2; Road: 7–1–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 2 @ St. Louis 3–2 OT Holtby Enterprise Center 18,096 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 4 @ NY Islanders 2–1 Samsonov Nassau Coliseum 13,917 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 5 Carolina 2–3 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–0–1 5 Recap 4 October 8 Dallas 3–4 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 2–0–2 6 Recap 5 October 10 @ Nashville 5–6 Holtby Bridgestone Arena 17,386 2–1–2 6 Recap 6 October 12 @ Dallas 4–1 Samsonov American Airlines Center 18,532 3–1–2 8 Recap 7 October 14 Colorado 3–6 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 3–2–2 8 Recap 8 October 16 Toronto 4–3 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 4–2–2 10 Recap 9 October 18 NY Rangers 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 5–2–2 12 Recap 10 October 20 @ Chicago 5–3 Holtby United Center 21,187 6–2–2 14 Recap 11 October 22 @ Calgary 5–3 Holtby Scotiabank Saddledome 18,002 7–2–2 16 Recap 12 October 24 @ Edmonton 3–4 OT Holtby Rogers Place 17,144 7–2–3 17 Recap 13 October 25 @ Vancouver 6–5 SO Samsonov Rogers Arena 18,871 8–2–3 19 Recap 14 October 29 @ Toronto 4–3 OT Holtby Scotiabank Arena 19,258 9–2–3 21 Recap
November: 10–2–2, 22 points (Home: 6–1–2; Road: 4–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 15 November 1 Buffalo 6–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 10–2–3 23 Recap 16 November 3 Calgary 4–2 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 11–2–3 25 Recap 17 November 7 @ Florida 5–4 OT Holtby BB&T Center 14,085 12–2–3 27 Recap 18 November 9 Vegas 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 13–2–3 29 Recap 19 November 11 Arizona 3–4 SO Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 13–2–4 30 Recap 20 November 13 @ Philadelphia 2–1 SO Holtby Wells Fargo Center 18,159 14–2–4 32 Recap 21 November 15 Montreal 2–5 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 14–3–4 32 Recap 22 November 16 @ Boston 3–2 SO Holtby TD Garden 17,850 15–3–4 34 Recap 23 November 18 Anaheim 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 16–3–4 36 Recap 24 November 20 @ NY Rangers 1–4 Holtby Madison Square Garden 17,239 16–4–4 36 Recap 25 November 23 Vancouver 1–2 SO Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 16–4–5 37 Recap 26 November 27 Florida 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 17–4–5 39 Recap 27 November 29 Tampa Bay 4–3 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 18–4–5 41 Recap 28 November 30 @ Detroit 5–2 Samsonov Little Caesars Arena 19,190 19–4–5 43 Recap
December: 8–5–0, 16 points (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 5–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 29 December 3 @ San Jose 5–2 Holtby SAP Center 17,562 20–4–5 45 Recap 30 December 4 @ Los Angeles 3–1 Samsonov Staples Center 16,102 21–4–5 47 Recap 31 December 6 @ Anaheim 3–2 Holtby Honda Center 15,945 22–4–5 49 Recap 32 December 9 Columbus 2–5 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 22–5–5 49 Recap 33 December 11 Boston 3–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 23–5–5 51 Recap 34 December 14 @ Tampa Bay 5–2 Samsonov Amalie Arena 19,092 24–5–5 53 Recap 35 December 16 @ Columbus 0–3 Holtby Nationwide Arena 16,602 24–6–5 53 Recap 36 December 20 @ New Jersey 6–3 Samsonov Prudential Center 15,021 25–6–5 55 Recap 37 December 21 Tampa Bay 3–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 26–6–5 57 Recap 38 December 23 @ Boston 3–7 Holtby TD Garden 17,850 26–7–5 57 Recap 39 December 27 Columbus 2–1 OT Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 27–7–5 59 Recap 40 December 28 @ Carolina 4–6 Holtby PNC Arena 18,680 27–8–5 59 Recap 41 December 31 NY Islanders 3–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 27–9–5 59 Recap
January: 8–3–0, 16 points (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 4–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 42 January 3 @ Carolina 4–3 Samsonov PNC Arena 18,680 28–9–5 61 Recap 43 January 5 San Jose 5–4 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 29–9–5 63 Recap 44 January 7 Ottawa 6–1 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 30–9–5 65 Recap 45 January 8 @ Philadelphia 2–3 Holtby Wells Fargo Center 18,595 30–10–5 65 Recap 46 January 11 New Jersey 1–5 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 30–11–5 65 Recap 47 January 13 Carolina 2–0 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 31–11–5 67 Recap 48 January 16 New Jersey 5–2 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 32–11–5 69 Recap 49 January 18 @ NY Islanders 6–4 Samsonov Nassau Coliseum 13,917 33–11–5 71 Recap 50 January 27 @ Montreal 4–2 Holtby Bell Centre 21,302 34–11–5 73 Recap 51 January 29 Nashville 4–5 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 34–12–5 73 Recap 52 January 31 @ Ottawa 5–3 Samsonov Canadian Tire Centre 14,279 35–12–5 75 Recap
February: 4–7–1, 9 points (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 1–4–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 53 February 2 Pittsburgh 3–4 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 35–13–5 75 Recap 54 February 4 Los Angeles 4–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 36–13–5 77 Recap 55 February 8 Philadelphia 2–7 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 36–14–5 77 Recap 56 February 10 NY Islanders 3–5 Samsonov Capital One Arena 18,573 36–15–5 77 Recap 57 February 13 @ Colorado 3–2 Holtby Pepsi Center 18,146 37–15–5 79 Recap 58 February 15 @ Arizona 1–3 Holtby Gila River Arena 17,139 37–16–5 79 Recap 59 February 17 @ Vegas 2–3 Holtby T-Mobile Arena 18,399 37–17–5 79 Recap 60 February 20 Montreal 3–4 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 37–17–6 80 Recap 61 February 22 @ New Jersey 2–3 Samsonov Prudential Center 16,514 37–18–6 80 Recap 62 February 23 Pittsburgh 5–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 38–18–6 82 Recap 63 February 25 Winnipeg 4–3 SO Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 39–18–6 84 Recap 64 February 27 @ Winnipeg 0–3 Samsonov Bell MTS Place 15,325 39–19–6 84 Recap
March: 2–1–2, 6 points (Home: 0–1–0; Road: 2–0–2) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 65 March 1 @ Minnesota 4–3 Holtby Xcel Energy Center 17,388 40–19–6 86 Recap 66 March 4 Philadelphia 2–5 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,573 40–20–6 86 Recap 67 March 5 @ NY Rangers 5–6 OT Samsonov Madison Square Garden 17,277 40–20–7 87 Recap 68 March 7 @ Pittsburgh 5–2 Holtby PPG Paints Arena 18,656 41–20–7 89 Recap 69 March 9 @ Buffalo 2–3 SO Holtby KeyBank Center 16,539 41–20–8 90 Recap
Cancelled games Game Date Opponent Location 70 March 12 Detroit Capital One Arena 71 March 14 Chicago Capital One Arena 72 March 16 Edmonton Capital One Arena 73 March 19 @ Columbus Nationwide Arena 74 March 20 Ottawa Capital One Arena 75 March 22 @ Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 76 March 24 St. Louis Capital One Arena 77 March 26 NY Rangers Capital One Arena 78 March 28 @ Detroit Little Caesars Arena 79 March 30 @ Buffalo KeyBank Center 80 March 31 Toronto Capital One Arena 81 April 2 Minnesota Capital One Arena 82 April 4 @ Florida BB&T Center
Win (2 Points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Capitals played in a round-robin tournament to determine their seed for the playoffs. Washington finished with a 1–1–1 record to clinch the third seed for the playoffs.[9]

The Capitals will face the New York Islanders in the first round.[10]

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Seeding Round-robin Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Record Points Recap 1 August 3 @ Tampa Bay 2–3 SO Holtby Scotiabank Arena 0–0–1 1 Recap 2 August 6 @ Philadelphia 1–3 Holtby Scotiabank Arena 0–1–1 1 Recap 3 August 9 Boston 2–1 Holtby Scotiabank Arena 1–1–1 3 Recap
Eastern Conference First Round vs. (6) New York Islanders: New York leads 2–0 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Series Recap 1 August 12 NY Islanders 2–4 Holtby Scotiabank Arena 0–1 Recap 2 August 14 NY Islanders 2–5 Holtby Scotiabank Arena 0–2 Recap 3 August 16 @ NY Islanders – Scotiabank Arena 4 August 18 @ NY Islanders – Scotiabank Arena 5 August 20 NY Islanders – Scotiabank Arena (if necessary) 6 August 22 @ NY Islanders – Scotiabank Arena (if necessary) 7 August 23 NY Islanders – Scotiabank Arena (if necessary)
Win (2 Points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

As of August 9, 2020

Skaters

Regular season[11] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM John Carlson 69 15 60 75 12 26 Alexander Ovechkin 68 48 19 67 −12 30 Nicklas Backstrom 61 12 42 54 −1 14 Jakub Vrana 69 25 27 52 3 18 Evgeny Kuznetsov 63 19 33 52 −2 40 T. J. Oshie 69 26 23 49 4 26 Tom Wilson 68 21 23 44 −3 93 Lars Eller 69 16 23 39 3 48 Dmitry Orlov 69 4 23 27 5 36 Carl Hagelin 58 8 17 25 12 16 Richard Panik 59 9 13 22 16 36 Michal Kempny 58 3 15 18 19 22 Garnet Hathaway 66 9 7 16 6 79 Nic Dowd 56 7 8 15 11 28 Radko Gudas 63 2 13 15 15 40 Brendan Leipsic 61 3 8 11 3 13 Travis Boyd 24 3 7 10 9 2 Jonas Siegenthaler 64 2 7 9 11 43 Nick Jensen 68 0 8 8 1 13 Chandler Stephenson^‡ 24 3 1 4 5 6 Ilya Kovalchuk^† 7 1 3 4 0 4 Martin Fehervary 6 0 1 1 −2 6 Michael Sgarbossa 2 0 0 0 0 0 Brenden Dillon^† 10 0 0 0 −2 21 Beck Malenstyn 3 0 0 0 −1 0 Tyler Lewington 6 0 0 0 −2 17 Christian Djoos^‡ 2 0 0 0 1 0

Playoffs[12] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Radko Gudas 2 0 2 2 0 0 T. J. Oshie 3 1 0 1 0 9 Richard Panik 3 1 0 1 0 2 Evgeny Kuznetsov 3 1 0 1 −1 4 Travis Boyd 2 1 0 1 1 0 Tom Wilson 3 1 0 1 −1 6 Lars Eller 1 0 1 1 0 0 Ilya Kovalchuk 3 0 1 1 1 2 Nicklas Backstrom 3 0 1 1 0 0 Carl Hagelin 3 0 1 1 0 2 Dmitry Orlov 3 0 1 1 −1 2 Michal Kempny 3 0 1 1 1 4 Martin Fehervary 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jonas Siegenthaler 3 0 0 0 −4 0 Jakub Vrana 3 0 0 0 −1 0 Garnet Hathaway 3 0 0 0 −2 2 Brenden Dillon 3 0 0 0 1 2 Nic Dowd 3 0 0 0 −2 0 Nick Jensen 3 0 0 0 −1 0 Alexander Ovechkin 3 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular season[13]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	48	47	2,743:10	25	14	6	142	3.11	1,385	.897	0	0	1	4
Ilya Samsonov	26	22	1,411:02	16	6	2	60	2.55	689	.913	1	0	0	2

Playoffs[14]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	3	3	182:09	1	1	1	6	1.98	80	.925	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Roster

Updated July 25, 2020[15][16]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
27		Alexander Alexeyev	D	L	20	2018	St. Petersburg, Russia
19		Nicklas Backstrom (A)	C	L	32	2006	Gävle, Sweden
72		Travis Boyd	RW	R	26	2011	Hopkins, Minnesota
74		John Carlson (A)	D	R	30	2008	Natick, Massachusetts
1		Pheonix Copley	G	L	28	2017	North Pole, Alaska
4		Brenden Dillon	D	L	29	2020	New Westminster, British Columbia
26		Nic Dowd	C	R	30	2018	Huntsville, Alabama
20		Lars Eller	C	L	31	2016	Rødovre, Denmark
42		Martin Fehervary	D	L	20	2018	Bratislava, Slovakia
63		Shane Gersich	LW	L	24	2014	Chaska, Minnesota
33		Radko Gudas	D	R	30	2019	Prague, Czechoslovakia
62		Carl Hagelin	LW	L	31	2019	Nykvarn, Sweden
21		Garnet Hathaway	RW	R	28	2019	Naples, Florida
70		Braden Holtby	G	L	30	2008	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
3		Nick Jensen	D	R	29	2019	Rogers, Minnesota
6		Michal Kempny	D	L	29	2018	Hodonín, Czechoslovakia
17		Ilya Kovalchuk	LW	R	37	2020	Kalinin, Soviet Union
92		Evgeny Kuznetsov	C	L	28	2010	Chelyabinsk, Russia
78		Tyler Lewington	D	R	25	2013	Edmonton, Alberta
16		Philippe Maillet	C	L	27	2019	Lachenaie, Quebec
47		Beck Malenstyn	RW	L	22	2016	Delta, British Columbia
24		Connor McMichael	C	L	19	2019	Scarborough, Ontario
9		Dmitry Orlov	D	L	29	2009	Novokuznetsk, Soviet Union
77		T. J. Oshie	RW	R	33	2015	Mount Vernon, Washington
8		Alexander Ovechkin (C)	LW	R	34	2004	Moscow, Soviet Union
14		Richard Panik	RW	L	29	2019	Martin, Czechoslovakia
40		Garrett Pilon	C	R	22	2016	Mineola, New York
64		Brian Pinho	C	R	25	2013	North Andover, Massachusetts
30		Ilya Samsonov	G	L	23	2015	Magnitogorsk, Russia
34		Jonas Siegenthaler	D	L	23	2015	Zürich, Switzerland
10		Daniel Sprong	RW	R	23	2020	Amsterdam, Netherlands
41		Vitek Vanecek	G	L	24	2014	Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic
13		Jakub Vrana	LW	L	24	2014	Prague, Czech Republic
43		Tom Wilson	RW	R	26	2012	Toronto, Ontario

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2019 (2019-06-22)	To New Jersey Devils 4th-round pick in 2019 BUF's 5th-round pick in 2019	To Washington Capitals SJS's 3rd-round pick in 2019	[17]
June 22, 2019 (2019-06-22)	To San Jose Sharks 7th-round pick in 2019 7th-round pick in 2020	To Washington Capitals 5th-round pick in 2019	[17]
June 28, 2019 (2019-06-28)	To Colorado Avalanche Andre Burakovsky	To Washington Capitals Scott Kosmachuk 2nd-round pick in 2020 ARI's 3rd-round pick in 2020	[18]
December 2, 2019 (2019-12-02)	To Vegas Golden Knights Chandler Stephenson	To Washington Capitals 5th-round pick in 2021	[19]
February 18, 2020 (2020-02-18)	To San Jose Sharks 2nd-round pick in 2020 Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2021	To Washington Capitals Brenden Dillon	[20]
February 23, 2020 (2020-02-23)	To Montreal Canadiens 3rd-round pick in 2020	To Washington Capitals Ilya Kovalchuk	[21]

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Riley Barber	to Montreal Canadiens	1-year	[22]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Brett Connolly	to Florida Panthers	4-year	[23]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Garnet Hathaway	from Calgary Flames	4-year	[24]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Brendan Leipsic	from Los Angeles Kings	1-year	[25]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Philippe Maillet	from Ontario Reign (AHL)	2-year	[26]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Aaron Ness	to Arizona Coyotes	2-year	[27]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Richard Panik	from Arizona Coyotes	4-year	[28]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Nathan Walker	to St. Louis Blues	1-year	[29]
July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)	Jayson Megna	to Colorado Avalanche	1-year	[30]
July 16, 2019 (2019-07-16)	Mathias Bau Hansen	to Dornbirn Bulldogs (EBEL)	1-year	[31]
August 17, 2019 (2019-08-17)	Chase Priskie	to Carolina Hurricanes	2-year	[32]
August 22, 2019 (2019-08-22)	Dmitrij Jaskin	from/to Dynamo Moscow (KHL)	1-year	[33]
August 29, 2019 (2019-08-29)	Mason Mitchell	to Rochester Americans (AHL)	-year	[34]
September 4, 2019 (2019-09-04)	Hampus Gustafsson	to Rögle BK (SHL)	1-year	[35]
October 28, 2019 (2019-10-28)	Devante Smith-Pelly	to Kunlun Red Star (KHL)	1-year	[36]

Waivers

Date	Player	Team	Ref
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)		from/to

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)

Retirement Date Player Ref June 25, 2019 (2019-06-25) Brooks Orpik [37]

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
June 29, 2019 (2019-06-29)	Michael Sgarbossa	2-year	[38]
July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01)	Vitek Vanecek	3-year	[39]
July 10, 2019 (2019-07-10)	Aliaksei Protas	3-year	[40]
July 11, 2019 (2019-07-11)	Brett Leason	3-year	[41]
July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12)	Connor McMichael	3-year	[42]
July 13, 2019 (2019-07-13)	Colby Williams	1-year	[43]
July 16, 2019 (2019-07-16)	Jakub Vrana	2-year	[44]
July 24, 2019 (2019-07-24)	Christian Djoos	1-year	[45]
July 27, 2019 (2019-07-27)	Chandler Stephenson	1-year	[46]
January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14)	Nicklas Backstrom	5-year	[47]

Draft picks

See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks

Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	25	Connor McMichael	C	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
2	56	Brett Leason	RW	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
3	91^1	Aliaksei Protas	C	Belarus	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
5	153^2	Martin Has	D	Czech Republic	Tappara U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)

Notes:

1. The San Jose Sharks' third-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent a fourth-round pick and Buffalo's fifth-round pick both in 2019 (118th and 129th overall) to New Jersey in exchange for this pick.[17]
2. The San Jose Sharks' fifth-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2019 (211th overall) and 2020 to San Jose in exchange for this pick.[48]

References

1. National Hockey League (2012). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2013. Triumph Books. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-60078-785-0.
2. "NHL statement on coronavirus". NHL.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
3. Fernandez, Gabriel (March 12, 2020). "Coronavirus live updates: NHL suspends season; MLB to halt spring training; NCAA conference tourneys canceled". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
4. Gulitti, Tom (May 26, 2020). "NHL plans to return with 24 teams competing for Stanley Cup". NHL.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
5. "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
6. Rosen, Dan (May 26, 2020). "Return to Play: Eastern Conference". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
7. "Capitals Announce 2019-20 Preseason Schedule". NHL.com. June 17, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
8. "NHL releases 2019-20 regular-season schedule". NHL.com. June 25, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
9. "Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule". NHL.com. NHL.com. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
10. "Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round schedule". NHL.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
11. "2019–20 Regular season – Washington Capitals Stats – Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
12. "2019–20 Playoffs – Washington Capitals Stats – Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
13. "2019–20 Regular season – Washington Capitals Stats – Goalies". NHL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
14. "2019–20 Playoffs – Washington Capitals Stats – Goalies". NHL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
15. "Washington Capitals Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
16. "Washington Capitals Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
17. "Capitals Make Three Selections on Second Day of 2019 NHL Draft". June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
18. "Caps Acquire a 2nd and 3rd Round Pick in 2020 from Avs for Burakovsky". NHL.com. June 28, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
19. "Stephenson Traded to Vegas Golden Knights by Capitals". NHL.com. December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
20. "Capitals Acquire Brenden Dillon from San Jose Sharks". NHL.com. February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
21. "Kovalchuk traded to Capitals by Canadiens". NHL.com. February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
22. "One-year, two-way contract for right winger Riley Barber". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
23. "Panthers Agree to Terms on 4-Year Contract with Forward Brett Connolly". NHL.com. July 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
24. "Capitals Sign Garnet Hathaway". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
25. "Capitals Sign Brendan Leipsic". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
26. "Capitals Sign Philippe Maillet". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
27. "Coyotes Sign Miele, Ness And Bennett". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
28. "Capitals Sign Richard Panik". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
29. Butler, Elise (July 1, 2019). "Blues agree to two-way contracts with six players". NHL.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
30. "Avalanche Signs Megna, Renouf, Tynan". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
31. "Zwei Neuzugänge in Dornbirn". Servus Hockey Night (in German). July 16, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
32. "Canes Agree to Terms with Chase Priskie". NHL.com. August 17, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
33. "Дмитрий Яшкин стал игроком "Динамо"". www.dynamo.ru (in Russian). August 22, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
34. "Amerks sign Houser, Aquin, and Mitchell to one-year AHL contracts". amerks.com. August 29, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
35. Mauritzson, Lasse (September 4, 2019). "Hampus Gustafsson stannar hela säsongen". Rögle BK (in Swedish). Retrieved January 12, 2020.
36. "Former Washington Capitals F Devante Smith-Pelly joins KHL's Kunlun Red Star". TSN. October 28, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
37. "Brooks Orpik Announces Retirement After 15 NHL Seasons". NHL.com. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
38. "Capitals Re-sign Mike Sgarbossa". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
39. "Capitals Re-sign Vitek Vanecek". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
40. "Capitals Sign Aliaksei Protas". NHL.com. July 10, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
41. "Capitals Sign Brett Leason". NHL.com. July 11, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
42. "Capitals Sign Connor McMichael". NHL.com. July 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
43. "Capitals Re-sign Colby Williams". NHL.com. July 13, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
44. "Capitals Re-sign Jakub Vrana". NHL.com. July 16, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
45. "Capitals Re-sign Christian Djoos". NHL.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
46. "Capitals Re-sign Chandler Stephenson". NHL.com. July 27, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
47. "Capitals Re-sign Nicklas Backstrom". NHL.com. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
48. "Sharks Conclude 2019 NHL Draft With Five Selections". NHL.com. June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.