2017–18 Washington Capitals season

The 2017–18 Washington Capitals season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974.^[2] They played their home games at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. They were led by head coach Barry Trotz in his fourth season as coach of the Capitals. The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, defeating the upstart Vegas Golden Knights, a first-year expansion team in the Stanley Cup Finals.

2017–18 Washington Capitals
Stanley Cup champions
Eastern Conference champions
Metropolitan Division champions
Division	1st Metropolitan
Conference	3rd Eastern
2017–18 record	49–26–7
Home record	28–11–2
Road record	21–15–5
Goals for	259
Goals against	239
Team information
General manager	Brian MacLellan
Coach	Barry Trotz
Captain	Alexander Ovechkin
Alternate captains	Nicklas Backstrom Brooks Orpik
Arena	Capital One Arena
Average attendance	18,774[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears (AHL) South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (49)
Assists	Evgeny Kuznetsov (56)
Points	Alexander Ovechkin (87)
Penalty minutes	Tom Wilson (187)
Plus/minus	Matt Niskanen (+24)
Wins	Braden Holtby (34)
Goals against average	Philipp Grubauer (2.35)
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

The Capitals finished the regular season with 105 points, winning the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row. Left winger and team captain Alexander Ovechkin secured his seventh Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, by leading the league with 49 goals.^[3] Fellow Capitals teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov led the team in assists with 56.^[4]

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they lost the first two games of their first round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets before winning the next four games to advance to the Conference Semi-finals against their arch-rival, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion's Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended the Capitals' playoffs during each of the previous two years.^[5][6] The Capitals defeated the Penguins in six games to advance the Eastern Conference Finals, their first trip to a conference championship series since 1998.^[7] The Capitals defeated the top seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, after overcoming a 3–2 series deficit following a Game 5 loss for the first time in franchise history, with goaltender Braden Holtby posting shutouts in both Games 6 and 7 in the process, to earn their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.^[8][9] Making their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the first time in twenty years, the Capitals went up against the upstart Vegas Golden Knights and emerged victorious in five games to claim the franchise's inaugural Stanley Cup championship,^[10][11] while becoming the 100th Stanley Cup champions since 1914. Team captain Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs for the first time in his career.^[12]

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	49	26	7	46	259	239	+20	105
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	29	6	45	272	250	+22	100
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	26	14	40	251	243	+8	98
4	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
5	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
6	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
7	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
8	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77

Source: National Hockey League^[13]
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Preseason

The Capitals' preseason schedule was released on June 7, 2017.^[14]

2017 preseason game log: 2–5–0 (Home: 0–3–0; Road: 2–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record 1 September 18 @ New Jersey Devils 1–4 0–1–0 2 September 20 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–2 1–1–0 3 September 22 St. Louis Blues 0–4 1–2–0 4 September 23 Carolina Hurricanes 1–4 1–3–0 5 September 27 New Jersey Devils 1–4 1–4–0 6 September 29 @ Carolina Hurricanes 1–3 1–5–0 7 October 1 @ St. Louis Blues 4–3 2–5–0

Regular season

The team released its regular season schedule on June 22, 2017.^[15]

2017–18 game log
October: 5–6–1, 11 points (Home: 1–3–0; Road: 4–3–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 1 October 5 @ Ottawa 5–4 SO Holtby Canadian Tire Centre 17,009 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 7 Montreal 6–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 October 9 @ Tampa Bay 3–4 OT Grubauer Amalie Arena 19,092 2–0–1 5 Recap 4 October 11 Pittsburgh 2–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–1–1 5 Recap 5 October 13 @ New Jersey 5–2 Holtby Prudential Center 13,458 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 October 14 @ Philadelphia 2–8 Grubauer Wells Fargo Center 19,817 3–2–1 7 Recap 7 October 17 Toronto 0–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 20 @ Detroit 4–3 OT Holtby Little Caesars Arena 19,515 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 October 21 Florida 1–4 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 October 26 @ Vancouver 2–6 Holtby Rogers Arena 18,293 4–5–1 9 Recap 11 October 28 @ Edmonton 5–2 Holtby Rogers Place 18,347 5–5–1 11 Recap 12 October 29 @ Calgary 1–2 Grubauer Scotiabank Saddledome 18,327 5–6–1 11 Recap
November: 9–5–0, 18 points (Home: 7–2–0; Road: 2–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 13 November 2 NY Islanders 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 6–6–1 13 Recap 14 November 4 @ Boston 3–2 Holtby TD Garden 17,565 7–6–1 15 Recap 15 November 6 Arizona 3–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 8–6–1 17 Recap 16 November 7 @ Buffalo 1–3 Grubauer KeyBank Center 17,146 8–7–1 17 Recap 17 November 10 Pittsburgh 4–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 9–7–1 19 Recap 18 November 12 Edmonton 2–1 SO Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 10–7–1 21 Recap 19 November 14 @ Nashville 3–6 Holtby Bridgestone Arena 17,113 10–8–1 21 Recap 20 November 16 @ Colorado 2–6 Grubauer Pepsi Center 15,070 10–9–1 21 Recap 21 November 18 Minnesota 3–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 11–9–1 23 Recap 22 November 20 Calgary 1–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 11–10–1 23 Recap 23 November 22 Ottawa 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 12–10–1 25 Recap 24 November 24 Tampa Bay 3–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 13–10–1 27 Recap 25 November 25 @ Toronto 4–2 Holtby Air Canada Centre 19,404 14–10–1 29 Recap 26 November 30 Los Angeles 2–5 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 14–11–1 29 Recap
December: 10–2–2, 22 points (Home: 8–0–0; Road: 2–2–2) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 27 December 2 Columbus 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 15–11–1 31 Recap 28 December 4 San Jose 4–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 16–11–1 33 Recap 29 December 6 Chicago 6–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 17–11–1 35 Recap 30 December 8 NY Rangers 4–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 18–11–1 37 Recap 31 December 11 @ NY Islanders 1–3 Holtby Barclays Center 11,053 18–12–1 37 Recap 32 December 12 Colorado 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 19–12–1 39 Recap 33 December 14 @ Boston 5–3 Holtby TD Garden 17,565 20–12–1 41 Recap 34 December 16 Anaheim 3–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 21–12–1 43 Recap 35 December 19 @ Dallas 4–3 OT Holtby American Airlines Center 18,112 22–12–1 45 Recap 36 December 22 @ Arizona 2–3 OT Grubauer Gila River Arena 10,904 22–12–2 46 Recap 37 December 23 @ Vegas 0–3 Holtby T-Mobile Arena 18,025 22–13–2 46 Recap 38 December 27 @ NY Rangers 0–1 SO Grubauer Madison Square Garden 18,006 22–13–3 47 Recap 39 December 28 Boston 4–3 SO Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 23–13–3 49 Recap 40 December 30 New Jersey 5–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 24–13–3 51 Recap
January: 6–2–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–0–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 41 January 2 @ Carolina 5–4 OT Holtby PNC Arena 11,989 25–13–3 53 Recap 42 January 7 St. Louis 4–3 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 26–13–3 55 Recap 43 January 9 Vancouver 3–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 27–13–3 57 Recap 44 January 11 Carolina 1–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 27–14–3 57 Recap 45 January 12 @ Carolina 4–3 Grubauer PNC Arena 16,239 28–14–3 59 Recap 46 January 18 @ New Jersey 3–4 OT Holtby Prudential Center 14,163 28–14–4 60 Recap 47 January 19 Montreal 2–3 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 28–15–4 60 Recap 48 January 21 Philadelphia 1–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 28–15–5 61 Recap 49 January 25 @ Florida 4–2 Holtby BB&T Center 14,033 29–15–5 63 Recap 50 January 31 Philadelphia 5–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 30–15–5 65 Recap
February: 6–6–2, 14 points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 3–4–1) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 51 February 2 @ Pittsburgh 4–7 Holtby PPG Paints Arena 18,652 30–16–5 65 Recap 52 February 4 Vegas 3–4 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 30–17–5 65 Recap 53 February 6 @ Columbus 3–2 Holtby Nationwide Arena 16,419 31–17–5 67 Recap 54 February 9 Columbus 4–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 32–17–5 69 Recap 55 February 11 Detroit 4–5 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 32–17–6 70 Recap 56 February 13 @ Winnipeg 3–4 OT Holtby Bell MTS Place 15,321 32–17–7 71 Recap 57 February 15 @ Minnesota 5–2 Grubauer Xcel Energy Center 19,027 33–17–7 73 Recap 58 February 17 @ Chicago 1–7 Holtby United Center 22,066 33–18–7 73 Recap 59 February 19 @ Buffalo 3–2 Grubauer KeyBank Center 18,228 34–18–7 75 Recap 60 February 20 Tampa Bay 2–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 34–19–7 75 Recap 61 February 22 @ Florida 2–3 Holtby BB&T Center 15,312 34–20–7 75 Recap 62 February 24 Buffalo 5–1 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 35–20–7 77 Recap 63 February 26 @ Columbus 1–5 Holtby Nationwide Arena 17,386 35–21–7 77 Recap 64 February 27 Ottawa 3–2 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 36–21–7 79 Recap
March: 10–4–0, 20 points (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 5–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 65 March 3 Toronto 5–2 Holtby Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 29,516 (outdoors) 37–21–7 81 Recap 66 March 6 @ Anaheim 0–4 Holtby Honda Center 15,910 37–22–7 81 Recap 67 March 8 @ Los Angeles 1–3 Grubauer Staples Center 18,230 37–23–7 81 Recap 68 March 10 @ San Jose 2–0 Grubauer SAP Center 17,562 38–23–7 83 Recap 69 March 12 Winnipeg 3–2 OT Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 39–23–7 85 Recap 70 March 15 @ NY Islanders 7–3 Grubauer Barclays Center 10,740 40–23–7 87 Recap 71 March 16 NY Islanders 6–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 41–23–7 89 Recap 72 March 18 @ Philadelphia 3–6 Grubauer Wells Fargo Center 19,687 41–24–7 89 Recap 73 March 20 Dallas 4–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 42–24–7 91 Recap 74 March 22 @ Detroit 1–0 Grubauer Little Caesars Arena 19,515 43–24–7 93 Recap 75 March 24 @ Montreal 6–4 Grubauer Bell Centre 21,302 44–24–7 95 Recap 76 March 26 @ NY Rangers 4–2 Grubauer Madison Square Garden 18,006 45–24–7 97 Recap 77 March 28 NY Rangers 3–2 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 46–24–7 99 Recap 78 March 30 Carolina 1–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 46–25–7 99 Recap
April: 3–1–0, 6 points (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 2–0–0) Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Record Points Recap 79 April 1 @ Pittsburgh 3–1 Grubauer PPG Paints Arena 18,639 47–25–7 101 Recap 80 April 2 @ St. Louis 4–2 Holtby Scottrade Center 18,841 48–25–7 103 Recap 81 April 5 Nashville 3–4 Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 48–26–7 103 Recap 82 April 7 New Jersey 5–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 49–26–7 105 Recap
Win (2 Points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Capitals endured hardships during their first successful Stanley Cup run through 24 games, and simultaneously became the second Stanley Cup champion to trail at least once in all four playoff rounds (1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins) and the fourth to drop the first two games of the first series at home (2001–02 Detroit Red Wings, 2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes, and 2010–11 Boston Bruins). This also tied this run with four others for the third-longest to a Stanley Cup championship, ever.^[16]

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference First Round vs. (WC1) Columbus Blue Jackets: Washington won 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Series Recap 1 April 12 Columbus 3–4 OT Grubauer Capital One Arena 18,506 0–1 Recap 2 April 15 Columbus 4–5 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 0–2 Recap 3 April 17 @ Columbus 3–2 2OT Holtby Nationwide Arena 19,337 1–2 Recap 4 April 19 @ Columbus 4–1 Holtby Nationwide Arena 19,395 2–2 Recap 5 April 21 Columbus 4–3 OT Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 3–2 Recap 6 April 23 @ Columbus 6–3 Holtby Nationwide Arena 18,667 4–2 Recap
Eastern Conference Second Round vs. (M2) Pittsburgh Penguins: Washington won 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Series Recap 1 April 26 Pittsburgh 2–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 0–1 Recap 2 April 29 Pittsburgh 4–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 1–1 Recap 3 May 1 @ Pittsburgh 4–3 Holtby PPG Paints Arena 18,634 2–1 Recap 4 May 3 @ Pittsburgh 1–3 Holtby PPG Paints Arena 18,650 2–2 Recap 5 May 5 Pittsburgh 6–3 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 3–2 Recap 6 May 7 @ Pittsburgh 2–1 OT Holtby PPG Paints Arena 18,621 4–2 Recap
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Washington won 4–3 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Series Recap 1 May 11 @ Tampa Bay 4–2 Holtby Amalie Arena 19,092 1–0 Recap 2 May 13 @ Tampa Bay 6–2 Holtby Amalie Arena 19,092 2–0 Recap 3 May 15 Tampa Bay 2–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–1 Recap 4 May 17 Tampa Bay 2–4 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–2 Recap 5 May 19 @ Tampa Bay 2–3 Holtby Amalie Arena 19,092 2–3 Recap 6 May 21 Tampa Bay 3–0 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 3–3 Recap 7 May 23 @ Tampa Bay 4–0 Holtby Amalie Arena 19,092 4–3 Recap
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (P1) Vegas Golden Knights: Washington won 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Location Attendance Series Recap 1 May 28 @ Vegas 4–6 Holtby T-Mobile Arena 18,575 0–1 Recap 2 May 30 @ Vegas 3–2 Holtby T-Mobile Arena 18,702 1–1 Recap 3 June 2 Vegas 3–1 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 2–1 Recap 4 June 4 Vegas 6–2 Holtby Capital One Arena 18,506 3–1 Recap 5 June 7 @ Vegas 4–3 Holtby T-Mobile Arena 18,529 4–1 Recap
Win   Loss

Player statistics

Final Stats^[17]

Skaters

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Alexander Ovechkin 82 49 38 87 3 32 Evgeny Kuznetsov 79 27 56 83 3 48 Nicklas Backstrom 81 21 50 71 5 46 John Carlson 82 15 53 68 0 32 T. J. Oshie 74 18 29 47 2 31 Lars Eller 81 18 20 38 −6 38 Tom Wilson 78 14 21 35 10 187 Dmitry Orlov 82 10 21 31 10 22 Matt Niskanen 68 7 22 29 24 36 Brett Connolly 70 15 12 27 −6 30 Jakub Vrana 73 13 14 27 2 12 Andre Burakovsky 56 12 13 25 3 27 Jay Beagle 79 7 15 22 3 16 Alex Chiasson 61 9 9 18 1 26 Chandler Stephenson 67 6 12 18 13 8 Devante Smith-Pelly 75 7 9 16 −6 38 Christian Djoos 63 3 11 14 13 10 Madison Bowey 51 0 12 12 −3 24 Brooks Orpik 81 0 10 10 −9 68 Taylor Chorney‡ 24 1 3 4 8 8 Jakub Jerabek† 11 1 3 4 −1 0 Michal Kempny† 22 2 1 3 1 14 Nathan Walker† 7 1 0 1 1 4 Shane Gersich 3 0 1 1 −1 0 Travis Boyd 8 0 1 1 2 2 Aaron Ness 8 0 1 1 2 8 Liam O'Brien 3 0 0 0 0 5 Anthony Peluso 2 0 0 0 0 4 Tyler Graovac 5 0 0 0 −3 2

Playoffs[17] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Evgeny Kuznetsov 24 12 20 32 12 16 Alexander Ovechkin 24 15 12 27 8 8 Nicklas Backstrom 20 5 18 23 −1 6 T. J. Oshie 24 8 13 21 5 31 John Carlson 24 5 15 20 11 8 Lars Eller 24 7 11 18 6 18 Tom Wilson 21 5 10 15 11 31 Brett Connolly 24 6 3 9 4 6 Matt Niskanen 24 1 8 9 6 8 Devante Smith-Pelly 24 7 1 8 −2 12 Jakub Vrana 23 3 5 8 5 2 Dmitry Orlov 24 2 6 8 5 4 Jay Beagle 23 2 6 8 7 8 Chandler Stephenson 24 2 5 7 3 8 Andre Burakovsky 13 2 4 6 2 4 Michal Kempny 24 2 3 5 1 10 Brooks Orpik 24 1 4 5 17 15 Alex Chiasson 16 1 1 2 0 4 Christian Djoos 22 0 1 1 5 4 Jakub Jerabek 2 0 1 1 −1 2 Nathan Walker 1 0 1 1 1 0 Shane Gersich 2 0 0 0 −1 0 Travis Boyd 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular season^[17]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	54	54	3,067:48	34	16	4	153	2.99	1,648	.907	0	0	0	2
Philipp Grubauer	35	28	1,864:48	15	10	3	73	2.35	953	.923	3	0	1	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Braden Holtby	23	22	1385:45	16	7	50	2.16	639	.922	2	0	1	2
Philipp Grubauer	2	2	105:23	0	1	8	4.55	49	.837	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Capitals. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Capitals only.

Transactions

The Capitals have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 3, 2017 (2017-07-03)	To New Jersey Devils Marcus Johansson	To Washington Capitals FLA 2nd-round pick in 2018 TOR 3rd-round pick in 2018	[18]
February 9, 2018 (2018-02-09)	To New York Rangers John Albert Hubert Labrie	To Washington Capitals Adam Chapie Joe Whitney	[19]
February 19, 2018 (2018-02-19)	To Chicago Blackhawks Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2018	To Washington Capitals Michal Kempny	[20]
February 21, 2018 (2018-02-21)	To Montreal Canadiens 5th-round draft pick in 2019	To Washington Capitals Jakub Jerabek	[21]

Free agents acquired Date Player Former team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) John Albert Karpat 1-year, $650,000 [22] July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Anthony Peluso Winnipeg Jets 1-year, $650,000 [23] July 3, 2017 (2017-07-03) Devante Smith-Pelly New Jersey Devils 1-year, $650,000 [24] July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11) Wayne Simpson Providence Bruins 1-year, $650,000 [25] October 4, 2017 (2017-10-04) Alex Chiasson Calgary Flames 1-year, $660,000 [26] May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02) Juuso Ikonen Brynas IF 2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract [27] May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09) Mathias Bau Hershey Bears 1-year, $700,000 entry-level contract [28] May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09) Maximilian Kammerer Dusseldorfer EG 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract [29]

Free agents lost Date Player New team Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) Ref June 20, 2017 (2017-06-20) Chris Bourque Hershey Bears 1-year [30] July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Karl Alzner Montreal Canadiens 5-year, $23.125 million [31] July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Joe Cannata Colorado Avalanche 1-year, $650,000 [32] July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Paul Carey New York Rangers 1-year, $650,000 [33] July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Kevin Shattenkirk New York Rangers 4-year, $26.6 million [34] July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01) Justin Williams Carolina Hurricanes 2-year, $9 million [35] July 10, 2017 (2017-07-10) Garrett Mitchell Hershey Bears 1-year [36] July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14) Stanislav Galiev Ak Bars Kazan 2-year [37] July 21, 2017 (2017-07-21) Tom Gilbert Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers 1-year [38] August 15, 2017 (2017-08-15) Cody Corbett Idaho Steelheads 1-year [39] September 13, 2017 (2017-09-13) Christian Thomas Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 1-year [40]

Claimed via waivers Player Previous team Date Ref Nathan Walker Edmonton Oilers December 20, 2017 (2017-12-20) [41]

Lost via waivers Player New team Date Ref Nathan Walker Edmonton Oilers December 1, 2017 (2017-12-01) [42] Taylor Chorney Columbus Blue Jackets February 21, 2018 (2018-02-21) [43]

Players released Date Player Via Ref

Lost via retirement Date Player Ref

Player signings

Date	Player	Contract terms (in U.S. dollars)	Ref
June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22)	Christian Djoos	2-year, $1.3 million	[44]
June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23)	T. J. Oshie	8-year, $46 million	[45]
June 26, 2017 (2017-06-26)	Brett Connolly	2-year, $3 million	[46]
June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28)	Pheonix Copley	2-year, $1.3 million	[47]
June 29, 2017 (2017-06-29)	Chandler Stephenson	2-year, $1.3 million	[48]
July 2, 2017 (2017-07-02)	Evgeny Kuznetsov	8-year, $62.4 million	[49]
July 4, 2017 (2017-07-04)	Andre Burakovsky	2-year, $6 million	[50]
July 5, 2017 (2017-07-05)	Travis Boyd	1-year, $650,000	[51]
July 6, 2017 (2017-07-06)	Philipp Grubauer	1-year, $1.5 million	[52]
July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14)	Liam O'Brien	1-year, $650,000	[53]
February 10, 2018 (2018-02-10)	Lars Eller	5-year, $17.5 million contract extension	[54]
March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22)	Tobias Geisser	3-year, $2.6 million entry-level contract	[55]
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)	Shane Gersich	2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract	[56]
April 4, 2018 (2018-04-04)	Brian Pinho	2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract	[57]
May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02)	Axel Jonsson-Fjallby	3-year, $2.58 million entry-level contract	[58]
May 4, 2018 (2018-05-04)	Ilya Samsonov	3-year, $4.425 million entry-level contract	[59]
May 16, 2018 (2018-05-16)	Aaron Ness	1-year, $650,000 contract extension	[60]
May 18, 2018 (2018-05-18)	Tyler Lewington	2-year, $1.35 million contract extension	[61]

Draft picks

See also: List of Washington Capitals draft picks

Below are the Washington Capitals' selections at the 2017 NHL entry draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
4	120	Tobias Geisser	D	Switzerland	EVZ Academy (NLB)
5	151	Sebastian Walfridsson	D	Sweden	Modo Hockey (J20 SuperElit)
6	182	Benton Maass	D	United States	Elk River High School (USHS)
7	213	Kristian Roykas Marthinsen	LW	Norway	Almtuna IS (J20 SuperElit)